opt-in

Q&A: FTC Chairman on How Web Start-Ups Should Handle Privacy

Liz Gannes in Social on March 26 at 2:43 pm PT

In order to avoid crossing the FTC and its new privacy framework, social media companies should make sure they honor privacy commitments, said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz.

Exclusive Interview: Carrier IQ Gets Transparent About Its Mobile Monitoring

John Paczkowski in Mobile on December 13, 2011 at 12:01 am PT

As CIQ prepares to answer the questions put to it by U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, it’s hoping to set the record straight with a definitive report on the functionality of its software.

Watch an Ad, Make a (Virtual) Buck

Peter Kafka in Media on September 29, 2010 at 4:00 am PT

Another way to make online advertising more tolerable for surfers, and more effective for brands: Offer bribes, in the form of credits for big Zynga games like Farmville.

Will Facebook Debut a Foursquare-Lite Location Feature or a Real Competitor–or What?

Kara Swisher in News on August 18, 2010 at 5:11 am PT

Later today, as BoomTown previously reported, Facebook is likely to show off what it has been working on for a while now in the geo-location arena. We’ll see whassup at 4:30 pm PT, when Facebook will hold a “news event” at the social-networking powerhouse’s HQ in Silicon Valley. (I will be liveblogging from it, natch.) While most agree that the unveiling of the powerful social-networking site’s geo-location plans will have big impact, it will be much more interesting to see precisely what Facebook will do and how it innovates.

Voices

Facebook: The Privacy Questions Continue

Jennifer Valentino-DeVries, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on April 27, 2010 at 11:24 am PT

The argument over privacy on Facebook continued Tuesday as four senators sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking the company to roll back some of the features it announced last week.

Google Buzz Isn’t Exactly Humming Along

Katherine Boehret in The Mossberg Solution on February 16, 2010 at 4:00 pm PT

Google retooled its Buzz social-networking effort after receiving a lot of criticism about its privacy settings. Katie Boehret looks at how Buzz compares with other social-networking sites.

EPIC FAIL: Electronic Privacy Information Center Files FTC Complaint Over Google Buzz

John Paczkowski in Social on February 16, 2010 at 3:25 pm PT

While well-intentioned, Google’s “sorry, we didn’t get everything quite right” apology hasn’t absolved the company of the bungled launch of Buzz, its new social networking service. On Tuesday afternoon, the Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission claiming Buzz violates federal consumer protection law.

Congress Readies an “Opt-In” Privacy Bill, and the Web Industry Cringes

Peter Kafka in Media on June 23, 2009 at 1:41 pm PT

Here comes the battle the online ad business has been dreading: Congress is drawing up a bill that would require users to sign up to let advertisers track their online behavior–and, if you believe online publishers, more or less destroy the online ad business.

Weekend Update, 02.07.09

Beth Callaghan in News on February 7, 2009 at 4:24 pm PT

What spreads faster than economic gloom and doom, and is more infectious than professional anxiety? That phenomenon known as “25 Things.” Just in time for Facebook’s fifth birthday, the record-breaking waste of time may have reached critical mass this week. Elsewhere this week…