“The Center for the Digital Future at the USC Annenberg School has been tracking a representative sample of the American population for over six years watching as people move on-line and then move from modems to broadband.” Highlights of the 2007 Digital Future Report “This year’s report contains a large module looking at on-line communities… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: E-Commerce
Google Settles With Members of Copiepresse Suit in Belgium
Follow up to September 18, 2006 – posting Belgian Court Rules Against Google in Copyright Dispute: Google defends against Belgian newspaper copyright case – Launches spirited defense of caching, summarizing, fair use Google reaches deal with two Belgian press groups – They objected to how it indexes and displays their content on Google News Continue Reading
E-Gov Sites Offer Suggestions for Holiday Shopping
E-government websites offer useful holiday shopping advice to consumers via the following: FTC Consumer Alert – Holiday Shopping? How To Be On Guard When Youre Online and Consumer Action Buying tips: “Before you head out to the mall or shop online for that perfect present, take a few moments to read these tips to help… Continue Reading
Presentations Available from FTC Public Hearings on Protecting Consumers in the Next Tech-ade
Federal Trade Commission Public Hearings on Protecting Consumers in the Next Tech-ade, November 6 – 8, 2006. Links to presentations (in formats that include html, PDF, and video), on the following topics: Key Changes Predicted in the Next Tech-ade; The Changing Internet; How Will We Communicate in the Next Tech-ade?; Social Networking – Trends and… Continue Reading
Commentary on the Advertising Power of YouTube
From Wired Magazine: “TV advertising is broken, putting $67 billion up for grabs. Which explains why google spent a billion and change on an online video startup.” Continue Reading
YouTube Faces Rapidly Escalating Copyright Challenges
Wall Street Journal free feature: YouTube Finds Signing Rights Deals Complex, Frustrating Financial Times: Google in bid to halt YouTube legal threat Related news: eWeek.com Google Watch blog: “Universal Tube and Rollform Equipment Corporation, an industrial manufacturing and sales firm, filed suit this week against YouTube in Ohio federal district court, arguing they’ve incurred dramatic… Continue Reading
Complaint Filed With FTC Calling for Investigation of Online Consumer Tracking and Data Collection Practices
Press release, November 1, 2006: “The Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG), two of the leading public-interest advocacy groups working on behalf of a more diverse and competitive online environment, filed a complaint today with the Federal Trade Commission, calling on the commission to undertake an immediate,… Continue Reading
National Community Reinvestment Coalition Files FTC Complaint Against Zillow.com
October 26, 2006 press release: – “Today, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) filed a consumer protection complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleging Internet financial services and real estate provider Zillow.com is misleading consumers, real estate professionals and financial service providers in on-line home valuations.” Zillow’s response to the complaint, posted on the… Continue Reading
Federal Prosecution of Human Trafficking, 2001-2005
Federal Prosecution of Human Trafficking, 2001-2005, 10/06. “Presents Federal criminal case processing statistics on peonage and slavery statutes in the U.S. criminal code with a focus on human trafficking offenses created by Congress in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. NCJ 215248” Acrobat file | ASCII file| Spreadsheets (zip format 3K) Continue Reading
CMO Council Survey on ID Theft Tracks Growing Consumer Concern
Press release, October 4, 2006: “As information security concerns among consumers and other customer constituencies rise, just 29 percent of marketers say that their firm has a crisis containment plan in case of a security breach, according to findings of a major research initiative by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council. Without such a plan… Continue Reading
Telephone Record Seller Settles FTC Charges
Press release: “An Internet business that advertised and sold consumers’ phone records and records of credit card accounts to third parties has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated federal law. The settlement bars the defendants from obtaining or selling consumers’ confidential phone and credit account records unless authorized by law or… Continue Reading
Large Companies Collecting More Personal Information
Press release, September 11, 2006: “The Customer Respect Group, an international research and consulting firm that focuses on how corporations treat their online customers, today released findings from its Annual Review of the Largest 100 US Companies… as defined by Fortune Magazine in April 2006. The average rating for the companies was 5.7 on a… Continue Reading
