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Technology Issues Figure in World Press Headlines

Apr 14th, 2008 • Posted in: News

A Chinese court hears downloading case brought by Western music labels; a poll shows growing unease with surfing habits being used to tailor individual content; Microsoft offers some ideas about protecting Internet privacy

VARIOUS DATELINES
Ethics and the law struggled to play catch-up with galloping computer technology last week. Among the top stories:

• Several major recording labels have joined a copyright-infringement suit in a Beijing court. MarketWatch reports that Sony BMG Music, Bertelsmann AG, Warner Music, and Universal Music are among the companies suing two Chinese firms they accuse of offering illegal music downloads. The case has major implications, according to the report, because if the Chinese court allows the case to be heard, potential damages could run into the billions of dollars.
• A recent poll shows that many people are uncomfortable with the concept of websites customizing their content to match surfers’ personalized profiles. The Toronto Globe & Mail reports that a Harris poll of 2,513 people in the United States indicates most are uneasy about websites gathering data and using it to tailor advertising or content to individual surfers. “There’s a creepy factor and a fear of the unknown that people don’t want to deal with,” Michelle Warren, senior research analyst at Info-Tech Research Group in London, Ontario, told the Globe & Mail.
• Microsoft last week called on firms that provide Internet advertising to adopt a number of provisions to protect consumer privacy. The trade journal InformationWeek reports that Microsoft submitted its proposals to the Federal Trade Commission after the agency asked for comments on guidelines relating to self-regulation — a move designed to allow industry to head off government-imposed rules. Microsoft suggested that companies logging page views in order to create targeted ads should inform visitors of the process, and should retain the data only long enough to serve “a legitimate business need.” Web surfers also should be allowed to opt out of data collection, Microsoft proposed.

Sources: MarketWatch, Apr. 6 — Reuters, Apr. 12 — InformationWeek, Apr. 12.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Mar. 31 — Related Newsline story, Mar. 31 — Related Newsline story, Mar. 24 — Related Newsline story, Mar. 3 — Related Newsline story, Feb. 25.

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1. Ethics Newsline » News » Technology, Privacy in Increasingly Uneasy Balance: Press Reports on April 21st, 2008 at 10:20 pm:

   [...] more information, see: Related Newsline story, Apr. 14 — Related Newsline story, Mar. 31 — Related Newsline story, Mar. 31 [...]

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