1st National Conference on Mass Media and Communications Law

Intellectual Property, Mass Media, Electronic Communications and Data Protection

"recent developments and prospects"

 

Athens, 22 and 23 May 2015

Organized by the team of editors of DiMEE (Media and Communications Law Review)  

read full article at  https://www.facebook.com/events/433859490106632/ 

Why we may need third-party cookies after all

The third-party cookie -- also referred to as the HTTP cookie, web cookie, internet cookie, or browser cookie -- has been much maligned in recent years. Consumer privacy groups and industry bodies have rightly raised concerns around consumers' online privacy, data, and security, and have advocated for its demise. This has led to developments such as increased regulation -- like the European Union's ePrivacy directive -- as well as efforts to development into alternative tracking methods led by major players such as Google and Facebook.

 Pundits have been predicting the end of the cookie in the EU for years, and the ePrivacy directive has provided needed clarification on privacy and use in those countries. However, the third-party cookie is still employed in the EU, and no viable alternative has yet to emerge.

 Make no mistake: Consumers deserve to have their privacy respected, and need to be given notice and a choice as to how their data is used. A few recent faux pas -- such as Verizon's use of super cookies and AT&T's proposed plan to charge consumers separate rates for not tracking their internet behavior -- have caused the public to again question the value of the cookie. However, before we do away with it in the name of privacy, let's examine the benefits -- there's much to be thankful for when it comes to all that this small text file provides. I would argue that, without it, much of the richness and variety of the internet might not exist.

read full article at iMedia Connection

How can privacy survive in the era of the internet of things?

Amazon’s new Dash button, which will order replacement products at the touch of a button, might well usher us further towards the internet of things (IoT), in which a variety of connected devices talk to each other, quietly doing our bidding.

The next step: household appliances that re-order consumables automatically, without the need for a button at all. But what does this universe of connected devices mean for our privacy?

 Companies have been talking about the IoT for years. There are many possible visions of it. Some think it’s about your smartwatch talking to your car, while your fridge independently talks to the grocery store to order you some more milk.

read full article at The Guardian

Do not Track: an online, interactive documentary about who’s watching you

 “I know right now that this is the country you live in,” says a seemingly omnipotent narrator as an image of the Queen flashes up on my screen. “I know that it is a nice morning. I know that you’re on a Mac.”

I’m watching the first episode of Do Not Track – and it’s a discombobulating experience. An online interactive documentary, the show aims to reveal how you, yes you, are being followed online by a host of companies. And it’s personal. Both the narrator’s identity and language are determined by your location, deduced from your IP address, while data gleaned by inviting you to log on to Facebook, take a survey or enter the address of an oft-visited website reveal how trackers deduce not only who you are and what you like, but use that information to shape your online world.

“Each viewer is going to have a different experience as they watch it,” explains the series’ creator and director Brett Gaylor. “Privacy is a very complex issue and it can be abstract for people so we wanted to explore ways that we could have that hit home – literally.”

read full article at The Guardian