PRIVACY + SECURITY BLOG

News, Developments, and Insights

high-tech technology background with eyes on computer display

Facebook Listens and Responds

Facebook 01

I’m quite pleased to learn that Facebook has come to a privacy epiphany. I’ve been blogging a lot lately about the privacy problems with Facebook’s new features — Beacon and Social Ads: * Facebook’s Beacon: News Feeds All Over Again? * The Facebook-Fandango Connection: Invasion of Privacy? * Facebook and the Appropriation of Name or […]

Yale Law School Conference on Online Reputation

Yale Law School Logo

On December 8, 2007, Yale Law School’s Information Society Project will be holding a conference about online reputation called Reputation Economies in Cyberspace. I’ll be participating in the symposium and will be talking about my book, The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet. Other participants include Alessandro Acquisti, Michel Bauwens, Danielle […]

The Facebook-Fandango Connection: Invasion of Privacy?

Facebook Fandango

Facebook recently rolled out a new advertising program called Social Ads, where Facebook users’ images, names, and words are used to help advertise products and services. I blogged about Facebook’s Social Ads here and here, contending that they are likely a violation of the tort of appropriation of name or likeness as well as the […]

Facebook and the Appropriation of Name or Likeness Tort

Facebook

A few days ago, I posted about Facebook’s new Social Ads and I argued that they might give rise to an action under the appropriation of name or likeness tort. The most common formulation of the appropriation tort is defined in the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 652C: “One who appropriates to his own use […]

The New Facebook Ads — Starring You: Another Privacy Debacle?

Facebook Social Ads

Facebook recently announced a new advertising scheme. Instead of using celebrities to hawk products, it will use . . . you! That’s right, pictures of you and your friends will appear on Facebook ads to make products more enticing to Facebook customers. As Facebook’s website describes its new “Social Ads” program:

The Do Not Call List’s Memory Lapse

Phone

So you signed up for the federal Do Not Call List and expect not to receive any more of those annoying telemarketing calls ever again. Think again. Signing up expires after 5 years, so if you signed up back when the list first came into existence, you’ll need to sign up all over again soon. […]