U.K. Government Announces New Proposals for DNA Retention

A series of proposals designed to ensure the right people are on the National DNA Database, as well as defining when people should come off has been announced by British Home Secretary Alan Johnson. DNA and the use of forensics play an essential role...

Facebook Agrees to Address Canadian Privacy Commissioner’s Concerns

Facebook has agreed to add significant new privacy safeguards and make other changes in response to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s recent investigation into the popular social networking site’s privacy policies and practices.

US Suspends African Refugee Program Due to Widespread Fraud

The United States has suspended an African refugee program after evidence that many applicants were lying about family links. Under the family-reunification program, (Priority Three or P 3) , refugees already living in the United States are entitled to...

Viacom Narrows Request for YouTube Information

Yesterday, Google/YouTube and Viacom reached a stipulation agreeing to anonymize information about most YouTube users prior to production. As YouTube’s blog put it, “Viacom, MTV and other litigants have backed off their original demand for...

Charter Communications ISP Halts Traffic Inspection/Advertising Plan

Privacy-minded consumers celebrated a victory as the ISP Charter Communications announced a decision to scuttle a controversial advertising plan that would have involved surveillance of customers’ Internet traffic — likely using an invasive...