Big Brother Is Watching

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June 2009
- Tiananmen Sweeps Twitter as Chinese Thwart Ban
  
  BBC | Jun 10, 09 7:20 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - China's blocking of Twitter ahead of the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre last week didn't foil the country's computer-savvy youth for very long, the BBC reports. Users swiftly shared information about visiting the site through proxies or software applications, and the subsequent twittering made Tiananmen one of Twitter's most-discussed topics last week. More »
- Facebook Boobs Bungle Breast Rules Again
  
  Mashable | Jun 1, 09 4:42 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Facebook executives have again bungled rules banning breasts on the site, this time concerning cancer surgery. Facebook bans "sexual content" and bounced photos a cancer patient posted of her mastectomy scars to educate other women. After a torrent of complaints a Facebook spokeswoman admitted: "We made a mistake," and encouraged the woman to repost. Still an ongoing debate are breast-feeding photos. Facebook relented a tad on that ban and allowed "discrete" shots after complaints. More »
May 2009
- Sexting Pics Live Forever, Teens Warned
  
  Reuters | May 4, 09 6:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The critical problem with sexting is that salacious snaps teens send of themselves from their cell phones can exist forever in cyberspace. That's the message Australian authorities are stressing in a new educational anti-sexting campaign. Nude pictures sent in fun could end up being posted on the Internet by sexual predators years later or could scuttle job prospects if spotted online by potential employers, reports Reuters. More »
April 2009
- 'Sick' Worker Fired for Facebooking
  
  BBC | Apr 25, 09 1:48 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Hint to employees: If you say you're sick, don’t use Facebook. A Swiss woman was fired for doing just that, the BBC reports. She claimed her migraine prevented her from working on her computer and asked to lie in a darkened room—where she accessed Facebook through her iPhone. She asserted her innocence, and accused the company of creating a fake Facebook account to spy on her. More »
- UK Privacy Cops Won't Block Google Street View
  
  BBC | Apr 23, 09 10:20 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Google Street View can keep capturing everyday British embarrassments, the nation’s information commission says, rejecting privacy groups that hoped the tech giant would be stopped. The agency ruled such a drastic step “disproportionate to the relatively small risk of privacy detriment.” British law allows filming from public streets, and Google has offered to remove images by request, reports the BBC. More »
- Senate Will Probe NSA in Wiretapping 'Overcollection'
  
  New York Times | Apr 16, 09 1:31 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Senate Intelligence Committee is planning an inquiry into the National Security Agency after reports the spy group has been engaged in “overcollection” of information domestically, the New York Times reports. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the chair of the committee, said a hearing would be held within the month. The Justice Department says the problem has been fixed. More »
- Assembly Votes Surprise Non on French Web Piracy Law
  
  AFP | Apr 9, 09 2:40 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The French legislature has put a stop—for now—to an anti-piracy law that would deny Internet access to repeat offenders, AFP reports. The law, a pet of President Nicolas Sarkozy, would deal the ultimate blow to illegal downloaders after three strikes, and replace the current regime of fines and prison time. An opposition leader called the vote, encouraged by the telecom industry and privacy advocates, a “personal defeat” for Sarko. More »
- Sexting 'Craze' May Really Be Skewed Polling
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 8, 09 10:05 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - One in five teenagers have shared naughty pictures of themselves over the phone or online—at least according to reports of the “sexting epidemic” that’s been causing hysteria lately. But the figure might be bogus, the Wall Street Journal reports, because it’s based on a voluntary online survey. “These kinds of samples select Internet cowboys and cowgirls,” said a researcher. More »
March 2009
- Chinese Cyber Spies Hit Dalai Lama, Foreign Offices
  
  New York Times | Mar 28, 09 4:12 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A massive cyber spying effort launched from China has infiltrated the computers of hundreds of government agencies and private offices around the globe, including four connected to the Dalai Lama, the New York Times reports. Asked by the spiritual leader's office to investigate evidence of a breach, Canadian researchers discovered that malware swiped data from nearly 1,300 computers in 103 countries over the last 2 years, and it’s still going strong. The bug can even activate the camera and audio-recording functions of infected computers. More »
- I Say, Old Chap, Big Brother Is Watching Twitter
  
  Independent (UK) | Mar 25, 09 9:53 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The British government wants to keep an eye on what people are doing on Facebook. On the lookout for terrorist plots, the Home Office has provoked an outcry from civil libertarians by floating a plan to track users of social networking sites, which were previously free of government monitoring, reports the Independent . The plan “would turn millions of innocent Britons into permanent suspects,” said one privacy advocate. More »
- Google Removes Naked Kids From London Street View
  
  Independent (UK) | Mar 22, 09 8:49 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - As mounting privacy concerns hit Google's new Street View service in the UK, the company has removed pictures of naked children playing outdoors in London. The British government is considering launching an investigation if officials determine that Google has made other images of naked children available to internet users, reports the Independent . Google removed pictures of the toddlers after being informed of them by reporters who spotted the children after just 10 minutes of searching. More »
- Street View Catches Britons in Compromising Positions
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | Mar 20, 09 3:54 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Google has scrubbed several embarrassing photos from its Street View map feature following the rollout of the service in the UK yesterday, the Telegraph reports. Google received numerous complaints about certain snapshots, including one of a man leaving a sex shop. Google noted that Street View has tools for the removal of awkward photos, and that it had so far removed fewer images than expected. More »
- Feds Push More Truth in Advertising
  
  Advertising Age | Mar 13, 09 3:07 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Maybe Chuck Norris and Christie Brinkley did get those bods from that exercise equipment, but fears that consumers don’t really understand “results may vary” has the Federal Trade Commission looking to tighten its rules, Advertising Age reports. Advertisers would have to show that consumers would see similar results, or be forced to outline what the “generally expected performance” is. More »
- Documentarian Films Through Prosthetic Eye
  
  Associated Press | Mar 11, 09 8:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A one-eyed documentarian is planning a film on privacy shot using a camera implanted in his prosthetic organ, the AP reports. Rob Spence, who plans to become a "human surveillance machine," got the idea when he realized how small his cellphone camera was. His eye muscles will move the camera as they do his functioning eye, which he hopes will put his interview subjects more at ease. More »
- Calif. Bill Restricts Internet Maps to Foil Terrorists
  
  Associated Press | Mar 3, 09 5:37 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - A California assemblyman wants his state to force Internet mapping services to distort the images of schools, government buildings, and similar institutions because they could be terrorist targets, the AP reports. Republican Joel Anderson introduced the measure after reading that terrorists used services such as Google Earth and Microsoft's Virtual Earth to plot assaults in India and Israel. Even if a law is passed, however, enforcement could be near impossible. More »
February 2009
- Facebook: Uh, Never Mind That Last Update
  
  CNET | Feb 18, 09 6:04 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Facebook has done an about-face and withdrawn its new terms of service following a public outcry, CNET reports. The fine-print update appeared to give the site perpetual rights to users' content, prompting threats of a federal complaint from a major privacy watchdog and mass desertion from tens of thousands of users. More »
- New Facebook Fine Print Irks Users in Privacy Tug-of-War
  
  New York Times | Feb 17, 09 4:46 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - An outcry over a terms of service change has forced Facebook's founder to reassure users that they still own and control their own information, the New York Times reports. The update—which remains unchanged—removed a provision that said users could delete their content at any time, and added a clause saying users’ content would be retained even after accounts are terminated. More »
January 2009
- Juror Booted for 'Sitting in Hell' Facebook Post
  
  Cincinnati Enquirer | Jan 31, 09 3:41 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - An Ohio man inadvertently discovered a new, high-tech way to get out of jury duty: write about it on Facebook. A judge in a high-profile civil lawsuit booted Barry Price from service after the plaintiff’s attorney discovered his Facebook status: “Barry Price is sitting in hell… aka jury duty.” The defense team asked for a mistrial, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. More »
- How Not To Be a Facebook Victim
  
  Slate | Jan 4, 09 5:01 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Don't want a drunken Facebook picture to put a dent in your political career? (Listen up, Jon Favreau!) "The whole point of being young, after all, is to do stupid things, and the whole point of Facebook is to record these acts for posterity," Abbie Callard writes for Slate. But you don't have to be a casualty of your own stupidity. Here's her advice on how not to be a Facebook victim: Use a tricky name: Facebook bars you from using a false name, but a modified version of your real name (à la "J.S. McCain") makes you harder to find. Beg your friends to be discrete: "Untagging" photos will make them harder to find, but your future downfall could still be posted on your friend's page. More »
December 2008
- Status Update: Everyone Else's Life Is More Exciting
  
  Washington Post | Dec 26, 08 11:05 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Remember those holiday letters, the ones informing you of all the exciting things your friends did while you sat at home? Facebook brings you that jealousy 24/7, writes Patricia Beauchamp in the Washington Post . While she’s “wondering how much she could get for a box of gaucho pants on eBay,” her friends are skydiving, closing deals with ABC, and “packing for a trip to the international space station.” More »