NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] More on the inane $15B lawsuit against Facebook
More on the inane $15B lawsuit against Facebook
http://j.mp/J8jpFd (This message on Google+)
- - -
Facebook Suit Over Subscriber Tracking Seeks $15 Billion
http://j.mp/J8fiZP (Bloomberg)
"This is not just a damages action, but a groundbreaking
digital-privacy rights case that could have wide and significant
legal and business implications," David Straite, a partner at
Stewarts Law, which represents some of the users, said in an e-
mailed statement.
- - -
You'll note that I've now graduated this lawsuit to the "inane"
category. And rightly so. It's not a "groundbreaking digital-privacy
rights" case, but it may set new highs for litigation abuse and
related opportunism.
I am (as you probably are aware) no friend of Facebook. I refuse to
even use them, other than having placeholder accounts so that I can
access other sites that have unwisely bound themselves to Facebook's
environment.
But this recurring pattern of "demonizing" cookies when no actual,
purposeful, or significant privacy-related harm has occurred, is
ludicrous and dangerous.
There are so many serious privacy-related issues on our plates. CISPA
cybersecurity legislation that could effectively roll back decades of
privacy laws. SOPA/PIPA-type legislation, which is bound to reemerge
in one form or another, however disguised. Government demands for
purpose-built wiretapping capabilities for Web services that use
encryption -- with all the opportunities for misuse and abuse that
this entails -- making CALEA-mandated wiretapping look like a drop in
the bucket by comparison.
These are the sorts of issues we should be worried about. Again, I'll
reference my earlier postings:
How "Privacy Correctness" Is Leading Us Dangerously Astray
http://j.mp/IwVa1T
Google, Safari, and a Clamor of Cookie Confusion
http://j.mp/xGZRcT
More and more, it seems like the clamor about cookies is reminiscent
of the old bogus and exploitive "Reefer Madness" mindset, dragged
disingenuously into the technological aspects of the 21st century.
Sometimes it appears that in many ways we've learned very
little, after all.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org
Founder:
- Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren / Twitter: http://vortex.com/t-lauren
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
_______________________________________________
nnsquad mailing list
http://lists.nnsquad.org/mailman/listinfo/nnsquad