http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/privacy/ en-us Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:44:44 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418370/posts A federal appeals court reaffirmed its ruling Wednesday that allowed sponsors of California's ban on same-sex marriage to withhold campaign strategy documents from gay rights advocates who are seeking to overturn the ballot measure. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Dec. 11 had overturned a judge's order to produce the documents, ruling 3-0 that their disclosure might discourage participation in future campaigns and inhibit strategists from speaking candidly. . . . Proposition 8, amended the California Constitution to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman, overturning a May 2008 state Supreme... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418370/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:44:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2417970/posts Imagine walking down the street to the corner store for a newspaper and being stopped by policeman. He demands to see an official government-issued photo ID. You don't have it with you. The policeman tells you you're subject to a fine, and takes you into custody until authorities can ascertain your identity. Is this a totalitarian nightmare of East Germany or the Soviet Union? No, this is everyday life in dozens of countries that have issued citizens national ID cards that must be carried at all times. Failing to present the card upon demand is an offense in many of... Asset Protection http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2417970/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:20:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2415691/posts A Pennsylvania Walmart Supercenter videotaped employees and customers in a unisex bathroom, several former and current Walmart employees alleged in a lawsuit filed this week. Seven former and current employees from the Tire and Lube department at the Walmart in Easton, Pa., filed a lawsuit in county court against the Arkansas-based corporation and four local managers Dec. 21. Several employees discovered an "off-the-shelf" video camera in a store bathroom March 31, 2008, according to the court filing. The unisex bathroom, which also served as a changing room, was used by employees and customers. Customers and employees were not notifed of... ABC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2415691/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 13:05:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413100/posts Hackers have demanded $10 million in ransom after hijacking nearly 8.3 million patient records. The data was stolen from an a government website used to track drug prescriptions in the American state of Virginia. Health officials called in the FBI after receiving a ransom demand which was posted on the Virginia Prescription Monitoring Program's website Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1178276/Hackers-demand--10m-ransom-hijacking-millions-medical-records.html#ixzz0aRMtmyP9 Daily Mail http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413100/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:42:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411885/posts FAIRFAX, Va. - As Erick Williamson sees it, being naked is liberating, and if passers-by get an eyeful while he's standing in front of a picture window, that's not his problem. A Fairfax County judge saw it differently Friday, convicting Williamson, 29, of indecent exposure in a case that raised questions about what's OK when you're in your own home. Two women said they saw much more of Williamson than they cared to in October, even though he never left his home. He received neither jail time nor a fine but is appealing anyway, saying a larger principle is at... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411885/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:01:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409970/posts The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has filed a formal complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission over Facebook's recent changes to user privacy settings, claiming the changes are in violation of consumer-protection law. ... Most notably, a user's name, city, gender, photograph, selected "fan pages," and friends list - yes, friends list - can now be viewed by anyone on the web. Whether you like it or not. The Register http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409970/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:38:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409409/posts They call themselves the Worldwide Loyalty Team. Among some employees, they are known as the Apple Gestapo, a group of moles always spying in headquarters and stores, reporting directly to Jobs and Oppenheimer. Here's how they hunt people down."You may want to know about their Worldwide Loyalty Team," Tom told me recently in an email. I read what he had to say. It felt like a description of the Gestapo, without the torture and killing part.Tom never lived in Nazi Germany, back in the time when the Geheime Staatspolize had the power to get into any house or any office,... gizmodo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409409/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:54:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407254/posts The Government Is Monitoring Facebook And Twitter By Noel Sheppard Created 2009-12-14 11:59 "The government is increasingly monitoring Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites for tax delinquents, copyright infringers and political protesters." So ominously began an editorial [1] in Sunday's New York Times. Those with accounts at such websites should pay attention, for according to the Times, and other sources, Big Brother is watching you: The Wall Street Journal reported this summer that state revenue agents have been searching for tax scofflaws by mining information on MySpace and Facebook. In October, the F.B.I. searched the New York home of... Newsbusters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407254/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:15:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406748/posts Reporting from Washington - When your doctor writes you a prescription, that's just between you, your doctor and maybe your health insurance company -- right? Wrong. As things stand now, the pharmaceutical companies that make those prescription drugs are looking over the doctor's shoulder to keep track of how many prescriptions for each drug the physician is writing. By obtaining data from pharmacies and health insurers, the drug companies learn the prescribing habits of thousands of doctors. That information has become not just a powerful sales and marketing tool for the pharmaceutical industry but also a source of growing concern... Los Angeles Times / latimes.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406748/posts#comment Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:37:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405204/posts Remarks anger many who are concerned with Google's ever expanding influence Google is stockpiling a wealth of user data. With its search engine, its advertising services, its applications, its new free DNS service, and more, the company has an incredible perspective on exactly what users are looking at. Many fear that Google could abuse this information or allow it to be abused, either for profit or to prosecute citizens who aren't necessarily guilty. In short, fears that "Big Brother is watching you" have been replace with fears that "Google is watching you". Google's recently responded to such doubts, blasting those... Daily Tech http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405204/posts#comment Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:45:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2392064/posts FACEBOOK can be a double-edged sword, a Canadian woman learned when an insurance company cut her health benefits, claiming she was healthy after seeing pictures of her smiling in bikini at the beach. Nathalie Blanchard, 29, took long-term sick leave from her job at IBM in Bromont, Quebec, more than a year ago for severe depression. She was receiving monthly benefits from her insurance company, Manulife. When Ms Blanchard called Manulife to ask why the payments dried up, the insurance company said that "I'm available to work, because of Facebook," she told CBC television. She said that Manulife cited several... news http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2392064/posts#comment Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:54:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2390459/posts Good grief! LiveLeak http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2390459/posts#comment Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:25:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2386752/posts COLUMBUS — Ohio taxpayers are right in the middle of the civil rights lawsuit that Samuel Joseph — “Joe the Plumber” — Wurzelbacher has filed against three former state employees, charging that they illegally accessed his confidential information through state databases. Ohio Attorney General Richard CordrayÂ’s office is defending former state employees Helen Jones-Kelley, Douglas Thompson and Fred Williams. All have denied wrongdoing and asked that the case, filed last March in U.S. District Court in Columbus, be dismissed. Jones-Kelley was director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Williams was the departmentÂ’s assistant director and Thompson the... Dayton Daily Nerws http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2386752/posts#comment Sun, 15 Nov 2009 07:32:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2382527/posts All telecoms companies and internet service providers will be required by law to keep a record of every customer's personal communications, showing who they are contacting, when, where and which websites they are visiting. Despite widespread opposition over Britain's growing surveillance society, 653 public bodies will be given access to the confidential information, including police, local councils, the Financial Services Authority, the Ambulance Service, fire authorities and even prison governors. They will not require the permission of a judge or a magistrate to access the information, but simply the authorisation of a senior police officer or the equivalent of a... The Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2382527/posts#comment Mon, 9 Nov 2009 23:37:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2379219/posts Syracuse, NY -- When Danielle Masursky cast her vote Tuesday at the Buckley Road Baptist Church in Clay, a trio of elections inspectors were standing close enough to read her ballot choices. That’s not counting the other voters who, as she carried the ballot from a table to a scanning machine, might have been able to see which boxes she had filled in. “I think it should be secret, and nobody should know how you’re voting,” Masursky said. “I think that is a key element of democracy.” Voters across New York state agreed, complaining to county elections boards that the... The Post-Standard, Syracuse, New York http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2379219/posts#comment Thu, 5 Nov 2009 16:39:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2377116/posts Are Bank Safe Deposit Boxes Safe? No Commodities / Gold & Silver 2009 Nov 02, 2009 - 06:02 PM By: David_Vaughn Got a lot of email when I suggested that safe deposit boxes are not safe from bank or government intrusion. In most minds the “safe deposit box” is the “holy grail.” Our comfort will always be OK as long as our safe deposit box remains safe from others ill intent. Noticed the last few years how the Swiss Banks are no longer confidential places for one to store anything of value? The US government has applied pressure on Switzerland... The Market Oracle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2377116/posts#comment Tue, 3 Nov 2009 03:31:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2375094/posts Today’s guest author is Deirdre Walker. She retired recently as the Assistant Chief of the Montgomery County, Maryland, Department of Police. She spent 24 years as a police officer. “Do I have the right to refuse this search?” This is a question I heard many times during my law enforcement career. Often my answer was no. But occasionally it would be “yes,” followed by an admonition to have a good day. For the last half of my career, I would have documented each interaction, whether or not it involved an arrest. I would have written down the nature and length... Homeland Security Watch http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2375094/posts#comment Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:48:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2370132/posts POOLE, England — It has become commonplace to call Britain a “surveillance society,” a place where security cameras lurk at every corner, giant databases keep track of intimate personal details and the government has extraordinary powers to intrude into citizens’ lives. A report in 2007 by the lobbying group Privacy International placed Britain in the bottom five countries for its record on privacy and surveillance, on a par with Singapore. But the intrusions visited on Jenny Paton, a 40-year-old mother of three, were startling just the same. Suspecting Ms. Paton of falsifying her address to get her daughter into the... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2370132/posts#comment Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:58:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2372380/posts Recent problems with the financial system could be used as a reason for regulators to have authority policing social networking sites like Facebook and other types of electronic communication like text messaging. If Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) CEO Richard Ketchum has his way, that's exactly what will happen. Ketchum appeared on CNBC's Oct. 27 "Closing Bell" in an interview with the network's NYSE floor reporter Bob Pisani from the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) annual meeting in New York City. Ketchum explained how the Internet and text messaging are unconventional means of communication that pose problems for... NewsBusters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2372380/posts#comment Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:34:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2370619/posts You’re standing in your kitchen making coffee. You are naked, but no one else is home. It’s early in the morning and you are in the privacy of your own home. All right, so maybe you’re a little bit odd, and maybe not everyone makes coffee naked. But your house, your rules, right? That’s probably what Virginia resident Eric Williamson was thinking last Monday morning as he made himself coffee while dressed in nothing but his birthday suit. Unfortunately for Williamson, he wasn’t quite as alone as he thought. Walking through his yard were a woman and her seven-year-old son,... Pajamas Media http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2370619/posts#comment Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:24:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2368361/posts A MAN who established a sophisticated network of peepholes and cameras to spy on his flatmates has escaped a jail sentence after police were unable to crack an encryption code on his home computer. Rohan James Wyllie, 39, yesterday pleaded guilty in Southport District Court to charges of attempting to visually record one of his flatmates when she was in a private place without her consent. But police were unable to prove his elaborate surveillance system had actually been used. Wyllie's three flatmates, two women and a man, grew suspicious that he was up to something when they noticed lights... Courier Mail http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2368361/posts#comment Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:09:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2367986/posts First Amendment: Diversity czar Mark Lloyd's FCC votes Thursday on the issue of net neutrality. Advertised as providing access to all, it will do to the information superhighway what Lloyd proposed for talk radio. Not much was said when $7.2 billion was included in the stimulus bill "to accelerate broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas and to strategic institutions that are likely to create jobs or provide significant public benefits." The administration has big plans for the Internet — like controlling it. Susan Crawford, the so-called Internet czar, told the Wall Street Journal in April that the broadband billions... IBD Editorials http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2367986/posts#comment Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:43:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2367525/posts American spies are investing in technology designed to monitor websites including blogs, Twitter, YouTube and even reading habits on Amazon. They say social media websites offer a powerful opportunity for "open source" intelligence – publicly available data that can be mined for information. In an attempt to sift through the blizzard of information, the investment arm of the CIA, In-Q-Tel, has invested in a software firm that monitors social media. According to Wired magazine, In-Q-Tel has put money into Visible Technologies, a software firm that specialises in monitoring the internet. Visible Technologies examines more than half a million websites a... TelegraphUK http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2367525/posts#comment Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:25:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2366023/posts SEATTLE — Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has temporarily blocked Washington state officials from releasing the names of people who signed a ballot measure on gay rights. Kennedy's ruling Monday temporarily blocks a federal appeals court ruling last week that ordered the release of the names. Kennedy said his order would remain in effect while he considers a request by a pro-marriage group that asked him to reverse the appeals court ruling. The case involves Referendum 71, a ballot initiative that asks Washington voters to approve or reject the state's so-called "everything but marriage" law, which grants registered domestic partners... The Seattle Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2366023/posts#comment Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:57:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2360963/posts RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- In its search for fugitives, the FBI has begun using facial-recognition technology on millions of motorists, comparing driver's license photos with pictures of convicts in a high-tech analysis of chin widths and nose sizes. The project in North Carolina has already helped nab at least one suspect. Agents are eager to look for more criminals and possibly to expand the effort nationwide. But privacy advocates worry that the method allows authorities to track people who have done nothing wrong. "Everybody's participating, essentially, in a virtual lineup by getting a driver's license," said Christopher Calabrese, an attorney... hosted http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2360963/posts#comment Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:56:52 GMT