FTC Enforcement Action for Deficient Security Practices
The FTC has settled a charge against Nationwide Mortgage Group, Inc., a mortgage company, for failing to comply with the security requirements under the Gramm Leach Bliley Act. FTC enforcement actions for poor security practices are relatively rare, so this…
FTC Report on Spyware
The FTC has released a report entitled “Monitoring Software on Your PC: Spyware, Adware, and Other Software” as a follow up to its April 2004 workshop. I need to read through it, but it looks like a typical FTC response:…
Edelman on P2P Disclosures
Ben Edelman released a report entitled “Comparison of Unwanted Software Installed by P2P Programs.” The report evidences Ben’s typical skill and thoroughness, and it’s a worthy read. However, the report struggles with the appropriate standards for measuring a workable disclosure…
Rivlin on eBay Fee Increases
Gary Rivlin writes a good in-depth article on the seller community’s response to eBay’s fee increases. The article articulates eBay’s rationales—eBay wanted to restore some balance in the use of certain tools, so price increases were the ways to drive…
Another Dumb Utah Law
The Utah Legislature is at it again. (See my critique of their efforts to regulate spyware/provide some extra bucks for a few local companies at the expense of free competition). The Utah legislature has passed another sloppy and ill-conceived law…
Google a “One-Trick Pony?”
BusinessWeek calls out Google for its “tunnel vision” obsession with search to the exclusion of other revenue-generating activities.
More on Anti-Phishing Act of 2005
Leahy’s Anti-Phishing Act of 2005 (S. 472) is finally online. See my earlier post. I’m still slightly troubled by the inchoate nature of the crime, but its scienter requirement (“intent to carry on any activity which would be a Federal…
Cleveland State v. Oracle
Chronicle of Higher Education reports on the settlment of an interesting lawsuit by Cleveland State over a bad PeopleSoft implementation. Oracle is paying $4.25M to settle the lawsuit, while Cleveland State is still suing the systems integrator.
Leslie Walker on AutoLink
Good article by Leslie Walker in support of Google’s AutoLink feature as a time-saver and matter of consumer empowerment. Her lead paragraph says it all: “Bring it on, Google. Bring us more shortcuts, one-click look-ups and Googlespeak, that strange language…
Article on Google Technology Architecture
Good technical article on how Google handles its massive data infrastructure. The article reinforces the redundancy built into Google’s system. Imagine how hard it must be to build a system that can store the entire known web—then build a system…