rights

Consequences? Bah. Foxconn report shows no sign, critics say

The Fair Labor Association's scathing report of workplace abuses at three Chinese factories of Apple-supplier Foxconn was met with some skepticism by at least one labor-rights watchdog.

The violations in wages and overtime are hardly new, nor are they surprising. After all, Apple itself has documented many of these problems for years on its Supplier Responsibility Web site.

Much of the new report (PDF) acknowledges what's already known -- that workers at three Foxconn factories put in excessive overtime and get paid wages that don't often cover basic needs. But the report lays out no consequences for … Read more

Boston admits it: Cell phone photography is not a crime

The City of Boston tacitly acknowledged today that arresting a man for recording a police officer in public may not exactly have been the wisest -- or most constitutional -- choice.

That acknowledgement comes in the form of a $170,000 payment to Simon Glik, a Boston attorney who was prosecuted under criminal wiretap laws for using his cell phone to record police arresting someone on the Boston Common. They prosecuted the wrong fellow: Glik himself specializes in criminal defense.

A spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department told CNET this afternoon that the city has taken steps to ensure arrests-for-recording … Read more

Facebook users beware: Don't use the word 'Book'

Individual privacy is a hot topic in the social-networking world right now. But have people thought about privacy of the companies, such as protection of their brand, logo, and trademarks?

This is something Facebook is looking into. In the recent revisions (PDF) of its Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, the social-networking site is now saying that account holders "will not use" the word "Book."

That's right, Facebook is trying to trademark the word "Book."

If these revisions are approved, when users sign onto Facebook they will be agreeing not to use that word … Read more

CNET Roadside Assistance 47: All you need is Bluetooth (podcast)

Android in the dash remains a hot question (while many of you wait for iDash!) and so is the kind of fuel that goes in your car. Let's sort this out once and for all.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 47 SHOW NOTES

In the world of Big Data, privacy invasion is the business model

Recent weeks have seen a lot of (overdue) talk about privacy and technology. There was the flap over Path and other mobile apps uploading your phone's address books to their servers without your permission. A follow-up story noted apps might be able to slurp up photos and their location data on iOS, too.

There was the discovery that Google overrode some cookie settings in Safari in order to track users for ad serving. And Congress is still figuring out a response to last fall's concerns over software on phones that could share your location or other data without … Read more

China occupies Obama's Google+ page

President Barack Obama's Google+ page was inundated with Chinese comments over the weekend with messages saying, "Mr. President, Please pay more attention to Chinese civil rights," "I want a Green Card," and "the Chinese GOV doesn't represent the Chinese people."

This barrage comes as Chinese citizens caught onto a glitch that allowed them temporary access to the Google+ social-networking site, according to Reuters. Now, each of Obama's posts--going back more than a month--has hundreds of Chinese comments.

China is well known for Internet censorship. Even though the amount of Web users … Read more

Has Apple's iBooks Fair Play DRM been cracked?

When users purchase digital books through the iBookstore for their iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch, those files are only able to be played on iOS devices. That's because everything sold through the iBookstore has Apple's Fair Play digital rights management (DRM) software protecting it.

Now it appears, much to the chagrin of e-authors and digital book publishers, Apple's DRM has been cracked. The news comes from a forum post on MobileRead by user pdurrant:

"It is now possible to remove the DRM from epub ebooks bought in Apple's iBooks store. 'Brahms' has recently released a … Read more

Friday Poll: Will the Privacy Bill of Rights matter?

I have this strange feeling that I'm being watched. Gmail is hinting in an ad that I should consider self-publishing that novel I'm working on. Thesaurus.com seems to know exactly which jackets I looked at recently on Backcountry.com.

The Obama administration's recently unveiled Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights is supposed to tip the balance of power back to Web users. It gives them the right to control what data is collected, how it is used and shared, and to have that data secured. Enforcement information, however, is still sketchy.

The document is expected to be used as the basis for new privacy legislation.

Online privacy is a sizzling topic in light of Facebook privacy missteps, Google's consolidation of privacy policies, and sneaky data collection by mobile apps. … Read more

Consumer groups encouraged by 'Consumer Bill of Rights'

Consumer advocates say the Obama administration's blueprint for protecting consumers' privacy online is a good first step, but they will be watching closely to see how it's implemented.

The White House and the Federal Trade Communications today unveiled the "Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights," which will serve as a policy outline for future legislation and public policy that will work to protect consumers' privacy while online from a computer or mobile phone.

The administration also worked with online advertising associations, such as the Digital Advertising Alliance and others, to revive "Do Not Track" technology … Read more