As a result of an ongoing investigation into online privacy, the Wall Street Journal has found evidence that the 50 top websites directed toward children placed 30% more tracking cookies on those sites than the 50 top websites directed toward adults. Google placed the most cookies of the companies investigated. Many of the other popular sites are small companies with widely varying privacy polices. Two sites directed toward teens have sold the information gathered about the users and at least one other site has ties to a pornography site. The dependence by these sites on advertising accounts for the significant amount of tracking technology used. Even though many of the sites claimed not to collect personally identifying information, at least one required an email address to register on the site. There are federal regulations requiring parental consent to collect personally identifying information from minors under the age of 13. The Federal Trade Commission is currently considering whether changes to the law should be made.
The Help America Vote Act requires states to verify the identities of first time voters by inspecting a current and valid photo identification, copy of a utility bill, paycheck or other government issued document that shows the address and name of the voter. The Georgia Voter Verification Program exceeds that mandate by requiring proof of citizenship. The DOJ twice declined to preclear Georgia's proposal. In 2009 the DOJ found the proposed procedures to be "seriously flawed." In February 2010, the DOJ again concluded that Georgia had not carried its burden of showing that the verification procedures would not have a discriminatory purpose or discriminatory effect. In July 2010, GA sought a declaratory judgment from the DC Circuit. In August, the DOJ dropped its objection without public explanation or opportunity for intervenors to be heard.
A class action lawsuit has been filed in California federal District Court against Ringleader Digital. The New York based advertising agency uses HTML5 database storage to tracks Mobile Safari users. The lawsuit takes aim at the persistent monitoring of users, without their consent, across webpages. Unlike cookies, the HTML5 database storage cannot be deleted from the user's mobile device. Companies using Ringleader's Media Stamp technology include Surfline, WhitePages.com, The Travel Channel, CNN Money, Go2 and Merriam-Webster's dictionary site. These companies are also named as defendants in the suit.
The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a U.S. Magistrate Judge's ruling that prosecutors seeking cell site location information (CSLI) need probable cause to get a warrant for those records. In an opinion filed on September 7, 2010, the Court found that the Stored Communications Act (SCA) allows law enforcement to access cell phone users locations if they meet a lower standard. To satisfy the burden for issuing an order to produce those records, prosecutors need only make a showing of "specific and articulable facts...that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the information sought ...[is] relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation." Judge Delores Sloviter remanded the case to the Magistrate, finding that the Magistrate had not analyzed whether the government had made this showing. The Court also held that, after the government has satisfied its burden of proof, the Magistrate may still conclude that a warrant is necessary. If the warrant is necessary, then the government will be held to a probable cause standard.
A burglary ring in Nashua, N.H. targeted victims by monitoring their status updates on Facebook. The ring was uncovered when an off-duty police officer, alerted to the fact that a specific type of fireworks was among the stolen property, heard the fireworks and investigated. Police recovered between $100,000 and $200,000 worth of stolen property, including ammunition and electronics. More arrests are expected.
