Facebook has been hit with yet another suit. Facebook Inc. unlawfully tracked the internet activities of its users, the Baltimore-based Murphy, P.A. alleged in a lawsuit filed on Friday.
Facebook ignored repeated inquiries from an internet technology and security blogger who discovered that the unique identifiers Facebook uses to identify its members continued to track their internet usage even after they had logged off of Facebook.com, Murphy, P.A. alleged in the lawsuit.
Facebook’s actions were unlawful, Murphy, P.A. claimed, because the terms of use and privacy policies posted on Facebook.com advised Facebook members that their post-log-out internet activities were not tracked.
Lawsuit alleges violations of federal and state laws
According to the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by Murphy, P.A., the Baltimore-based Law Offices of Peter G. Angelos, and the San Francisco office of Girard Gibbs LLP, Facebook’s actions violated several Federal and State laws, including the Federal Wiretap Act, the California Internet Privacy Requirements Act, and the California Unfair Competition Law.
“The days when online service providers can run roughshod over the privacy rights of their customers are over,” said Murphy, P.A. Founding Partner William “Billy” Murphy, Jr.
“Companies that operate commercial websites, such as Facebook, need to realize the public is increasingly concerned about its privacy rights. Perhaps even more importantly, there is a growing community of security experts and bloggers that is extremely savvy about internet technology and committed to ensuring that people’s privacy rights are respected and protected.”
In the wake of a Stanford University researcher’s study that found Google has been violating people’s online privacy choices, Consumer Watchdog said today the Internet giant was lying to users and called for the Federal Trade Commission to act. iPhone and iPad users were targeted.
“Google has clearly engaged in ‘unfair and deceptive’ practices,” said John M. Simpson, Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy Project director. “They have been lying about how people can protect their privacy in their instructions about how to opt out of receiving targeted advertising.”
A study made public today by Jonathan Mayer of Stanford University’s Security Lab, and the Center for Internet and Society, found that Google has been circumventing a privacy setting in Apple’s Safari web browser. Like most web browsers, Safari provides the option not to receive third-party “cookies.” Cookies are small bits of code placed on the browser and can be used by ad networks to track you as you surf the web. Blocking third-party cookies is supposed to prevent such tracking.
Safari is the primary browser on the iPhone and iPad.
The Stanford study found that three other companies – Vibrant Media Inc., WPP PLC’s Media Innovation Group LLC and Gannett Co.’s PointRoll Inc. — were also circumventing the Safari privacy setting.
In a letter to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, Consumer Watchdog’s Simpson wrote:
“The Stanford study found that Google’s DoubleClick ad network was sending out software invisible to the user that circumvented the Safari setting and allowed a tracking cookie to be set. The study results were first reported in the Wall Street Journal.
“Safari users with the browser set to block third-party cookies, thought they were not being tracked. Nonetheless, because of an element invisible to the user, but designed to mimic a form, DoubleClick was able to set tracking cookies in an obvious violation of the set preference.”
“Making Google’s actions even more outrageous is false advice it gave to Safari users in describing how to permanently opt out of receiving Google’s targeted advertising.”
Google has developed a so-called browser “plugin” for Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome that makes the opt-out persistent. Google has not developed a plugin for Safari. The false advice Google gave Safari users follows:
“While we don’t yet have a Safari version of the Google advertising cookie opt-out plugin, Safari is set by default to block all third-party cookies. If you have not changed those settings, this option effectively accomplishes the same thing as setting the opt-out cookie.”
“But the advice was false. Google was lying,” wrote Simpson. “It was in fact circumventing the privacy choice and setting DoubleClick tracking cookies.”
Google’s behavior unfair and deceptive?
Clearly Google knows that it was in the wrong, Consumer Watchdog said.
“Google’s behavior is clearly “unfair and deceptive,” but more than that, it violates the ‘Buzz’ Consent Decree, which you reached with Google after it violated users’ privacy when it launched the Buzz social network. Section I begins: ‘It is ordered that respondent, in or affecting commerce, shall not misrepresent in any manner, expressly or by implication: (A) the extent to which respondent maintains and protects the privacy and confidentiality of any covered information, including, but not limited to, misrepresentations related to: 1. The purposes for which it collects and uses covered information, and (2) the extent to which consumers may exercise control over collection, use, or disclosure of covered information.’
“Google falsely told Safari users that they could control the collection of data by ensuring that third-party cookies were blocked, when in fact Google was circumventing the preference and setting tracking cookies.
“The Stanford research identified three other companies – Vibrant Media Inc., WPP PLC’s Media Innovation Group LLC and Gannett Co.’s PointRoll Inc. – that were circumventing Safari privacy preferences. They should be closely investigated as well. However, given Google’s dominance of online and mobile advertising and the fact that the company’s actions flagrantly violate its consent agreement with the Commission, I call on you to focus immediate attention on the Internet giant.”
More than 70 Web firms urged the U.S. Congress to step back, take a breath and reassess its approach to crafting new intellectual property laws.
The firms, including Mozilla, WordPress, Reddit, Startup Weekend, Cheezburger Network, O’Reilly Media and Twitpic, say that, “ align ourselves with the more than 14 million Americans who joinedus in opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA).Together we participated in the largest online protest in American history (currently estimated atmore than 115,000 websites) because we believe these bills would have been harmful to freespeech, innovation, cyber security, and job creation.”
It adds, “Now is the time for Congress to take a breath, step back, and approach the issues from a freshperspective. ”
Perhaps the key point the firms make is that, “Finally, any future debates concerning intellectual property law in regards to the Internet must avoid taking a narrow, single-industry perspective.”
The SOPA and PITA laws came on the heels of powerful lobbying efforts by the movie and music industries as attempts to stop piracy. The bills were widely seen as over-reaching and full of potential for abuse that could comprise the Internet.
A massive online reaction by Web companies, the social media sphere and freedom of information advocates halted progress of the bills, at least temporarily.
Facebook is expected to file for a $5 billion (or more) IPO this week, reports saying sometime today (Wednesday, Feb. 1). Here a Forbes video rundown on the possibility of the most anticipated IPO of the year and likely to be one of the largest in history:
AOL sees 10 percent gains in ad revenue
Is AOL finally on the right track? The one-time major force in the Internet world has had a rough time for years now. CEO Tim Armstrong’s strategy of making it a media powerhouse with ad revenue replacing its once lucrative Internet access business.
The company reported a Q4 2011 increase in ad revenue of 10 percent, primarily from gains provided by Patch, it’s local news blog effort. Still, the company saw its overall revenue drop 3 percent to $576.8 million, from $596 million in the same period last year.
It’s big acquisitions have not fared so well. It’s $315 million acquisition of The Huffington Post and $25 million TechCrunch buy have not proved all that wise so far. After TechCrunch’s founder Michael Arrington and some of its top talent departed, the site lost much of its bite and luster, it seems to us. Huffington Post has serious competition from The Daily Beast, which we like better, personally.
An old law, the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), prohibits companies like Netflix or Blockbuster from sharing a person’s movie-rental history. Although the House passed an updated version of VPPA, some Senate Democrats are balking at allowing streaming media services such as Netflix to share user rental histories on social media such as Facebook.
Those questioning the wisdom of passing the updated House bill include Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who also authored the 1988 VPPA act and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) that drew enough protests to halt its progress. Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) chair of the subcommittee hearing considering the revised House bill, questioned the bill’s clarity.
From some of the things we’ve read that Sen. Leahy has said in regard to the SOPA and PITA acts, we’re not sure he doesn’t need a remedial course in digital technologies and the Internet economy.
You can hear Marc Randolph, co-founder of Netflix, in person at the upcoming 2012 Southeast Venture Conference in Tysons Corner, VA, Feb. 29-March 1.
The tech and Internet communities have mounted a campaign to prevent passage of the SOPA bill.
On Wed., Jan. 18th the Internet stood up against two censorship bills pending in Congress. In the largest social declaration in history, millions of people and tens of thousands of websites boycotted or blacked out as a demonstration of U.S. gov’t sanctioned censorship. Today, both SOPA and PIPA are tabled.
Recounting the day in blackouts and tweets, Frugaldad’s new graphic, “The Day the Internet Stood Still” explains how this protest, the largest in history, signals social media as more than a forum to discuss Bieber’s new tattoo—it’s the last best place to mobilize media users.
For their part, sites like Wikipedia and Tumblr enabled emails and calls by blacking out content pages and replacing them with links to contact representatives. No day in Congressional history saw such an onslaught of contact.
Wikipedia’s black banners were viewed 160 million times. Their protest brought three times more curious visitors than normal. With over 3 million emails sent on Wednesday alone, Congressional rep. contact links were down due to traffic. And with over 400,000 phone calls to Congress, each representative received an average of 919 calls.
If passed, SOPA and PIPA would place full copyright burden on websites. This means major content hosts–sites like Wikipedia, Facebook and Twitter–could face infringement charges and government shut down. Internet users owe the unpopularity and tabling of these censorship bills to the very social media platforms they endanger.
Congress apparently pays some attention when Wikipedia goes dark and Internet powerhouses from Google to Boing Boing go dark to protest its ill-conceived attempt to control digital piracy with bills that widely overshot their mark and included vague language that could have disrupted the Web.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Friday morning that he was postponing a vote scheduled Tuesday on the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) and House Judiciary Committee Chair Lamar Smith said he would not seek a vote on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) until “there is wider agreement on a solution.”
Thousands of Web sites went dark this week to protest the proposed legislation. Many sponsors of the bills withdrew their support as the Internet rallied opposition.
The bills, as written, would give the government and corporations what many critics say are broad powers to shut down Web sites they say are involved in copyright infringement – without the need so much as a court hearing.
We earn a living via copyright, so we’re in favor of protecting intellectual property rights, but not with draconian measures such as these.
Actually, however, we may need to completely reconsider just how we do want to regulate intellectual property in the Internet age.
Fortune said, “Everything was up at Google last year revenue, profits, share price, paid search clicks, hiring,” and “employee love.”
Boston Consulting Group claimed the number 2 spot on Fortune’s list, while SAS Institute slipped to third.
Facebook adds Timeline apps
Facebook has released more than 60 new apps to help members share more of their lives on its Timeline.
They range from apps that assist users in “telling their story,” whether it’s about cooking, travel, movies, or going for a run.
“Apps bring your Timeline to life,” the social network says.
“Once you’ve added an app, you can begin updating your timeline with your activities as they happen. For example, if you love design, shopping or fashion, you can add the Pinterest or Pose apps to make your favorite items part of your timeline,” it adds in a blog entry.
“If you love to cook, you can add the Foodily app to your timeline and share your latest dishes. If your friends have added the Foodily app, you can discover new recipes with each other, as you’ll see their updates in the ticker and their timeline, and possibly News Feed.”
The apps include Rotten Tomato (movie reviews), Pinterest, a virtual pinboard where people can pin things they collect online, and more. Facebook says developers will create thousands more in coming months. Just what we need, more ways to lose hours to Facebook, huh?
Personally, we’re not so crazy about Facebook’s whole Timeline thing, but some users seem to love it.
GPS industry rigs evidence, Lightsquared says
Gigaom.com reports that LightSquared has accused the commercial GPS industry of “rigging” government tests on potential GPS interference from Lightsquared’s proposed nationwide LTE network.
The National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Executive Committee, or PNT-ExComm decided last week that Lightsquared could not build such a national network without interfering with GPS navigation devices.
LIghtsquared believes their are serious flaws in PNT-ExComm’s test process and is calling on the agency to conduct a new round of testing.
Lightsquared needs FCC approval to build its network, but the approval depends on the firm’s ability to show the LTE network will not overpower GPS signals.
The tech and Internet communities have mounted a campaign to prevent passage of the SOPA bill.
U.S. Representative Lamar Smith, (R-Texas) told Reuters Thursday that opposition to the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) has not deterred his determination to get the bill passed.
SOPA, widely opposed in the tech and Internet communities, faces a hearing in the House Jan. 18, when a group of security and tech experts will testify. Numerous large Internet sites and blogs plan a blackout the day of the hearings to increase awareness of the bill’s potential disruption of the Internet.
While intended to prevent rampant piracy and backed by the film and music industries, the bill is vaguely written. It is supposed to apply to foreign sites only, but its provisions, criticized by many, could allow copyright holders to have sites with alleged copyright violations blocked by ISPs, removed from search engines, or prevented from doing business via PayPal or other online payment services.
The bill has no protections against false accusations of copyright violation.
Boing Boing’s Cory Doctorow argues that the bill reflects ignorance on the part of lawmakers as to how the Internet actually works. — Allan Maurer
Business Insurance.org created this infographic on what the SOPA bill could do to business and innovation:
In their Backstories blog this week, HighBeam Research, part of Cengage Learning, named their top 10 blogs in five research categories: medical, legal, education, technology and current events. Backstoriesis the go-to resource guide featuring in-depth information for writers, academics and anyone seeking the history and trends behind breaking news.
“There are so many outstanding research blogs that our staff had quite a challenge and a lot of fun coming up with these lists of our favorites,” says Matt McCloskey, Marketing Director of HighBeam Research.
“In the end, we chose blogs that have a fresh perspective on their topic and offer deep insight and analysis. The list varies from very well-known blogs that are already go-to guides in their field and some that we feel have the potential for growth.”
The lists of the top 10 blogs in each category can be found in Backstories at the following posts:
Our only quibble is that they should include the TechJournal.
As mentioned in Backstories’ education research blog post, “When looking for understanding and information, most people turn first to the Internet, and in return, people with information are sharing it via online sites and blogs.” Sharing these top blogs offers the perfect opportunity to build on HighBeam Research’s primary objective.
Patent for using a laser pointer to play with a cat.
Some silly things get patented, such as the method patent issued for using a laser pointer to play with your cat. But in recent years, questions have been raised as to whether companies should be able to patent software and certain technological methods of doing things.
The whole open source software movement, which brought us Linux and spawned Red Hat, among many other firms, has been one result of questioning the value of software patents.
Patent trolls, firms that create nothing but buy patents solely to seek license fees from other companies are also a growing problem.
On the other hand, obtaining patent protection for innovations is one way both start-up companies and established ones build value.
Frugal Dad, a web site that offers insights on money, careers and coupons, created this infographic to highlight the “Problem with Patents.”
Facebook has been hit with yet another suit. Facebook Inc. unlawfully tracked the internet activities of its users, the Baltimore-based Murphy, P.A. alleged in a lawsuit filed on Friday.
In the wake of a Stanford University researcher’s study that found Google has been violating people’s online privacy choices, Consumer Watchdog said today the Internet giant was lying to users and called for the Federal Trade Commission to act. iPhone and iPad users were targeted.
“Safari users with the browser set to block third-party cookies, thought they were not being tracked. Nonetheless, because of an element invisible to the user, but designed to mimic a form, DoubleClick was able to set tracking cookies in an obvious violation of the set preference.”
Clearly Google knows that it was in the wrong, Consumer Watchdog said.
More than 70 Web firms 
Facebook is expected to file for a $5 billion (or more) IPO this week, reports saying sometime today (Wednesday, Feb. 1). Here a Forbes video rundown on the possibility of the most anticipated IPO of the year and likely to be one of the largest in history:
Google is the best company to work in 2012, displacing Cary, NC-based SAS, 
