Democratic senators on Friday called on federal regulators to investigate Verizon Wireless, the country’s biggest mobile provider, for secretly inserting unique tracking codes into the Web traffic of its some 100 million customers. Data privacy experts have accused Verizon of violating consumers’ privacy by using “supercookies,” an identifying string of letters and numbers attached to […]
High-Speed Internet on its Way to More Schools
The Federal Communications Commission agreed Thursday to dramatically boost spending to bring high-speed Internet access to schools and libraries in poor or rural areas, a move that would likely increase Americans’ phone bills by about $2 a year. Educators hailed the 60 percent jump in spending to $3.9 billion as critical to making sure much […]
Survey Finds Math, Science Grads Earn Top Dollar
What you study — math and science are a plus — seems to matter more than whether your alma mater is public or private when it comes to finding a high-paying job after college, according to a report released Tuesday by the Education Department. The survey of the class of 2008, by the National Center […]
Consumer behavior aggressively tracked this season
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s a big question for marketers: What kind of a buyer are you? And, as important, what are you willing to pay? In the search for answers this shopping season, consumer behavior online and off is being tracked aggressively with help from advances in technology. And it can happen whether buyers are […]
Need motivation? There’s an app or gadget for that
Welcome to the measured life. When Tim Davis of Beaver, Pa., tipped the scales at 318 pounds two years ago, he bought a Fitbit gadget to track his physical activity and the Lose It! app on his phone to track calories. He bought a Wi-Fi-enabled scale that published his daily weight on his Twitter feed […]
Benefit of mobile apps for toddlers questioned
WASHINGTON (AP) — Can a mobile app really teach a baby to find her nose? Or learn to recognize letters and numbers? Not according to an advocacy group that filed a complaint Wednesday with the Federal Trade Commission alleging that two popular baby app developers — Fisher-Price Inc. and Open Solutions — are trying to […]
Industry agrees to new mobile app guidelines
WASHINGTON (AP) — Industry groups and privacy advocates on Thursday were near agreement on voluntary guidelines for mobile apps that should make it easier for consumers to know what personal information is getting sucked from their smartphone or tablet and passed along to marketers. The plan will likely provide a brief, easy-to-read snapshot of an […]
Industry Agrees to New Mobile App Guidelines
WASHINGTON (AP) — Industry groups and privacy advocates on Thursday were near agreement on voluntary guidelines for mobile apps that should make it easier for consumers to know what personal information is getting sucked from their smartphone or tablet and passed along to marketers. The plan will likely provide a brief, easy-to-read snapshot of an […]
Driving somewhere? There’s a gov’t record of that
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chances are, your local or state police departments have photographs of your car in their files, noting where you were driving on a particular day, even if you never did anything wrong. Using automated scanners, law enforcement agencies across the country have amassed millions of digital records on the location and movement […]
Secret to Prism Program: Even Bigger Data Seizure
In the months and early years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, FBI agents began showing up at Microsoft Corp. more frequently than before, armed with court orders demanding information on customers. Around the world, government spies and eavesdroppers were tracking the email and Internet addresses used by suspected terrorists. Often, those trails led […]