And the privacy beat goes on…

So, perhaps you remember that despite the lack of any formal legislation mandating it, Mozilla, Microsoft and Apple have each implemented a “Do Not Track” feature in the latest versions of their respective browsers (Mozilla even just integrated the option into its Firefox Android browser as well). But one glaringly absent player in the browser game is obviously Google, as the company has yet to, nor may it have any plans to, integrate such a feature into its Chrome browser…apparently because of a lack of clarity around what is “tracking” on the web… [paidcontent.org]

But just because browsers have taken preemptive remedial measures doesn’t mean the rest of the appropriate players are doing the same. According to the firm Evidon, which provides icon technology that allows users to know when they’re being “tracked” and gives them the ability to opt out, only about 10% of advertisers have currently implemented the icon… [WSJ]

And while we’re pointing to a Wall Street Journal story about privacy, as you probably know the Journal has been hot on the digital privacy tip for a while now, taking a pretty firm and transparent perspective that not everyone is in love with… [paidcontent.org]

Obviously there are several bills currently under consideration in Congress regarding digital privacy, perhaps the most noted of which is John Kerry and John McCain’s “Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights,” but what would this piece of legislation really mean for us users? [EFF Deeplinks Blog]

Finally, despite the fact that its currently against “the law,” Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg firmly believes that children under 13 should be able to join Facebook…not surprising, but not for the reason you might think…he actually thinks Facebook has good educational potential…an interesting idea, indeed… [Fortune]

Here’s an interesting prospect – DirecTV is planning on beginning to offer advertising content to subscribers based on “interests, lifestyle, and demographics” – basically contextual/behavioral factors – which obviously carries with it a natural concern for privacy [Fast Company]

Google hasn’t made a lot of friends internationally with its Street View wi-fi personal information collection this year, and one of its most staunch opponents was Germany. One “Google worshipper” chides the country for its strict approach to privacy, in the context of Street View… [Slate]

Speaking of our European friends, the EU Justice Commissioner is none too pleased with us for not yet putting someone in place to spearhead negotiating a data protection agreement with the EU [EUobserver]

Yesterday we mentioned a recent Wall Street Journal report implicating a number of the most popular iPhone/Android apps that share your data with 3rd parties. Here’s why concerns over this practice might be “overblown”… [MacWorld via Network World]

And in that same vein – the Mobile Marketing Association has taken initiative in planning rules around privacy in mobile apps and marketing [WSJ]

Not like it should be all that surprising, but ironically, the Wall Street Journal‘s cautionary stories on tracking cookies actually employ such cookies themselves… [PC World]

And just in case it wasn’t clear on Friday, several levels of government are now involved in trying to sort out such user-tracking online, including the FTC, the Commerce Department and a newly-created “privacy watchdog” [ABC News]

If you’re REALLY concerned about your Facebook privacy, here’s an interesting way to safeguard it…deactivate your Facebook account every time you’re ready to sign out, and then re-activate it the next time you log in [CNN]

Speaking of Facebook and privacy, Facebook iPhone app users can now access and change their privacy settings from the app, although clicking on privacy settings actually just takes you to the mobile web page where you can access them [Mashable]

I haven’t been able to get far in this article since it’s hidden behind the WSJ’s paywall, but recently the EU proposed the users’ “right to be forgotten” and have government regulate what data companies that collect personal user information can store…this story seems to posit not to hold your breath waiting for government to actually protect you on the web [WSJ]

And finally, remember, friends – there’s a lot of talk about privacy in ad tracking and on social networks, but e-mail has its issues as well…once you fire off that message, it’s privacy is out of your hands [Boston.com]

So, last week the Wall Street Journal reported on a Facebook privacy ‘breach’ that allowed 3rd party advertiser to see the identity of users who clicked on Facebook ads. This weekend, we learned that it’s not just a problem exclusive to Facebook; Myspace does the same thing… [WSJ]

Of course, being that Myspace and the Journal are both News Corp. owned, it’s awfully funny how the Facebook article was published separately, before the Myspace expose, and how the Myspace article wasn’t published until after the site (Myspace) rolled out its new design… [TechCrunch]

But despite those facts, the Journal maintains that it’s “ridiculous” to say it strategically buried the story… [Forbes]

Elsewhere in privacy coverage, Google admitted that ‘in some instances’ it collected user emails, URLs and computer passwords while conducting its Street View efforts in the UK [Telegraph]

Also, Italy has “ordered” Google to clearly mark its Street View cars, and to publicize schedules of their sweeps of Italian streets in advance [Reuters]

But maybe all the ire directed at Google is at least partially missing its mark – after all, Google obviously exposed how “vulnerable” we are, but that “vulnerability” isn’t necessarily its fault [PC World]

Either way, Google is ready to show that it’s serious about privacy. In addition to the new privacy policy it rolled out not long ago, it has also hired a Director of Privacy, committed to training employees on privacy principles, and adding a new review process to its internal compliance procedures  [Official Google Blog]

And Myspace, Facebook, and Google aside, here’s a privacy story you should REALLY worry about – apparently ‘the feds’ have been urged to ‘friend’ users on social networks in order to ‘spy on’ their activities

Meanwhile, it looks like a Groupon glitch led to a bunch of users email addresses being revealed…which isn’t altogether the scariest thing in the world, but one could reasonably expect Groupon to keep its newsletter subscribers email addresses to itself [TechCrunch]

If you haven’t heard of the Firefox extension, Firesheep, allow me to introduce it to you – Firesheep allows users to access other users’ login info for social networks, provided those users are on an ‘insecure open wifi network’… [TechCrunch]

And finally, according to Rapleaf – the company that allows you to pretty much mine data on users with only an email address (though users can opt out by visiting Rapleaf’s site and clicking the opt out link) – the key to protecting privacy online is “to make it technically impossible to tie an internet user to their name and address when they are not explicitly logged in” [WSJ]

So, just FYI – if you’re using Internet Explorer and its cookie blocker, you might be interested to know that a recent Carnegie Mellon study revealed that about 1/3 of the 33,000 sites surveyed still allowed cookies to be installed [NY Times]

The EU is currently debating how to regulate the online ad industry in terms of targeting. One proposal is perhaps a “heavy opt-out,” meaning basically hitting users over the head with the ability to opt-out [WSJ]

Speaking of the EU, could its strict privacy laws impede the development of cloud computing? [NY Times]

Just in case you want to disable Facebook Places and aren’t sure how… [Newsday via Minneapolis Star-Tribune]

Despite its braintrust’s advanced warning that the code wouldn’t be bug free, critics aren’t holding back in evaluating Diaspora’s alpha release [Top US News]

The Wall Street Journal‘s latest Privacy series = how to protect your children’s privacy online [WSJ]

And finally, Google and German officials met today on reconciling Germany’s strict privacy regulations and Google’s Street View features/practices/policies [Reuters]

As you have undoubtedly noticed, the Wall Street Journal seems to have taken upon itself the “privacy” beat. For the past couple of weeks, it has featured a number of stories about privacy online, seemingly stirring what is already a quite boiling pot for users. But why hasn’t the Journal disclosed what personal information IT collects from readers? It seems rather hypocritical to expressly or impliedly cast stones while at the same time potentially engaging in some of the same activities, right? Maybe it doesn’t collect anything…maybe it’s a paragon of web perfection, but at least fully disclose your own participation or non-participation in the activities you’re writing about…seems reasonable… [Poynter]

SNAP – the Social Network Analyzer for Privacy – is a pretty slick little iPhone/iPad/iPod app that analyzes your Facebook privacy settings and gives you a grade, along with instructions on how to edit your privacy settings to make your information more secure. It even lets you search your photo captions, status updates, etc. for key terms, so you can see whether that update you sent last Friday night about being totally sauced was visible by everyone, including your boss. It’s basically the same thing as a desktop version, just, you know, on your iPhone/iPad/iPod… [PC Mag]

Since the DC Circuit Court of Appeals decision regarding warrantless GPS tracking (and how it violates our 4th Amendment rights) came down, other courts have weighed in on the subject. While a number of state Supreme Courts have ruled that their constitutions require them to take the same view as the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, the 7th circuit Court of Appeals and its infamous judge Richard Posner have taken the opposite view. So, in light of the circuit split, don’t be surprised if you see the Supreme Court take up the issue and clarify the federal position, especially given the importance of clarity on 4th Amendment (Search and Seizure) issues… [WSJ Law Blog]

And that, well, is it for today. This may be the lightest day for privacy in recent history! Nevertheless, we stay on the beat…