The Los Angeles Times reports that 24 Hour Fitness gyms are installing fingerprint readers to identify members and getting rid of membership ID cards. Anyone who opts out of the fingerprint identification system can show government-issued photo ID cards to enter the gyms. (Last week, I posted on fingerprint scanners that the Montgomery County Department of Recreation plans to begin using this fall.)

With gym memberships down across the fitness industry, the giant 24 Hour Fitness chain is taking a new cost-cutting approach to identifying its gym members — fingerprints.

The 428-gym chain, which issued more than 1 million plastic membership cards and key ring IDs last year, is converting to a system that identifies members by scanning the individual ridges on fingertips. [...]

Discontented customers have used Web forums and blogs to sound off against it, and filed grievances with privacy advocacy organizations. Read more »

Research in Motion (RIM) has been dealing with the threat that its BlackBerry smartphones would be banned in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, India and other countries because of security concerns. There were reports that Saudi Arabia and RIM had reached a preliminary deal, which raised security and privacy questions about the BlackBerry messaging service, which promises a “secure” e-mail system. However, RIM has faced problems in negotiations with India, with the possibility of a ban for its BlackBerry cellphones in the country. Now, the Associated Press reports that RIM has received a 60-day reprieve from India for its mobile phones.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement it would review the situation in 60 days after the Department of Telecommunications studies the feasibility of routing BlackBerry services through a server in India.

India wants greater access to encrypted corporate e-mails and instant messaging, though it remains unclear precisely what concessions Research In Motion agreed to in order to avert the ban. [...] Read more »

In the last few weeks, Research in Motion (RIM) faced the threat that its BlackBerry smartphones would be banned in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, among other countries, because of security concerns. There were reports that Saudi Arabia and RIM had reached a preliminary deal, which raised security and privacy questions about the BlackBerry messaging service, which promises a “secure” e-mail system. NPR reported that problems that could arise for political dissidents or activists if governments gain access to the e-mail system.

Now, Slate takes a look at the issue of Internet security in general, explaining that Web users have a lot to worry about:

To understand how this happened, you need to understand the way much of the Web’s private traffic stays private. Whenever you’re sending sensitive information online—say, your credit card number to Amazon or a message over Gmail—the content is encrypted before being sent and then decrypted by the Web site you sent it to. (Sites using this secure mode have URLs that start with “https,” and browsers add a padlock icon as well to demonstrate you’re communicating securely.) Every vendor has its own rules for how to scramble information so that only it, the intended recipient, can decode it. If anyone intercepts the message along the way, it will appear to be a meaningless digital jumble. [...] Read more »

The New York Times reports on public aversion to location-tracking services, whether they’re through social-networking sites such as Facebook or Foursquare or via coupon marketers:

Big companies and start-ups alike — including Google, Foursquare, Gowalla, Shopkick and most recently Facebook — offer services that let people report their physical location online, so they can connect with friends or receive coupons. [...]

But for all the attention and money these apps and Web sites are getting, adoption has so far been largely confined to pockets of young, technically adept urbanites. Just 4 percent of Americans have tried location-based services, and 1 percent use them weekly, according to Forrester Research. Eighty percent of those who have tried them are men, and 70 percent are between 19 and 35. [...] Read more »

Tech Daily Dose reports on the online privacy views of David Vladeck, the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Protection Bureau Director. Vladeck has been open about his views on online policy, discussing the need for stronger consumer protections.

The head of the FTC’s consumer protection bureau says while he believes most consumers do not mind getting targeted online ads based on their Web surfing habits they will continue to be wary that information collected for advertising purposes could be used for other activities.

During a discussion taped earlier this month for a segment of C-SPAN’s “The Communicators” series to be broadcast on Sept. 11, FTC Consumer Protection Bureau Director David Vladeck said the agency wants to ensure that sensitive data such as medical information or financial information are not used inappropriately.

“I don’t think the delivery of targeted ads is what has people worried,” he said. What most people are worried about “is the threat that there is this enormous amount of data out there that can be used for purposes other than advertising,” Vladeck added. [...] Read more »

USA Today’s CyberSpeak columnist Kim Komando focuses on the issue of privacy and location-tracking services in an article. She explains the problems and she also gives tips on how to protect your privacy.

Geotagging adds GPS coordinates to your online posts or photos. You may be exposing this information without even knowing it. Geotagging is particularly popular with photos; many smartphones automatically geotag photos. [...]

Unless you have a stalker, these [location-based social-networking] services aren’t particularly dangerous on their own. You need to think about the layers of information you leave online. As you use more services, it’s easier for criminals to track you.

Let’s say you post a photo of your new house to a photo site. The photo is geotagged. You’ve linked your photo account to Facebook. And you use Foursquare or Twitter on the go; updates are sent to your Facebook account. Read more »