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The Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a lawsuit today against the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in an attempt to force it to prevent Google from implementing planned changes to the company's privacy policy.

The privacy group filed a complaint (PDF) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia requesting a preliminary injunction against the new rules, which are set to go into effect on March 1.

Google announced last month that it would rewrite its privacy policy to grant it explicit rights to "combine personal information" across multiple products and services. Google's … Read more

The Electronic Privacy Information Center today asked regulators to look into whether Google's new Search Plus feature violates federal antitrust rules and poses consumer privacy concerns.

"We asked the FTC, as part of its current investigation of possible antitrust violations, to assess whether the changes in Google Search also constitute an antitrust violation, and also whether the changes in Google Search violate the consent order Google recently signed with the Federal Trade Commission" related to how Google Buzz was launched, EPIC Executive Director Marc Rotenberg said in a conference call today.

For EPIC, it's a bit … Read more

Facebook today announced plans to change parts of its service in Europe following an audit by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC).

In a blog post this morning, the company said that the three-month audit by the DPC resulted in a close look at the company's various privacy features, some of which will be adjusted to better comply with the report's findings.

"We are pleased that following three months of rigorous examination, the DPC report demonstrates how Facebook adheres to European data protection principles and complies with Irish law," said Richard Allan, Facebook's EMEA's … Read more

Two prominent members of the Senate antitrust subcommittee are urging federal regulators to investigate whether Google unfairly promotes its own properties in search results.

Committee Chairman Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) sent a five-page letter (PDF) today to Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jonathan Leibowitz calling for "serious scrutiny" of Google's business practices.

"We believe these allegations regarding Google's search engine practices raise important competition issues," wrote Kohl and Lee, whose committee is already investigating whether Google abuses its power in online search. "We are committed to ensuring that consumers benefit from … Read more

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is investigating allegations that Carrier IQ software is being used by operators to track cell phone activity without user permission, The Washington Post reported today citing anonymous officials.

Andrew Coward, vice president of marketing at Carrier IQ, told CNET he could not say whether there was an official investigation or not but said he spent Monday and Tuesday in Washington, D.C., talking to officials from the FTC and the Federal Communications Commission and answering their questions.

"Investigation is probably too strong a word," he said. "We sought the meetings with … Read more

week in review Controversy over a mobile data-logger flared this week despite confusion over how the software works and what data it transmits. Some security experts said the privacy threat was overblown and it turns out Carrier IQ was falsely accused of "keylogging" in a rush to virtual judgement.

Carrier IQ, a startup that provides tracking tools to carriers and phone vendors, came under fire for allegedly monitoring Android- and iOS-based smartphones. According to Android researcher Trevor Eckhart, an outspoken critic of the company's technology, the company's software running on Android devices can record and relay … Read more

Federal Trade Commission officials spent the day touting a new settlement with Facebook, with FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz saying the company now will be "obligated" to keep its privacy promises.

But in reality, the agreement is likely to have little, if any, actual impact on Facebook users.

One reason is that Facebook won't have to roll back any changes to its default privacy settings, which have grown more permissive over the last few years. Photos, wall posts, and lists of friends were once visible by default only to people you were associated with; now the default settings … Read more

Facebook settled a federal complaint about its privacy practices, making major changes to the way it handles user information in order to clear away an issue that could have overshadowed its expected--and long awaited--IPO.

As part of the settlement, Facebook agreed to let users "opt into" changes that alter how their personal information is shared with advertisers and other users, to disclose the information it shares with third parties and to submit to two decades of annual "privacy audits" to ensure its compliance.

The settlement ends a Federal Trade Commission investigation into Facebook's handling of … Read more

The Federal Trade Commission and Facebook are close to finalizing a settlement over a complaint about deceptive privacy practices on the social network from nearly two years ago.

The proposed settlement, which awaits final approval from FTC commissioners, would require Facebook to let users opt in to changes in the way their information is shared, rather than forcing them to "opt out" of changes Facebook imposes on them, The Wall Street Journal reported. Put formally, that would require Facebook to get "express affirmative consent" if it makes "material retroactive changes."

The agreement also calls … Read more