It'd be an exaggeration to say that tech companies are falling over themselves to protect our privacy, but you might say that it's becoming a "social norm" for US businesses. At least, that's what the New York Times reports, and that must be at least a sign that it's true because it's far from normative for newspapers to report good news. As evidence, the Times cites a Microsoft executive saying … [Read more...] about Companies competing to protect our privacy?
Privacy
Why we do ‘let our guard down’: Online privacy
We care about our online privacy, but we also like convenience a whole lot. And not only convenience, but often a good deal or discount beats out any worry about data security. What do deals and convenience have to do with privacy? A whole lot. An article by Somini Sengupta at the New York Times is all about what is new about "letting our guard down," as I touched on yesterday. Why we (and our … [Read more...] about Why we do ‘let our guard down’: Online privacy
So we’ve all ‘let our guard down’?
It's interesting that Daily Beast writer Caitlin Dixon precedes her question "When did we let our guard down?" with the story of sleeping on strangers' couch in Italy after finding them in a couch-surfing site. Yes, she let her guard down (but the people were great hosts). What's interesting, though, is that she compared couch-surfing to connecting with people online. One could argue – and I've … [Read more...] about So we’ve all ‘let our guard down’?
PS4, gaming & the new privacy reality
One thing we all need to teach our kids now is that the privacy spectrum we really need to be aware of isn't so much private-to-public as private-to-convenient – or, from kids' perspective, private-to-social (or just to-spontaneous-&-fun). The more convenience we want (e.g., not bothering with password-protecting our phones or giving services all kinds of access to our movements so they can … [Read more...] about PS4, gaming & the new privacy reality
FTC on mobile privacy: Now offering ‘guidance-plus’
The overall message from the Federal Trade Commission to mobile app developers has moved from guidance to what I'd call guidance+. The guidance appears to be growing teeth. The commission, which enforces COPPA (the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act), reached a settlement with Path, a social network site and mobile app that agreed to pay an $800,000 penalty in response to the FTC's charges … [Read more...] about FTC on mobile privacy: Now offering ‘guidance-plus’