Experts

Timothy J. Walton, Attorney at Law

Donald Keith Burleson -- He is an Oracle specialist who wrote the report Internet Journalist: Invasion of privacy on the web

Online Journalism Privacy/Security Articles

MySpace Struggles To Balance Privacy and Safety| Top Tech News, 2007

"It is essential that MySpace preserve any information about online profiles created by registered sex offenders," said PA Attorney General Tom Corbett. "We know that online predators are actively using social networking sites like MySpace to identify potential victims, and it is vital that this information be preserved for possible review by law enforcement."

Internet Privacy Practices of News Media and Implications for Online Journalism | Journalism Studies, 2005

In light of increases in online privacy concerns, use of online news sites, and news site data mining, a content analysis of 405 news media websites assessed information collection strategies and related privacy practices which impact on the relationship of news sources and news users.

Online ads versus privacy | The New York Times, May 12, 2007

For advertisers, and in many ways for consumers, online advertising is a blessing. Customized messages rescue advertisers from the broad reach of traditional media. And consumers can learn about products and services that appeal directly to them.

But there are huge costs, and many dangers, warns Jennifer Granick, the executive director for the Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society. To approach individuals with customized advertising, you have to know who they are. Or at least, you have to gather enough personal information about them that their identity could be easily figured out.

Internet Journalist: Invasion of Privacy on the web| Burleson Consulting

Like it or not, millions of Americans have unwittingly become amateur journalists, without the benefit of understanding the important laws regarding publishing of information that might hurt someone else. Let's take a closer look and explore these issues...

Internet Privacy Law

The right to privacy in Internet activity is a serious issue facing society. Some users of the 'net wish to shield their identities while participating in frank discussions of sensitive topics. Others fulfill fantasies and harmlessly role play under the cover of a false identity in chatrooms, MUDs or the IRC. But there are the eternal "bad apples," and on the Internet, they are the people who use anonymous servers as more than a way to avoid responsibility for controversial remarks. Cases of harassment and abuse have become increasingly frequent, aided by a cloak of anonymity. There are also problems with frauds and scam artists who elude law enforcement authorities through anonymous mailings and postings. Other users are concerned about the proliferation of information on the Internet. Databases of court records are now available for free over the World Wide Web.

Google's Popularity Makes it a Media Target| Online Journalism Review, 2003

The e-mail came into my in-box innocently enough, something about uber-search champ Google winning another award. Hold a moment. Upon further review, it seems that Google is being nominated for Privacy International's Big Brother award -- a dubious honor it probably wouldn't want to flaunt in the trophy case. The nomination came from the folks who run Google Watch, who are on a crusade of sorts to show that Google's Web domination includes questionable tracking of users' surfing habits, and could provide that info to government spooks without your knowledge.

Privacy at News Media Web Sites:Can't We Do Better?| Online Journalism Review, 2002

GeoCities, the Santa Monica-based builder of online communities, told me when I visited the Web site that it wouldn't share my personal data with advertisers. I believed GeoCities. I was naive. I was wrong.

The Final Days of Privacy| Online Journalism Review, 2002

The recent admission by the White House drug office that it routinely dropped 'cookies' onto the hard drives of those who accessed its Web site would have seemed, in more innocent times, like a friendly gesture. It's difficult to think of cookies as menacing. But in the brave new world of the Internet, where privacy has been sacrificed on the altar of a technologically fueled avarice, the cookies being referred to are more accurately thought of as creepy crawlers--small text files inserted surreptitiously into your computer to stalk your every movement on the Internet.

Privacy, Personal Data and Taking Users for Granted| Online Journalism Review, 2002

At this point, eight years or so into the era of online publishing, I'm inclined to give news sites the benefit of the doubt. You want us to register? If I'm a regular reader, fine, I'll do so gladly -- if the process isn't overly invasive. If I'm a casual surfer to your site, chances are I won't bother, and perhaps you may not miss me.

Soon millions of facebookers won't be incognito USA Today, Sept. 12, 2007

Social network Facebook will soon make the listings - the name and photo - of its 40 million active members available to anyone who searches the Internet or Google, Yahoo and Microsoft. But in its pursuit of building a bigger audience, Facebook has set off privacy alarms among customers who don't necessarily want their listings to be an open book.

Online Journalism Privacy/Security Books

Internet Law & Policy

Chapter four of this book includes a definition of privacy and security, how the government and privacy are connected, what the Privacy Act is, what the Electronic Commucations Privacy Act is, the issues associated with Internet data collection by businesses, the Federal Trade Commission's regulation of privacy, sample privacy policies, children's online privacy protection, international perspectives on privacy and case studies on relevant case law.

Privacy, Information, and Technology

The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Privacy and Freedom?

Database Nation : The Death of Privacy in the 21st Century

Computerized Monitoring and Online Privacy

Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Purchase and Watch Your Every Move

Online Journalism Privacy/Security Blawg Feeds