It just never seems to end for Google and privacy. Frankly, we could probably dedicate an entire blog to just the web giant and its privacy trials and tribulations. But as for the former – trials – apparently in a case that’s the first of its kind, Spain’s Data Protection Agency is suing Google on behalf of about 90 Spanish citizens who want links to information about them that Google has indexed taken down… [AP]

But it isn’t just Spain that’s less than thrilled with Google lately. Yesterday, we mentioned how The Netherlands was the latest country to take issue with its 2010 Street View chicanery. Today, we want to highlight how on Monday, the FTC “called out” Google for being the only major browser that has yet to adopt “Do Not Track” technology – something Firefox, Internet Explorer, and even Safari have rolled out to users… [ComputerWorld]

And yet, despite all of it, Google apparently is atop the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s new privacy report card, along with Amazon and Twitter… [ZDNet]

Oh, and just to update you on something we mentioned yesterday – Sophos’ open letter to Facebook, and Facebook’s latest privacy improvements – not surprisingly, Sophos was underwhelmed by Facebook’s efforts… [eWeek]

So, I’m not sure this should really shock iPhone owners, if they think about the services/apps their iPhone provides, but it was revealed yesterday that your iPhone tracks your every move, with timestamps, in a “secret” file that gets transferred to your computer’s hard drive when you plug your iPhone in to it… [Guardian]

And one person who was particularly concerned with this revelation apparently was Senator Al Franken, recently tapped to head the Senate’s new Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, who wrote Apple a letter pointing out the dangers of storing this information on phones unencrypted, and posed a series of corrollary questions for the company… [AdWeek]

Well, while Israel wonders about the privacy implications of Google Street View (which we mentioned it was doing the other day), Switzerland’s court is actually about to decide whether or not Google broke Swiss law with its Street View wi-fi sniffing incident from last year… [WSJ]

But that’s not the only hot water Google has found itself in recently. Apparently it also recently held a contest for kids called “Doodle 4 Google” that required those kids to submit their social security numbers in order to enter. It was the fourth annual iteration of the contest, but apparently only the first time Google ever asked for social security numbers… [NY Mag]

Facebook and the government haven’t had exactly the smoothest relationship over the last year or so, and recently, the FTC had asked Facebook to provide clarity on its privacy practices. And as of yesterday the FTC got an answer… [Huffington Post]

Elsewhere in FTC land, in a move that should surprise no one, a group of advertisers and marketers has asked the FTC to allow them to regulate themselves and scrap its privacy proposal, which infamously includes the “Do Not Track” concept… [Nextgov]

The biggest news in privacy today comes from Washington DC, where on Friday, California Congresswoman Jackie Speier introduced the bill we’ve all been anticipating – the now-infamous “Do Not Track,” which the FTC even last week just said it would seek to impose if the online ad industry didn’t start to regulate itself… [Mashable]

Which warrants some commentary, artfully crafted by the inimitable paidcontent.org – “Three Reasons Why A ‘Do Not Track’ Bill WILL Pass This Year”… [paidcontent.org]

Elsewhere in CA on the privacy front – the CA Supreme Court just ruled that retailers and other vendors (in CA) can no longer ask users for their zip codes when using their credit cards for purchases… [LA Times]

And finally, in browser privacy news, apparently Microsoft is close to releasing the latest version of its Internet Explorer browser, which will include more privacy controls, though I’m not entirely sure what those will be since the majority of this article is hidden behind the Wall Street Journal’s paywall… [WSJ]

When the FTC’s privacy report was released a couple of months back, which is still open to comment, the aspect most talked about was the “Do Not Track” concept (which we have mentioned too many times to count since then). But if anyone was questioning the FTC’s commitment to its recommendation, yesterday FTC commissioner Julie Brill assured interested parties at UC Berkley that if online advertisers and marketers don’t “clean up their act,” the FTC will take action… [paidcontent.org]

Way back last year we mentioned a lawsuit in North Carolina involving the state having requested information on Amazon e-commerce customers, which the plaintiffs successfully argued violated their free speech rights. In the wake of this suit, North Carolina has apparently agreed not to request any such information from e-commerce vendors in the future… [Mediapost]

We’ve mentioned flash cookies in the past, and particularly their ability to “regenerate” even when users delete their browser cookies. But the results of a new recent report suggest that this ability isn’t as strong as it once was, and is in fact waning… [paidcontent.org]

Not surprisingly, in what was probably more of a formality than anything else, Congress told Facebook the other day not to share its users phone numbers and addresses with 3rd party developers, access to which Facebook had suspended not longer after it allowed it… [All Facebook]

Mozilla is apparently working on a new “Do Not Track” feature for its popular Firefox browser that will allow users to opt out of behavioral ad tracking…which is all well and good, but apparently, it’s not exactly the most effective solution… [PC World - "Do Not Track" Feature | Its Flaw(s)]

Inc. asks “is 2011 the Year of a Digital Privacy Revolution?” …and I think we can all agree that it’d be surprising if the answer wasn’t “yes”… [Inc.com]

And speaking (directly or indirectly) about privacy reform and potential legislation – the FTC has granted advertising trade groups an extension to facilitate further commenting on its privacy report, originally released late last year… [Mediapost]

Back to one of the two most polarizing companies when it comes to privacy – Facebook recently agreed to reconfigure its Friend Finder tool in response to complaints from a German privacy watchdog for “further transparency.” No idea what changes this exactly means or whether they will apply across countries or just for German Facebook users, but either way, another example of a country exerting its power over a private entity, as Germany and other countries have already done with Google… [Inside Facebook]

A while back we mentioned that Google was facing scrutiny from yet another country (South Korea) due to its Street View wi-fi sniffing, which at this point happened like at least six months ago. Yesterday, South Korean police authorities “officially” said that Google in fact violated South Korean telecomm law as a result… [Guardian]

Here’s an interesting situation – apparently Microsoft has filed a patent application basically trying to patent the granular privacy controls Facebook developed after its major privacy backlash in 2010… [BNET]

This isn’t really privacy related, save for the fact that it involves an individual whose focus is online privacy, but here’s an interview with the man who advises the FTC on regulating privacy on the web as it relates to brand marketing and advertising… [BusinessWeek]

If you’ve followed online privacy as an issue for any appreciable period of time, or at least if you’ve followed this blog, you’re well aware of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and its role as consumer advocate. In this post, the EFF cautions us about what it dubs “Traitorware” – some type of technological “innovation” that might allow someone else to control your devices without you knowing – for which Apple recently filed a patent application… [EFF Deeplinks]

Just in case you thought Mozilla was just riding the wave of “Do Not Track” and recent scrutiny of online behavioral ad tracking, the makers of Firefox have actually come through with a set of privacy icons that tell users how their data can be used by the site’s owner (based on its privacy policy)…of course, the only way this would actually help is if site owners used the icons, so we’ll have to wait and see whether this moves the needle at all… [Aza on Design]

And speaking of “Do Not Track,” the FTC‘s Chief Technologist discussed the parameters of the FTC’s recent proposal, and clarified that “Do Not Track” only applies to 3rd party advertiser behavior tracking – not a site owner’s tracking of traffic to the site, nor does it apply to mobile advertising… [ClickZ]

Of course, at the same time, Consumer Watchdog – another consumer advocate similar to the EFF – says “Do Not Track” needs to apply to mobile, in the wake of the Wall Street Journal’s recent report on how personal data gets used/shared by smartphone apps… [Press Release]

Among these Social Media predictions for 2011 is that the privacy mess will not get resolved. The editor thinks there is too much money at stake for the government to risk interfering and disrupting the industry [GigaOm]

And finally, along those same lines – we can’t forget that in regulating privacy, we may be affecting our ability to browse the internet for free [Reuters]

Not too long ago, the FTC released its privacy proposal, recommending a “Do Not Track” system, among other things. But it wasn’t the only government entity working on a privacy proposal. The Commerce Department just unveiled its own privacy proposal yesterday, and among the recommendations are a Privacy “Bill of Rights” – a set of principles that all companies who collect personal information about users (for commercial purposes) would have to adhere to… [PC Mag]

More on that… [Ars Technica]

Oh, and here’s a PDF of the actual report, if you want to go under the hood yourself and get all the details… [Department of Commerce]

Another one of the Commerce Department’s recommendations was to create a “Privacy Policy Office,” which I believe was also one of the FTC’s recommendations. The office wouldn’t have enforcement power, but would be part of the braintrust that develops guidelines/policies for online privacy… [NY Times]

Elsewhere, on the social networking privacy front, the South Korean social network Cyworld is trying to use its emphasis on privacy as a leg up on Facebook… [AFP]

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals made a landmark ruling yesterday when it held that your hosted email is just as protected as your phone calls and physical (USPS) mail – well, that the government needs a warrant to search your emails (this is just hosted email, by the way – so Google, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.), anyway [EFF Deeplinks]

FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz recently likened online behavioral ad tracking to a stalker who is tipping off business owners in front of your while you’re walking down the street…which I’m not altogether sure is a totally appropriate analogy, but nevertheless, he said it… [Huffington Post]

Meanwhile a positive spin on the online behavioral ad tracking debate is that it will help marketers provide more enticing messages for consumers… [Forbes]

Just in case you forgot – privacy may stand as a major impediment to people – women, particularly – joining in on the location-based services craze [MediaPost]

And finally, for you parents out there – I doubt you need anyone to tell you this, but be sure to scrutinize any sites that ask your child to send information to them under the guise of sending a letter to Santa [Cleveland Plain Dealer]