Tag Archives: privacy

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state legislature have agreed to expand the mandatory collection of DNA samples to include both felons AND those convicted of misdemeanors. New York will be the first and only state to demand such samples from those convicted of petty crimes. The bill Gov. Andrew Cuomo plans to sign passed overnight Wednesday in the …

A New Jersey jury has found Dharun Ravi guilty of invasion of privacy for live-streaming the sexual encounter of his Rutgers roommate, Tyler Clementi, who later leaped to his death from the George Washington Bridge. Ravi was also found guilty of several counts of tampering with evidence, witness tampering, and hindering prosecution. It appears that the jury also found Ravi …

The school board of Union Township, New Jersey is moving to dismiss Viki Knox, the teacher who posted a nasty anti-gay diatribe on her Facebook page. After Knox was suspended, Christians activists deluged the school board with complaints. The Union Township school board has filed tenure charges against Viki Knox, the high school English teacher whose anti-gay remarks on Facebook …

(Via – Towleroad)

According to Web Monkey, a new Google algorithm will connect your name to comments made on blog posts, web articles, and Facebook pages. The new indexing plan isn’t just about Facebook comments, but applies to nearly any content that’s previously been accessible only through an HTTP POST request. Google’s goal is to include anything “hiding” behind a form — comment …

“Homosexuality is a perverted spirit that has existed from the beginning of creation. The word of God refers to it often. That’s if you believe the Word to be truly God’s intended blueprint for his people. I have friends and loved ones who are practicing/ living as homosexuals. Yes I love can care about them. We hug and exchange gifts. …

Even when you stop paying them. Navigation-and-emergency-services company OnStar is notifying its six million account holders that it will keep a complete accounting of the speed and location of OnStar-equipped vehicles, even for drivers who discontinue monthly service. OnStar began e-mailing customers Monday about its update to the privacy policy, which grants OnStar the right to sell that GPS-derived data …

After spending another annoying morning deleting and banning racist/homophobic comment trolls, three days ago I queried my 5000 Facebook followers: Quick poll: If JMG switches to “Facebook only” commenting, one in which there is no anonymity (save those with fake FB names), how would that affect your willingness to participate in the threads? Reactions were decidedly mixed, although a majority …

Florida public school teacher Jerry Buell has been reinstated after a suspension following an anti-gay tirade on his personal Facebook page. Lake County School District Superintendent Susan Moxley reinstated Mount Dora High School social studies teacher Jerry Buell after his controversial anti-gay postings on Facebook. “I’m excited about going back to school tomorrow,” said Buell. The school board decided Buell …

Anti-gay groups have a new martyr in a Florida public school teacher who is being investigated for posting anti-gay comments on his Facebook page. Lake County Schools Communications Officer Chris Patton said school officials received a complaint Tuesday about the content on Mount Dora High School teacher Jerry Buell’s personal Facebook page, as well as copies of the posts. Buell’s …

One of the Rutgers students involved in the Tyler Clementi case has accepted a plea deal in return for agreeing to testify against Clementi’s roommate. Part of the deal requires Molly Wei, 19, of West Windsor to testify against Dharun Rhavi, the roommate of Tyler Clementi [left] who leaped off the George Washington Bridge last fall after learning he had …

(Source)

Also learned by a certain Senate staffer. (Source)

Remember the Pennsylvania school district that issued its students laptops and then remotely activated the machines’ webcams to spy on its students in their homes? They’ve agreed to settle one student’s lawsuit for $610,000. The tracking software came to light when Robbins, a student at the high school, was allegedly called into the assistant principal’s office and accused of taking …

Two Rutgers University students have been charged with invasion of privacy after secretly live-streaming video of a gay student having sex with a man in his dorm room. Reportedly the gay student then committed suicide. Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei, both 18, were charged with two counts of invasion of privacy after allegedly putting a camera in a fellow student’s …

Last month the Federal Trade Commission issued an unprecedented warning to the owners of the defunct XY Magazine, telling them that a plan to sell its massive subscriber list could endanger some of the title’s former readers who still lived with their parents. JMG reader Band tips us today that the magazine’s publisher has agreed to destroy those records. The …

If you’re one of the folks upset with Facebook’s privacy standards, one group is calling for a mass exodus from the site on May 31st. As controversy swells around Facebook’s latest changes to its privacy policy–which is now longer than the Constitution and offers some 50 settings and over 170 options–users’ interest in deleting their Facebook accounts has soared. A …

Despite the public outcry about the new law in Arizona, Democrats are pushing to force all Americans to carry a biometric ID card. From their immigration reform bill: The national ID program would be titled the Believe System, an acronym for Biometric Enrollment, Locally stored Information and Electronic Verification of Employment. It would require all workers across the nation to …

It might seem impossible, but Congress has renewed the Patriot Act for another year. In the Senate, important privacy protections failed to be included due to the loss of the Democratic supermajority. Key provisions of the nation’s primary counterterrorism law would be extended for a year under a bill passed by the House last night after Democrats retreated from adding …

Concerned that employers or insurance companies may one day forcibly implant microchips into people, yesterday the Virginia legislature made such a thing illegal without written consent. But the bill’s sponsor had an additional agenda. Del. Mark L. Cole (R-Fredericksburg), the bill’s sponsor, said that privacy issues are the chief concern behind his attempt to criminalize the involuntary implantation of microchips. …