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 Data Security

Google, Goldilocks and online privacy

January 18, 2012

To be surprised at Google for launching a broad-reaching campaign touting its privacy is weird.
 

Zappos data breach exposes names, email addresses

January 16, 2012

A criminal accessed Zappos consumer account information, the online retailer said in a Jan. 15 blog post.
 

Upromise settles with FTC over data collection charges

January 06, 2012

Upromise agreed to settle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over charges that the Sallie Mae-owned rewards program collected consumers' personal information "without adequately disclosing the extent of the information it is collecting," the federal agency said on Jan. 5.
 

Facebook settles with FTC over privacy violations

November 29, 2011

Facebook agreed to settle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Nov. 29 over charges that it violated the Federal Trade Commission Act by making public to advertisers consumers' private information.
 

DAA expands data collection principles

November 08, 2011

The Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) debuted a set of principles on Nov. 7 that would extend the organization's governance beyond data collected to target online behavioral ads (OBA) to include any online behavioral data collected from a unique computer or device across non-affiliated sites.
 

Study: Consumers most willing to share shopping data with brands

October 18, 2011

Consumers are most willing to share shopping data with brands online, according to a study released by agency network McCann Worldgroup's McCann Truth Central on Oct. 18.
 

Senate bills would require data-breach notification

July 29, 2011

Companies that suffer a data breach would be required to notify the federal government, law enforcement and consumers if a bill introduced this week by US Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) is signed into law.
 

Consumers unaware of industry self-regulatory program: survey

July 25, 2011

Although 70% of consumers are aware of online behavioral advertising (OBA), only 5% recognize the Digital Advertising Alliance's "Advertising Option" icon, according to a study from online security firm TRUSTe.
 

Epsilon beefs up email security 92 days after data breach

June 29, 2011

Marketing services firm Epsilon has added new security enhancements to its email marketing platform in collaboration with Verizon Business, Epsilon president and CEO Bryan Kennedy told Direct Marketing News on June 28. The new features include enhanced protection for Epsilon's information technology (IT) infrastructure and the ability to track malicious IP addresses.
 

GroupM develops mobile privacy guidelines

June 22, 2011

Media agency GroupM has issued privacy guidelines for mobile marketing vendors aimed at preventing the need for government regulation, the firm said June 22. WPP Group-owned Group M developed the guidelines with its mobile marketing agency Joule.
 

Behavioral marketing has benefits, McCaskill tells Senate colleagues

May 19, 2011

Behavioral marketing provides value to consumers, said US Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) during a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing on May 19. McCaskill's opinion contrasted with those of her upper chamber colleagues, who spent much of the mobile privacy hearing discussing location tracking.
 

Industry must let consumers opt-out of tracking, secondary use of data: FTC director

May 16, 2011

An industry-developed universal Do Not Track mechanism must allow consumers to opt-out from targeted ads and data collection, as well as enforce their preferences, said David Vladeck, director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection.
 

Markey, Barton introduce anti-children's data collection bill in House

May 13, 2011

US Reps. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas) introduced an amendment to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act on May 13 that would prevent companies from collecting minors' personal information for targeted marketing. The Do Not Track Kids Act of 2011 would also regulate data collection on mobile devices and online services directed at children.
 

Chrysler rolls out behavioral tracking opt-out program

May 13, 2011

Chrysler Group has attached online behavioral tracking opt-out technology to its online ads and to advertisements running on its brand sites, the company said May 13. The car manufacturer partnered with Evidon, its online behavioral advertising compliance provider, on the program.
 

Disney subsidiary Playdom agrees to $3M FTC children's online privacy settlement

May 13, 2011

Playdom, a Disney Enterprises subsidiary, has agreed to pay $3 million to settle Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charges that it violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The alleged violations included illegally collecting and disclosing personal information from more than 1.2 million children under age 13 without parental consent, the FTC said this week.
 

Amazon CEO: Data security issues won't go away

May 11, 2011

Companies should plan to deal with data security issues for the long haul, said Jeff Bezos, chairman, president and CEO of Amazon.com on May 11 at ShopSmart magazine's Summit on Tips, Scams & Deals. He added that companies need to be "straightforward" with consumers when collecting data for making product recommendations.
 

Rockefeller to introduce Do Not Track bill in Senate

May 06, 2011

US Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.) will introduce a Do Not Track bill next week that would require companies to abide the choice of consumers who opt out of online behavioral tracking.
 

Sony database breach exceeds 100 million customers

May 04, 2011

An ongoing Sony Corporation investigation into the April database breach of Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) systems revealed hackers may have accessed the personal information of an additional 24.6 million customers, the company said in a statement May 3.
 

Apple says it's not tracking customers' locations

April 27, 2011

Apple said April 27 that it has never tracked iPhone users' locations and dismissed the possibility of doing so in the future. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company said that although it does not monitor devices' locations, it does so in relation to nearby Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers "which may be located more than 100 miles away from your iPhone." The company said the monitoring is "anonymous and encrypted" and used to calculate a device's location through GPS systems.
 

Privacy is consumers' top mobile app concern: survey

April 27, 2011

Privacy is consumers' top concern when using mobile applications, according to a survey by online security firm TRUSTe released April 27. Nearly four in 10 consumers (38%) identified privacy as their top concern, and more than half (56%) said the issue is one of their foremost concerns, according to the online survey of 1,000 consumers conducted in February by research company Harris Interactive.
 

Tracked by your mobile

April 22, 2011

Apple is storing a detailed - unencrypted - summary of where its iPhone and iPads travel, according to a study released this week.
 

The Children's Place database hacked; email addresses exposed

April 21, 2011

Retail store chain The Children's Place is notifying customers that an unauthorized third party accessed its email address database. The company said in a statement that no personal information, other than email addresses, was obtained, and that the data was stored with an external email service provider.
 

NFC: White whale or silver bullet?

April 18, 2011

I have this white whale story, a piece I'm looking to write but currently lacks source material. It's about near-field communication (NFC). Much of the buzz surrounding the touch-to-transfer technology centers on mobile payments. I'm sure that will be a big deal, but my reaction is more "eh." The game-changer will be its marketing capabilities.
 

Apple's Safari browser boasts anti-tracking tool

April 14, 2011

Apple will include a feature in an upcoming version of its Safari Web browser that will allow consumers to ask websites not to track their online behavior, according to published reports. The tool will reportedly be included in a developer release of the operating system Apple will debut this summer.
 

Reduce risk of email data breach

Steve Webster, chief strategy officer and cofounder, iPost April 12, 2011

The recent headlines about email data breaches have rightly caused all of us to review our security procedures and policies. No system is perfectly secure, but there are steps to take in order to avoid a breach.
 

Kerry, McCain-sponsored privacy 'bill of rights' introduced in Senate

April 12, 2011

US Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced federal privacy legislation on April 12 that would require companies to provide consumers with opt-out mechanisms and to notify consumers of the collection and use of personally identifiable information (PII) both online and offline. However, the Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights Act of 2011 does not include a Do Not Track provision.
 

TRUSTe launches consumer privacy program

April 04, 2011

Online security firm TRUSTe launched the "TRUSTed Data Collection" privacy program on April 4. The initiative ensures that certified third-party companies collecting consumer information online are transparent about their practices, provide consumers the choice to opt-out, and abide the customer's choice.
 

Google settles FTC privacy charge

March 30, 2011

Google settled Federal Trade Commission charges on March 30 that it violated consumers' privacy, as well as its own policies, when it launched social network Google Buzz in February 2010. The FTC had charged Google with violating the Federal Trade Commission Act by using Gmail customers' information for Google Buzz without their consent, according to the FTC.
 

Ad industry leaders uncertain how to move forward on Do Not Track

March 16, 2011

Mozilla's chief executive painted a picture of dismissive and clueless ad industry CEOs, uncertain about how to move forward on consumer privacy issues, in a series of media interviews published this week.
 

Microsoft debuts Internet Explorer 9, featuring privacy enhancements

March 15, 2011

Microsoft launched Internet Explorer 9, which allows consumers to block websites' ability to collect data without their knowledge or consent, on March 15. Consumers can also enable a "tracking protection list," which catalogs websites that will be prevented from monitoring the user's online behavior.