I agree. But many people don't want to take the time to go through it all. In all honesty, it's really written by attorneys for attorneys, not regular folks.
I think its better to understand terms and conditions before going ahead with any application...sometimes we commit to certain conditions and later on suffer due to unawareness about some hidden conditionalties. Although most of the companies are not inclined to trick their customers but some apps lay traps for potential customers through certain hidden clauses.
My opinion on national privacy law is that not only it should exist on a federal level but it should also specifically cover the provision for privacy for those who are stakeholders of the internet. A separate provision is necessary because almost everyone is affected by the internet privacy protection situation and if it is effective, many users can enhance their data sharing habits on internet compared to what it is today. I know users who still don't talk personal stuff over internet because they have concerns over maintenance of their privacy by the famous website operators such as facebook, google, microsoft (for hotmail) and yahoo.
The concerns expressed by the FTC in its recent reports have focused on apps gathering information about users, and the adequacy of disclosures about such information-gathering.
That's right, Stephen, and there also looking at the problems created for the existing law by cloud computing. When you're strictly constrained as to what data you retain, and how long for, matters can get tricky once you hoist information into the cloud.
According to the FTC and SOPPA, what would be illegal actions within Apps? Sometimes I wonder why certain apps require information about my contacts, notifications, etc. when its job is to be a ruler. Seems every app want to be "social".
The EU is also in the midst of a comprehensive review of the Privacy Directive, aimed at (among other things) encouraging greater uniformity of treatment among the member states. The USA really does not have a single body aimed at such coordination, other than the FTC (and, to a degree, the Commerce Department). As a result, businesses often complain about the "checkerboard" of regulations, which may be inconsistent and often can be confusing.
Individual European nations have their own data protection agencies, but there has been considerable -- and growing -- cooperation on issues affecting the entire community. Google's privacy policy is an example.
The ThinkerNet does not reflect the views of TechWeb. The ThinkerNet is an informal means of communication to members and visitors of the Internet Evolution site. Individual authors are chosen by Internet Evolution to blog. Neither Internet Evolution nor TechWeb assume responsibility for comments, claims, or opinions made by authors and ThinkerNet bloggers. They are no substitute for your own research and should not be relied upon for trading or any other purpose.
Social networking sites and search engines continue to hone the tools they use to help advertisers spread their messages, measure results, and avoid fraud.
The US National Security Agency learned the hard way that it can be dangerous to give a contractor too much money and access, with too little scrutiny. The NSA and other government agencies hire tens of thousands of contractors
a year to analyze data. Edward Snowden -- who revealed himself as the NSA leaker after fleeing the country -- was one such contractor, reportedly holding a $122,000 salaried position at Booz Allen Hamilton at the time of his departure.
Big-data and analytics tools enable marketers to understand customers as individuals, identifying unmet needs and addressing each customer as a "segment of one," says John Kennedy, VP corporate marketing, IBM.
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
The whole Amazon.reader debate is a double-stupid. It's stupid to think that there's any e-book buyer who doesn't know Amazon's URL, and it was stupider to let ICANN launch the whole free-form TLD initiative to start with.
While NFC's original goal was to enhance mobile commerce applications, it is finding its way into a number of other uses, which is creating both opportunity as well as challenges for IT departments.
Enterprises would like to move to cloud computing but are hesitant because they are concerned about providers’ ability to secure company data. Here are some tips that help to ensure that if breaches occur, the business is not left holding the bag.
Edmunds separates customers into segments based on the info it collects on its site and from partners, and uses that to push out custom content, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
The IBM Smarter Commerce Global Summit in Monaco kicked into high gear today, and we've already begun to see news emerging from that lovely city-state by the sea.
Expert Integrated Systems: Changing the Experience & Economics of IT In this e-book, we take an in-depth look at these expert integrated systems -- what they are, how they work, and how they have the potential to help CIOs achieve dramatic savings while restoring IT's role as business innovator. READ THIS eBOOK
your weekly update of news, analysis, and
opinion from Internet Evolution - FREE! REGISTER HERE
Wanted! Site Moderators Internet Evolution is looking for a handful of readers to help moderate the message boards on our site as well as engaging in high-IQ conversation with the industry mavens on our thinkerNet blogosphere. The job comes with various perks, bags of kudos, and GIANT bragging rights. Interested?
To save this item to your list of favorite Internet Evolution content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.