Gmail's "Social Circle" Feature Called Privacy Problem

A top-five public relations firm stepped up a whisper campaign to get top-tier media outlets to run news stories and editorials about how an obscure Google Gmail feature -- Social Circle -- ostensibly tramples the privacy of millions of Americans and violates federal fair trade rules. Google said that Social Circle in fact allows Gmail users to make social connections based on public information and private connections across its products in ways that don't skirt privacy.

23,000 File Sharers Targeted for Downloading Movie

At least 23,000 file sharers soon will likely get notified they are being sued for downloading the Expendables in what has become the single largest illegal-BitTorrent-downloading case in U.S. history. A federal judge in the case has agreed to allow the U.S. Copyright Group to subpoena internet service providers to find out the identity of everybody who had illegally downloaded the 2010 Sylvester Stallone flick -- meaning the number of defendants is likely to dramatically increase as new purloiners are discovered.

  • Read the article: Wired

Senate Panel Hears from Google, Apple on Privacy

Saying there has been a fundamental shift for cellphone users in determining "who has their information and what they're doing with it," Senator Al Franken, a Minnesota Democrat, called a Congressional hearing to question executives from both Google and Apple on data location and mobile devices. The hearing was the first for the newly formed Senate Judiciary subcommittee on privacy, technology and the law, led by Senator Franken.

Apple Says Consumers Demand Location Data

Apple defended how it gathers and uses customer-location data in a letter to a U.S. House lawmaker as it prepares to testify at a Senate hearing on mobile privacy. "Consumers are increasingly demanding accurate location information from their handheld devices," including directions to the nearest coffee shop or gas station, Bruce Sewell, Apple's general counsel wrote in a letter to Representative Mary Bono Mack, a California Republican.

Privacy Advocates Applaud Do-Not-Track Bill

Several privacy and civil rights groups voiced support for an online do-not-track bill introduced in the U.S. Senate, saying the legislation would give Web users control over their personal data. Senator John "Jay" Rockefeller's bill would create a national do-not-track mechanism, a "crucial civil liberties protection for the 21st century," said Chris Calabrese, legislative counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Privacy Bill Would Put New Limits of Tracking Children

A draft House bill with bipartisan support would prohibit companies from tracking children on the Internet without parental consent, restrict online marketing to minors and require an "Eraser Button" that would allow parents to eliminate kids' personal information already online. The draft of the "Do Not Track Kids Act of 2011" -- released by Rep. Edward J. Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Rep. Joe Barton, a Texas Republican -- would go well beyond existing federal law.

Red Hat Facing More Patent Lawsuits

With Red Hat on the verge of becoming the first billion-dollar company focused exclusively on open source software, it has attracted quite a bit of attention -- from lawyers waving patents. Red Hat doesn't need a legal team as big as Microsoft's, but it does spend a lot of time in court, particularly in the Eastern District of Texas, a hotbed of patent lawsuits filed by what Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst and others call "patent trolls."

Homeland Security Sends Takedown Notice to Mozilla

A lawyer for Mozilla reported that the company received a takedown request from the Department of Homeland Security for a "MafiaaFire" Firefox add-on that the developer is not acceding to, yet. Harvey Anderson, who works at Mozilla as its vice president of legal affairs and its general counsel, said that the DHS had recently contacted the company to remove the MafiaaFire add-on, which automatically redirects Firefox users to a new domain, if and when authorities seize the original sites, as they have done before.

Sony's CEO Apologizes for PlayStation Hacking

Sony Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer apologized to users of its PlayStation Network, breaking his silence on one of the biggest Internet security break-ins ever, but failing to provide a date when services would resume. Stringer's comments come after he faced criticism of his leadership since Sony revealed hackers had compromised the data of more than 100 million accounts.

Subscribe

The GigaLaw Firm helps companies of all sizes protect their brands online, using domain name dispute policies – such as the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) – and other legal tools available to copyright and trademark owners on the Internet.