Posts on State of Search about ‘Privacy’

Dutch researcher downloads 35 million Google Profiles

google-data-connections

Aren’t they lovely, the new Google Profiles? And you can put so much information in it. Information which everybody can see. And download… We’ve discussed the privacy matters around the profiles before and I will be talking about the presentation I did at SMX about the profiles soon too. But there is a lot more to the Google Profiles. A Dutch researcher was able to download, export and import 35 million Google Profiles, with data.

The researcher Matthijs Koot, working for the University of Amsterdam, is writing a research paper about anonymity and privacy. For that research he decided to look at the Google Profiles. He noted that a lot of the information can be downloaded pretty easy. (more…)

UK Cookie Law Deferred for One Year

no-more-cookies

The BBC is today reporting that UK websites have been given one year to comply with EU Cookie Laws by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).  So what does this mean for UK business websites? Put simply it means that no business website will be charged for not complying with the EU Guideline until the UK agrees on a workable solution.

In fact, it seems that the UK that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is currently working with browser manufacturers to offer the cookie blocking/acceptance  feature into their technologies – indeed they have said that is the only option they are currently considering. (more…)

Dutch government discourages Google Maps and encourages the paid version

google-maps-amsterdam

Now, I’m all for privacy and being open and making people understand of the consequences when it comes to the use of some services, especially Facebook and in some cases Google. But in this case I think there is somebody being a bit to eager.

In the Netherlands, the Local Affairs Office decided to warn Dutch municipalities for the use of Google Maps because of privacy issues. This warning was based on a 68 page counting research which showed that many municipalities use Google Maps on there websites but don’t have any idea about the privacy consequences of that usage. The most remarkable result of the report however is that they advice the municipalities to use not another free service, but the paid Google Maps service, which costs 7000 euros a year or develop a tool for 550.000 euros. Talk about useless spending of public money… (more…)

Retargeting: a blessing or a curse?

google-ads-following

A few days ago Google released a piece of research celebrating the success of AdWords Remarketing, the retargeting functionality of the Google AdWords advertising program. They included some success numbers from different advertisers, showing increases in conversions, cuts in costs-per-conversion and higher click-through-rates at lower costs per click. Other impressive numbers Google released include the reach of 84% of the people on remarketing lists accounting for advertising impressions to over 500 million Internet users worldwide. It’s fair to say retargeting is a blessing according to Google.

However where Google is happy about Remarketing some users are not. A search in Google Realtime for “google ads following me” shows a lot of users complaining about being chased around the web by Adwords ads. It’s a sound a hear a lot around the web. (more…)

Facebook (again) tracking non-Facebook users: says its a bug

facebook-data

Remember “Beacon”? It was Facebook’s ad system which became instantly controversial when it became clear that Facebook was tracking all users in third-party partner sites, including people who never signed up with Facebook or who had deactivated their accounts. It got Facebook in a lot of trouble.

You would think Facebook would have learned something from this but apparently they haven’t. A research performed by a Dutch Doctoral Candidate and Researcher as Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society shows that Facebook has been tracking non-Facebook users by using the “Like” button. Facebook admits to it but claims it was a bug. (more…)

Google and Privacy sensitive DNS data: spam team doesn’t use it

With the news of the iPhone tracking you whereabouts spreading around the web and now also Google being looked at when it comes to Android Google felt it had to get a video re-launched from just two weeks ago. In this video Matt Cutts answers a question about what Google does with the DNS data they are getting. To be really honest: it is a bit of a bumpy answer with a lot of ‘I think’ and ‘maybe’ in there. He knows one thing for sure: the webspam team doesn’t use it. But that doesn’t mean other teams at Google don’t ;) .

Aren’t we looking at this whole privacy thing from the wrong angle?

privacy-we-should-take-another-angle-castle

One of the hot topics on the web currently is privacy. What can companies like Google or Facebook store from us when it comes to personal data? Can they store anything at all? Do we want Google to be taking pictures of our streets? Should we ban cookies all together? All questions asked by different people, organizations and even regulation officers.

A lot of regulations are taking place, Google is moving towards more privacy options and even governments are interfering. But it looks like we might be overdoing it. And we should be looking at a different angle of it all. (more…)

Worlds upside down: Google and Facebook taking France to court in privacy issue

computer-with-lock

Ask anybody on the web which companies scare them the most when it comes to privacy matters. In nine out of ten cases there are two names mentioned: Google and Facebook. After all, they are the companies that gather and hold the most information from its users.

Both companies also get taken to court once every few months by a country or some sort of commission. That can be for antitrust issues, but also for privacy matters, think Streetview in for example Germany. Google and Facebook however have now turned things around: they are suing France over privacy matters. (more…)

Facebook is going to relaunch giving away phone and addresses

facebook-phone

It is what seems to be a typical Facebook move. Halfway through January Facebook announced it would be “making a user’s address and mobile phone number accessible as part of the User Graph object”. Which meant no less than “we are giving away your phone numbers and addresses”.

The enormous amount of criticism around the world Facebook pulled back the option just one day later. They didn’t say they would not be doing it all, they just postponed it. And Facebook will do shortly what it has always done in situations like this. It will bring back a slightly adjusted feature. A letter to Congressmen Markey and Barton suggests that. (more…)

Google Futuresight: The Future of Privacy Rights

watching-you

This is a guestpost by Brandon Moreau – Webmaster for Citiguarda Sydney Security Company, and DelMonico Hatter, seller of Borsalino hats for over 100 Years. Opinions expressed in the article are those of the guest author and not necessarily State of Search. This article is the first of a series dealing with privacy, technology, and where we are all headed.

Brandon is simultaneously a Technophile and Techno-skeptic. He is an avid reader of Stateofsearch.com and is grateful to Bas for the opportunity to guest post on this topic.

So, what does the future hold?

One of the favorite pastimes of SEO specialists the world over has got to be the art/science of Google speculation. Like extremely dense chocolate cake, however, it is not always advisable to indulge in it to overdose, and there is a significant chance that doing so may result in headaches, nausea, and the definite feeling of quiet overwhelm at forces beyond your control. (more…)

Don’t want personal ads? Google lets you opt-out

no-more-cookies

There has been a lot of discussion over the past few months about cookies. Yes, the cookies on the computer. Those that register what you do online. And those that provide you with content which is much more personal then it was in the past.

But not everybody likes that. In fact, it has been the debate in the European Union for the past year whether or not we should all be opting in for the cookies, meaning we would be accepting (or not) cookies by clicking on an acceptance button every time we visit a webpage. This debate ran not only in Europe, but also in the US where the FTC looked into a mechanism that could help to easily opt out of the cookies.

One of the biggest ‘targets’ in the discussion has been Google. The search giant has been aimed at by privacy commissioners all over the world. And now that company announces a new extension on Google Chrome which does exactly what the FTC wants: opt out of ad tracking cookies. They launch the “Keep My Opt-Outs” extension. (more…)

Update: Facebook postpones sharing of phone numbers and addresses

privacy-status

Yesterday I wrote about a new ‘feature’ in Facebook which meant that third party developers would now be able to easily pick up phone numbers and addresses from Facebook. To be honest, I wasn’t the only one writing about it.

Just shortly after their announcement on the subject last Friday Facebook now pulls back. The feature will be changed and until then the feature is “on hold”. It looks like Facebook listened to the criticism. (more…)

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