On the heels of the recent Facebook employee/employer scandal Facebook is beefing up the data included within their download feature.  The most important addition? IP addresses.  Users will now be able to download a copy of all IP address activity that is occurring on the account.  Additional information that can now be downloaded are previous names and friend requests. The Facebook privacy page was updated today with more details on the change: "Starting today, you will be able to download an expanded archive of your Facebook account history. First introduced in 2010, Download Your I [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Facebook | Facebook: Legal

I liked Al Franken as a comedian. I liked the idea of him becoming a US Senator. I definitely like the idea that he wants to defend Americans from potential privacy problems. But I don't like that he sounds like an uneducated senator of old. Case in point: his recent speech to the American Bar Association attacking Google and raising worries about internet privacy. Let's do some debunking. Franken gave a speech last night to the American Bar Association's anti-trust section, The Verge reports. The also have a copy of his speech here. I'll go through the key parts pertaining to internet priv [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Facebook | Facebook: Legal | Features & Analysis | Google: Privacy | Legal: Privacy | Top News

As is being widely reported, Yahoo filed a patent lawsuit against Facebook today in US Federal Court in the Northern District of California. At the center of the litigation are a wide range of claims that cover advertising, the news feed, messaging, social networking and privacy, among others. Here's a key paragraph from the complaint: It reads, "For much of the technology upon which Facebook is based, Yahoo got there first . . ." No dollar amount is specified in the damages portion of the complaint. Presumably Yahoo thinks this IP is worth hundreds of millions if not billions of dol [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Facebook: Legal | Legal: Patents | Top News

You have to wonder whether Yahoo's patent-saber rattling is a sincere effort to enforce its intellectual property or an admission about Yahoo's competitive position relative to Facebook. After several years of turmoil, internal politics and a loss of talent the company is struggling to regain its place in the pantheon of top-tier internet companies. Reuters and the NY Times reported yesterday that Yahoo is now asking Facebook for licensing fees related to "10 or 20 patents." The particular patents aren't identified; however Yahoo owns several thousand, covering things like content and adver [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Facebook: Legal | Legal: Patents | Yahoo: Business Issues

Washington state and Facebook have double-teamed on separate lawsuits against Adscend Media, a company that allegedly runs "likejacking" campaigns to collect money and/or personal information from Facebook users. As GeekWire reports, the practice was allegedly adding up to $1.2 million per month to Adscend's coffers. Likejacking, or "clickjacking" as the official release from Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna calls it, is described as follows: Scammers design Facebook Pages to look like they will offer visitors an opportunity to view salacious or provocative content. They condi [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social Media | Facebook: Legal | Legal: General | Social Media Marketing: Spam