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Tech

Path came under fire this week when it was discovered that its iPhone app uploads user address book data without notification. In a blog post Wednesday, Path CEO Dave Morin apologized, introduced a revised app, and said the company has erased the data from its servers. Read More »

Path and Pinterest are getting some significant backlash because of recent decisions that appeared to put their interests ahead of their users and a lack of disclosure about that behavior. It’s a welcome reminder that the trust of users is not something to be taken lightly. Read More »

 
 

Rightly or wrongly, Facebook catches a lot of flak for impeding on privacy by selling user information to advertisers and generally enabling too much sharing. But would users care so much if Facebook gave them a cut of the profits it generates by selling their data?… Read More »

In the fight to determine who dictates web privacy, web users are like a a chew toy at risk of being torn asunder by two competing dogs — played this week by Google and the European Union. But the best option is empower consumers themselves. Read More »

Is Google’s new privacy policy another sign it has broken its promise and is becoming more evil? Or is the fuss over the new version — which will allow the search giant to share data among its various services — a tempest in a privacy teapot? Read More »

Google announced a new privacy policy and new terms of service that eliminate some 60-odd disparate policies across its myriad services. But fewer separate policies also means less privacy for some as Google finally delivers on its vision of a unified platform. Read More »

The impending SOPA and PIPA bills have the Internet in a tizzy, but Congress has a lot more to think about than just intellectual property. The issues at play in the SOPA debate have broad effects that span everything from the digital divide to international commerce. Read More »

After much deliberation, Spain’s Sinde Law — an antipiracy initiative similar to America’s proposed SOPA legislation — has passed. But it is not entering the statute books without controversy over its reach, remit and the threats made by the U.S. government to force it through. Read More »

PlaceIQ, a Boulder Colo. location startup, just raised $4.2 million to build up its index of location profiles that can be used to better anonymously target ads to mobile users.The company is relocating to New York City, to be closer to customers and partners. Read More »

Carrier IQ has become the target of public outrage, but a new study finds that the condemnation of Carrier IQ might be misplaced. The Yankee Group discovered a majority of consumers want their operators to access the very information that Carrier IQ is tracking. Read More »

Got Facebook privacy worries? You may be in the minority. Seventy percent of Facebook users polled in a recent survey said they were comfortable with the personal information they have on the site. Younger people were more OK with their data on Facebook than older people. Read More »

What exactly is Carrier IQ doing with your smartphone data? It claims that only its selling network performance metrics to operators. But relationships it has with media analytics firms and handset makers imply otherwise. With 150 million smartphones tracked Carrier IQ has big data goldmine. Read More »

More Must Reads

Wikileaks today released a database of tech providers that are involved in government tracking around the globe and quite a few familiar names are on the list, including Alcatel Lucent, Nokia and Cisco. Called The Spy Files, the project includes 287 records. Read More »

Carrier IQ is feeding Sprint generalized data about how its customers’ smartphones perform on its network, Sprint has confirmed, but it said it does not snoop into the private contents of those phones. Sprint claims its using that information primarily to optimize its network. Read More »

Verizon Wireless, the country’s largest mobile operator and Android device seller, does not install Carrier IQ’s keystroke-sniffing software in any of its phones and doesn’t use the now-controversial company’s data in way, company officials said. Now we wait for the other operators to sound off. Read More »

Facebook has settled with the Federal Trade Commission over allegations that it has been deceptive about the amount of privacy users have on the social networking site. The company has also given two executives the title of “Chief Privacy Officer” to oversee its privacy commitments. Read More »

Reports this weekend suggest that Facebook is about to face a new crackdown from European authorities over the way it collects data on users — but closer inspection suggests that it is just the latest episode in an ongoing struggle between EU officials and technology companies. Read More »

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