Facebook's Instagram Posts Controversial New Usage Policy

Instagram:

"To help us deliver interesting paid or sponsored content or promotions, you agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you."

"You hereby agree that Instagram may place such advertising and promotions on the Instagram Services or on, about, or in conjunction with your Content."

"You acknowledge that we may not always identify paid services, sponsored content, or commercial communications as such"

"If you are under the age of eighteen (18)...you represent that at least one of your parents or legal guardians has also agreed to this provision (and the use of your name, likeness, username, and/or photos (along with any associated metadata)) on your behalf"

Privacy groups are pressing the FTC to review the policy change, particularly the provision involving users under 18.

$20 Million Facebook Sponsored Stories Settlement Approved

The District Court judge overseeing the class action suit claiming that Facebook displayed users personal information in connection with its "Sponsored Stories"preliminarily approved a $20 million settlement, to be distributed among affected users, rather than via cy pres distributions.

Privacy Tops Canadian Business' Legal Concerns

Dec. 4 (National Post) -- Borden Ladner Gervais has released its  annual list of the Top 10 Business Issues with Legal Implications. The top 10 business issues include data and privacy; pipelines and politics; the pension storm; the net benefit test  for foreign investment; seeking growth abroad; the pros and  cons of free trade deals; new consumer obligations; corporate  governance issues; and the tax environment.

Swiss Warn of Anti-Terror Data Theft

ZURICH (Reuters) - Secret information on counter-terrorism shared by foreign governments may have been compromised by a massive data theft by a senior IT technician for the NDB, Switzerland's intelligence service, European national security sources said.

 

Possible Change to GLB Requirements This Week

The Hill reports that House of Representatives debated a bill Monday, December 3rd that would relax Gramm-Leach-Bliley, setting up a likely vote on the bill for Tuesday.

The Eliminate Privacy Notice Confusion Act, H.R. 5817, would change the law to require  banks only to notify customers when their privacy policies change, and annually.

 

Facebook Users to Vote on Privacy Practices

Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) - Facebook Inc. is letting users vote on whether they should get to cast ballots before future changes to policies for privacy and data-collection, following pressure

from regulators to improve transparency.

 

More than 30 percent of the company’s more than 1 billion members need to vote in favor of retaining their voting rights for Facebook to continue the practice, the Menlo Park, California-based company said in a post on its website. If that threshold isn’t met, Facebook said it would be non-binding.