Safety In The News : Consumer Rights

Australian government implements mandatory Internet filters to protect children online

Linda Criddle — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:39:00 GMT

Australia is in the process of implementing new restrictions to help protect children from exposure to Web sites containing pornography and violence, a path also taken by several European countries including the UK. Civil libertarians are protesting that...(read more)

North Carolina AG Pushes MySpace to Be a Safer Service

Linda Criddle — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 21:09:00 GMT

In a landmark negotiation with MySpace, the Attorney General from North Carolina has secured agreement to significantly increase consumer’s safety on MySpace. The agreement covers increasing the verification of user’s ages to protect minors, allowing...(read more)

Cell phone directory grabs your number

Linda Criddle — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 04:06:00 GMT

A new service which claims to have the cell phone numbers of almost every single subscriber in the U.S., is selling those phone numbers for $15 dollars a search. Launched by Intelius, which already sells online background checks for a fee, the service acquires "data from marketing companies and public records – all sources people have opted in to", according to Ed Petersen, Intelius co-founder and senior vice president of sales and marketing. Asked how Intelius gathers cell phone information, Pederson explains that the company mines "billions of pieces of information" to connect names, addresses and phone numbers. Cell phone directories have been considered many times, perhaps most seriously three years ago when the major wireless carriers considered the creation of a joint mobile phone directory. However, concerns about the assault on personal privacy that a cell phone directory represented motivated consumer groups and government agencies to pass laws requiring carriers to get explicit consent from their subscribers before listing any numbers. “Intelius seems to be working within the law” because 'the drafters didn't contemplate third-party activity" says Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna who added that perhaps the law will need to be expanded in the future. Read the story....(read more)

More, serious child abuse found on the Web

Linda Criddle — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 20:12:00 GMT

20 Apr 2007 Summary According to the latest annual report of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), the U.S. hosts 62% of the child pornography commercially distributed online. The report also discloses a trend toward depicting ever younger child victims...(read more)

Universal Music sues MySpace for copyright infringement

Linda Criddle — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 23:47:00 GMT

16 Nov 2006 Summary Universal Music is suing MySpace for allowing users to illegally share copyrighted music and music videos. Current law stipulates that companies which allow content to be posted onto their sites (known as hosting sites) must take down...(read more)