Well, despite the fact that “Do Not Track” did not end up making it into the bill John Kerry and John McCain recently introduced to Congress, it still seems to be getting to be a hot time for the concept. Indeed, not only is West Virginia Senator John Rockefeller considering introducing a “Do Not Track” bill himself, but the battle continues over California’s “Do Not Track” law that we mentioned had been introduced not long ago… [Washington Post - Rockefeller Bill | Sacramento Bee - California Bill]

And while we’re talking about what’s going on in Washington, perhaps you remember that tomorrow is the big day for location privacy on Capitol Hill. Specifically, Senator Al Franken had convened a hearing on location-tracking and the recent revelations from Apple and Google regarding such tracking. So, naturally, Apple will be participating, sending its VP of Software Technology Bud Tribble to handle the Committee’s inquiries… [CNET]

But all this activity and interest in the area of digital privacy is probably not a bad thing, considering that consumers really had no legislative protection for/from the recent serious security breaches of Sony’s Playstation Network and Online Entertainment Network, as well as that of Epsilon, the email provider for a number of major businesses, and others… [NY Times]

Oh, and about that Sony breach…apparently Sony may not have seen the last of those skilled hackers (or others, for that matter)… [CNET]

The biggest news this morning is that, as promised, Apple delivered the update to iOS yesterday that “fixes” the location-tracking problem that got the company in all of its recent hot water. So, if you’re on iPhone/iPad and don’t want Apple knowing where you’ve been, it’s time to download the update and rectify the situation… [AP]

But fortunately or unfortunately (depending on who you are), it’s really all about Sony this week in digital privacy. In relation to the company’s recent [multiple] data breaches, resulting in the theft of data on millions of users, the company is also facing scrutiny from several governmental players, both here and to the North…

First, it “detailed” the hack that led to the aforementioned data theft to Congress… [Mashable]

But, it’s not just the federal government that’s on top of Sony about this, as New York’s Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman also just subpoena’d the company for said breach/data theft… [NY Times]

And then, Canada’s Privacy Czar admonished the company, but also used the situation to call for the power to fine companies for these types of data breaches… [Vancouver Sun]

Well, as we’ve noted in the past, Google and Facebook have really come to dominate the “headlines” here at Privacy Net over the course of this blog’s existence. But lately, another company (besides Apple) has been giving those two a run for their money, that company being Sony. Apparently not only was Sony’s Playstation Network the recent target of a breach that revealed a great number of users’ personal info and potentially their credit card info, but apparently it’s Online Entertainment network also saw a recent breach through which similar info/data was harvested (from an estimated 24.6 million users…eek)… [Mashable]

And, Google’s stance on geolocation data (identified through recently revealed emails) should come as no surprise to anyone who has any inclination of what Google is about as a company…Responding to a question from now-CEO Larry Page, Google’s head of Android, Andy Rubin, intimated that collecting location data from mobile phones was/is “extremely valuable to Google”… [InformationWeek]

In the days immediately following the uproar over the revelation that Google and Apple “track” users of their devices, we mentioned last week that some consumers wasted no time in suing Apple for that practice. Well, Apple ain’t alone in that anymore – two Michigan women have now sued Google for the same chicanery… [Detroit News]

Elsewhere in Google and mobile privacy – Google’s Mobile Director Jason Spero recently commented that he thought the Interactive Advertising Bureau should take a more active stance on mobile privacy, and generally set guidelines so companies can have a better idea of how to build/tweak their mobile apps/products… [PC Mag]

So, we mentioned last week that Sony’s Playstation Network had been hacked and that as a result, millions of users’ personal information was compromised, including potentially credit card info. Well, the latter indeed seems to be turning out to be true, as Sony said info on something like 10 million credit card may have been compromised, although nothing has been confirmed… [Kotaku]

I’m not sure we didn’t know this already, but in addition to Apple and Google as device OS makers, our own mobile phone companies also store geolocation data on us (at least in part for our own safety), though they haven’t experienced the same level of scrutiny (yet, anyway) for it. Either way, Verizon apparently will start putting warning labels on its phones warning users that it does in fact have the ability (and may) “track” their movements… [Forbes]

Finally, it’s not like Sony’s recent breach (noted above and last Thursday) was the first of its kind – indeed, at least several major such breaches have occurred over the last six months to a year – but while it might seem counterintuitive, customers of those vendors/companies who had their security breached have actually stayed as customers of those vendors/companies… [AP]

So, obviously most of our coverage this week has focused on Apple and Google’s iOS/Android location-tracking privacy situation. And we’ve mentioned how Apple first stated pretty matter of factly that it does not track users, then blamed it on a glitch they are planning to fix in a forthcoming OS update. But apparently, in addition to all of that, Steve Jobs himself will actually be testifying in Al Franken’s hearing on mobile privacy… [Mac Observer]

However, that may not be enough for one Congressman. Rep. Jay Inslee of Washington actually wants the FTC to investigate this location-tracking issue further (although he seems to have focused solely on Apple…maybe no one told him about Google’s role in the issue), advocating potentially adding another layer to the scrutiny… [CNET]

But the scrutiny brought upon Apple because of this location tracking issue isn’t just coming down in the US. In fact, several European nations are already investigating Apple’s iPhone/iPad to see if the devices violate their privacy rules, which if you remember can be (and most often are) stricter than those here in the States…basically meaning this could turn into what last year’s Street View debacle was for Google (which it is still feeling the effects of, as you may well know), only for Apple… [Bloomberg]

And while we’re on the subject, Mashable both breaks down “What Locationgate Says About How Consumers Perceive Information Privacy” and asks “Are You Satisfied with Apple’s Response to the iPhone-Tracking Debacle”… [What Locationgate Says | Are You Satisfied with Apple's Response]

Finally, one thing we have yet to mention this week was that recently, Sony’s Playstation Network was hacked, and indeed the hackers got a hold of the Network’s users’ personal data, including “their names, addresses, e-mail addresses, and PlayStation user names and passwords” and potentially even their credit card numbers…eek… [NY Times]

Missed this yesterday, but the FTC posted a list of companies that have used “unfair, false, deceptive or misleading claims about consumer privacy,” which included Twitter, Microsoft, CVS, and Petco [BNET]

So that Facebook user data we mentioned yesterday, that got lifted and posted at The Pirate Bay…apparently it was data from 170 million users, not just 100 million… [CNET]

AND it wasn’t just downloaded by individual users but also corporations (or at the very least, employees of corporations) including Apple, Disney, HP, IBM, Proctor and Gamble, Sony, and a lot of other major players [Gizmodo]

I can’t imagine they WON’T roll all these lawsuits against Google into one class action suit, but a panel of federal judges is deciding whether or not to do that, and if they do, where to litigate [AP]

In seeking to update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, is the White House trying to make it easier for the FBI to access our private communications and data? [AP]

And what does this Google – CIA investment in a company called Recorded Future – which “scours tens of thousands of websites, blogs and Twitter accounts to find the relationships between people, organizations, actions and incidents — both present and still-to-come” – mean to OUR future? [Wired]