February 2012

California Attorney General Reaches Deal on App Privacy

California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) announced an agreement with Amazon, Apple, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and Research in Motion to strengthen privacy protections for smartphone owners who download mobile applications.

The agreement will force developers to post conspicuous privacy policies detailing what personal information they plan to obtain and how they will use it. It also compels app store providers like Apple and Google to offer ways for users to report apps that do not comply. In a statement, the attorney general’s office said developers who did not abide by their own privacy policies would face prosecution under California’s Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law. “Your personal privacy should not be the cost of using mobile apps, but all too often it is,” AG Harris said. Under the agreement, consumers will be able to review an app’s privacy policy, which will appear in a consistent location on the download screen, before they download it. Developers who do not comply can be prosecuted. Technology firms, as part of the agreement, said they would educate app developers about consumer privacy and “disclose to consumers what private information they collect, how they use the information and with whom they share it.” The tech firms also committed to creating online tools making it easier for consumers to report apps that are not compliant with state law.

State attorneys general: Google privacy changes appear to harm consumers

Dozens of state attorneys general wrote Google’s chief executive to express “strong concerns” that the company’s new privacy policies starting next week will violate consumer privacy.

In a letter to CEO Larry Page, the state attorneys general said the plan to begin sharing consumer data across Google’s services on March 1 “forces these consumers to allow information across all of these products to be shared, without giving them the proper ability to opt out.” The law enforcement officials said users may want to keep their Web searching history separate from information they get from Gmail or YouTube. But for users signed on to those services, that data will be blended by the search giant to serve up ads better tailored to users preferences. “It rings hollow to call their ability to exit the Google products ecosystem a ‘choice’ in an Internet economy where the clear majority of all Internet users use — and frequently rely on — at least one Google product on a regular basis,” the state attorneys general wrote to Page. And they said the costs to switch e-mail and document applications could be enormous for businesses and government offices that use Google apps.

They requested a meeting with Page to explain the privacy policies and an answer to their letter by Feb. 29. The letter was signed by, among others, Maryland attorney general Douglas Gansler, California’s Kamala Harris and New York’s Eric Schneiderman.

FCC chief calls for industry to boost cybersecurity

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski called for technology companies to adopt new standards to protect consumers from hackers and spammers.

His proposals focused on voluntary commitments from the private sector rather than government mandates. He emphasized that any cybersecurity measures must protect privacy and the "openness of the Internet." One cybersecurity threat he focused on is the use of "botnets," networks of computers that hackers take over and can use to spam consumers or take down websites. Hacker group Anonymous has used botnets to crash the sites of the Justice Department, the CIA and others. Chairman Genachowski urged Internet service providers to educate their consumers about botnets and help them detect when their computer has been infected.

Google Seeks Approval for Kansas City Video Service

Google filed an application last week to provide video service to residents of Kansas City (MO), according to state records, setting the stage for the Web giant to offer a cable-TV-like package in addition to the high-speed Internet service it plans to market there later this year.

The video service, if approved, would thrust Google into closer competition with satellite and cable companies that already sell pay-TV service in Kansas City. Google's video application is being reviewed by the Missouri Public Service Commission. Google could launch its TV service as soon as a month or two from now, according to a media executive currently involved in negotiations to license channels to the service. The service would offer subscribers live TV, as well as on-demand and online access to TV channels, similar to services from major cable operators, this person said. While the plan for now is restricted to Kansas City, this person said Google had discussed expanding it to other markets that Verizon Communications Inc. hasn't entered with its fiber-optic TV service, dubbed FiOS. It remains unclear whether Google intends to do so, but it would have that right under at least some of the deals it is currently negotiating with TV channels, this person said.

iPad trademark dispute shows troubles of doing business in China

To most global consumers, the iPad is practically synonymous with American electronics titan Apple. But one debt-ridden company in China, Proview, is alleging that it is the rightful owner of the trademark for the name of one of Apple’s signature devices.

The claim has resulted in government officials yanking the tablet from store shelves in some Chinese cities, despite high demand for the product. It’s a strange twist on a pervasive problem: American and other global firms often accuse Chinese entities of unfairly copying their intellectual property, but now a Chinese company is pointing a finger at a U.S. corporation in a copyright dispute. And a lower Chinese court has ruled in Proview’s favor, although Apple produced documents that it claims prove the company legally bought the iPad trademark in 2009. The legal clash illustrates why it can be difficult for U.S. companies to do business in China.

Injured iPhone workers to petition Apple at shareholder meeting

Shareholder meetings in normal circumstances are rather boring affairs for those not interested in the nuances of corporate governance. But when Apple holds its annual meeting, there will be issues besides election of board members and potential dividends on people’s minds. Two former iPhone factory workers in China, who were critically injured at Apple supplier Wintek’s plant in 2009, are looking to take advantage of Apple’s yearly meeting by attracting attention to the conditions at factories where Apple’s most important products are assembled. SumOfUs.org is distributing a petition from Gou Rui-qiang and Jia Jing-chuan, both of whom suffered nerve damage from using n-hexane, a toxic chemical, to clean iPhone screens at the factory. One hundred and thirty-five of their colleagues also reported being sickened. Apple no longer allows the chemical to be used, and Wintek reportedly compensated some of the medical treatment, but Gou and Jia want Apple to pay up.

AFL-CIO takes aim at Apple with petition

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka asked activists to sign a petition to tell Apple CEO Tim Cook "to ensure that people integral to Apple’s success — workers who manufacture Apple’s electronics — are treated fairly."

"Apple is under intense scrutiny right now. But rather than deal with that by genuinely addressing the problems in its supply chain, we believe the company is trying to stop the outcry by brushing its problems under the rug," Trumka writes. Trumka, who called his own iPhone "an incredible piece of machinery," said expected Fair Labor Association (FLA) audits won’t go far enough. "We call on Apple to immediately allow genuine unions, with truly independent factory inspections and worker trainings. Trying to brush this under the rug — or hide behind a front group like the FLA — only will make Apple’s PR problems worse," Trumka wrote.

Senators Back FCC Proposal to Put Political Files Online

In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, eight Democratic senators, led by Sen Jeff Merkley (D-OR), expressed their support for the FCC's proposal to require broadcast stations to put their political files online. While legislators often frame their advice as general suggestions, the senators were emphatic in their call to action.

"We urge you to implement these proposed rule changes as soon as possible," they wrote, pointing out the 2012 election season was already underway. "The online posting of information in broadcast stations' political file cannot wait until months after the election," they wrote. "Citizens deserve to know who is responsible for funding these advertisements today." The senators -- including Al Franken (D-MN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Mark Begich (D-Alaska) -- said they wanted the FCC to find a way to do it that would not be a cost burden on broadcasters, especially smaller ones -- broadcasters have also argued it is a major reporting burden. But they want the FCC to make the files accessible ASAP, something unlikely given that even if the FCC did decide to it, they would have to first vote, then have the paperwork collection -- or electronic paperwork, as it were -- portion vetted by OMB per the paperwork reduction act, which can take months.

Rise in identity fraud tied to smartphone use

Nearly 12 million Americans were victims of identity theft in 2011, an increase of 13 percent over 2010, according to a report released by the research firm Javelin Strategy & Research.

The rise in the use of smartphones and social media by incautious consumers fueled the increase in identity fraud, and 2011 was a year of several big data breaches too, Javelin said. With the rise in credit card monitoring and more sophisticated policing by credit card companies, identity thieves are increasingly targeting users of smartphones and social media, where consumers have a tendency to be less cautious, experts say.

Senators Call For Less Waste In Federal IT Investments

Members of Congress are pointing to duplicative investments in federal information technology as an area where the government can cut wasteful spending.

"Federal IT programs have been plagued with cost overruns, program failures, and duplication. Taxpayers should not have to pay for federal IT projects twice," said Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Ranking Member Susan Collins (R- Maine). She pointed to a Government Accountability Office report released on Feb 17 that described $1.2 billion in duplicative spending on IT systems at the departments of Energy and Defense. That amount was found in the watchdog's review of only 11 percent of all federal IT investments. Sen Collins and Homeland Security and Government Affairs Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Scott Brown (R-MA) have introduced a bill to increase transparency and accountability in the federal IT projects.

Benton

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