NextGov reports on a presentation at the RSA Conference about privacy by security expert Bruce Schneier.

The session focused on the responsibilities that all generations currently hold to protect privacy and ensure individuals, not technological systems, have control.

Young people are used to living very public lives, Schneier said, but they also put a high priority on protecting their privacy. At the same time, while social networking sites appear to tout privacy, they deliberately make it difficult to be salient, he added. And as more and more children grow up around social networking, new social norms will be set. [...]

As a result, Schneier suggested that it’s the responsibility of all generations to come together to either accept the new balance of privacy that technology comes up with, or work to set the balance. [...]

“My prediction is that just as we today look back at the beginning of the previous century and wonder how the titans of industry could ignore pollution, our children are going to look at us on decisions we made about protecting privacy and giving individuals control,” Schneier said.

The San Jose Mercury News reports on an issue I’ve discussed before: digital signage advertising and the privacy questions related to that type of targeted behavioral marketing.

Using technology from top Silicon Valley companies such as Cisco and Intel, advertisers are creating a new breed of digital signs that can be customized depending on a viewer’s age and gender.

Already starting to appear in selected malls and other spots around the country, the signs have the potential to revolutionize the retailing industry, but their intrusiveness has led to criticism from privacy advocates and nervousness from some in the marketing industry itself. [...]

Businesses insist the signs are good for them and for consumers because they can offer more focused and effective advertising. [...] Read more »

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Lower Merion School District placed on leave two Information Technology workers, the latest update in an ongoing surveillance scandal. Recap: In a lawsuit — Robbins v. Lower Merion School District (pdf) — in Pennsylvania, the Robbins family alleged that the Lower Merion School District misused Webcam-enabled laptops it issued to students in order to remotely peep into the students’ homes, take photographs and violate their privacy. The school district has denied violating anyone’s privacy, claiming the Webcams were only turned on in case of lost or stolen computers. The FBI and local officials are investigating. There have been discussions among legal scholars about the Fourth Amendment implications.

The Inquirer reports that, “The two people authorized to activate the software — Michael Perbix, a network technician, and Carol Cafiero, information systems coordinator — were put on paid leave last week while lawyers and technicians examine how the remote system was used.”

Lawyers for Cafiero and Perbix said their clients did nothing wrong. Perbix and Cafiero only turned on the remote software when a laptop was reported missing, they said – and administrators knew what they were doing. [...] Read more »

Physorg reports on a new poll that shows one in four Germans would accept being implanted with a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip if they believed the benefits outweighed concerns, including privacy questions. RFID systems transmit data wirelessly from a chip or tag to a reader.

The survey, by German IT industry lobby group BITKOM, was intended to show how the division between real life and the virtual world is increasingly coming down, one of the main themes of the CeBIT trade fair that kicks off Tuesday.

In all, 23 percent of around 1,000 respondents in the survey said they would be prepared to have a chip inserted under their skin “for certain benefits”.

Around one in six (16 percent) said they would wear an implant to allow emergency services to rescue them more quickly in the event of a fire or accident. Read more »

USA Today reports on privacy and social-networking site Facebook:

Whether it’s avoiding bars frequented by students or politely declining the occasional social invitation, professors often make an extra effort to establish boundaries with their students. But social networking sites, which are often more public than they may appear, are lifting the veil on the private lives of professors in ways they may not have expected. [...]

Colleges have for years been warning students to keep their Facebook and Myspace pages free of embarrassing photos or writings, but a more recent phenomenon is the emergence of concrete policies governing how faculty and other employees use social media. DePaul University and Ball State University, for instance, both have approved social media policies, and Ball State’s specifically notes that social media sites “blur the lines between personal voice and institutional voice.” Read more »

Slate has an interesting story about how improved DNA testing has made it more difficult for sperm donors to remain anonymous:

In an age of sophisticated genetic testing, the concept of anonymity is rapidly fading. With some clever sleuthing—tests that can track down ancestral origins, donor numbers, and bits of biographical information—parents and offspring can find out the donors. “With DNA testing and Google, there’s no such thing as anonymity anymore,” says Wendy Kramer, the founder of the Donor Sibling Registry. “Donors are choosing anonymity because they’re not educated,” adds Kramer. “If they were properly educated on the consequences, then many would choose not to donate.” [...] Read more »