Drones, Phones and Other 2012 Privacy Threats

Jaikumar Vijayan
Computer World
December 29, 2012

Verizon’s attempt — unsuccessful so far — to secure a patent for a so-called ‘snooping technology,’ which in this case would let television advertisers target individual viewers based on what they’re doing or saying in front of their sets, capped another challenging year for privacy advocates.

Verizon’s snooping technology and TV ads

The Verizon technology, which includes a sensor/camera housed in a set-top box, would determine the activities of individual viewers — eating, playing, cuddling, laughing, singing, fighting or gesturing — and then trigger personal advertisements based on the activities.

[...] The U.S. drone law: Eye in the sky

The Federal Aviation Administration Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, signed into law by President Barack Obama in February, was immediately slammed by rights groups, privacy advocates and lawmakers who contended that the law poses a major threat to the privacy of law-abiding citizens.

[...] Warrantless cellphone location tracking: What Fourth Amendment?

Despite a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling in January on the constitutionality of GPS tracking by law enforcement agencies, the overall issue of location tracking of individuals remained as murky as ever in 2012.

[...] Internet and mobile privacy: Or the continuing lack thereof

For several years, consumer rights groups and others have been calling on Congress to create regulations governing how Internet companies, online advertisers, mobile service providers and mobile application providers can collect and use consumer data.

[...] NYC Domain Awareness System: Surveillance city?

A New York City-wide Domain Awareness System (DAS) rolled out by the New York Police Department (NYPD) in July has left groups like the American Civil Liberties Union uneasy about its privacy implications.

The city’s data aggregation and real-time analytics tool, built in collaboration with Microsoft, is designed to combat crime and terror threats in the city.

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This article was posted: Saturday, December 29, 2012 at 10:58 am

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