Privacy | featured news

Google has been fined by German data regulators after it admitted illegally recording information from unsecured wi-fi networks.

Regulators in Google's largest European markets are taking joint action to try and force the company to overhaul its privacy policy.

It's a good bet that in the not-so-distant future aerial drones will be part of Americans' everyday lives, performing countless useful functions. A far cry from the killing machines whose missiles incinerate terrorists, these generally small, unmanned aircraft will help farmers more precisely apply water and pesticides to crops, saving money and reducing environmental impacts. They'll help police departments find missing people, reconstruct traffic accidents and act as lookouts for SWAT teams. They'll alert authorities to people stranded on rooftops by hurricanes and monitor evacuation flows.

After having its hand slapped for information collection and exposure mishaps -- from Buzz to, most recently, Wi-Spy -- Google is wary of running afoul of regulators over privacy mistakes. Liz Gannes at AllThingsD reports that company sources tell her this fear was part of the reason for the company's unpopular decision to pull the plug on Google Reader: [T]he shutdown wasn’t just a matter of company culture and bigger priorities, sources said.

Google has agreed to pay a record fine for collecting wi-fi data as part of its Street View service.

Authorities and celebrities were grappling Monday with how to respond to a website that posted what appears to be private financial information about top government officials and stars such as Jay-Z and Mel Gibson....

Clicking those friendly blue "like" buttons strewn across the Web may be doing more than marking you as a fan of Coca-Cola or Lady Gaga. It could out you as gay. It might reveal how you vote.

Harvard said it had not notified most of the employees involved because it wanted to protect the one who inadvertently leaked confidential material to the news media.

Cars will soon be so linked into wireless networks they will be like giant rolling smartphones — with calling systems, streaming video, cameras and apps capable of harnessing the unprecedented trove of data vehicles will produce about themselves and the humans who drive them.

A plan by Seattle police to send aloft miniature drones equipped with cameras has been grounded, following heated criticism by residents concerned about privacy, the mayor says.