February 2001 Archives

February 28, 2001

InternetNews.com: Radiate settles spyware class action

Politechbot: Motorola scheme uses GPS to disable grey-market imports

AP: Space-seeking hacker takes files (unprotected Indiana U. computer used to store and possibly distribute MP3 files; student data apparently compromised) (also see , Indiana Daily Student)

February 27, 2001

AP: Taxpayers pay for lunch at Hooters

AP: County bans phoning while driving (Westchester County, N.Y., enacts law prohibiting motorists from talking on handheld cellular phones)

Ananova: Senator wants ban on billboards featuring the word vagina and penis (also see Hartford Courant)

February 26, 2001

CNET News.com: ACLU stands behind John Does online

N.Y. Times: Privacy advocates sound alarm over bracelet monitor

Ananova: Baseball idol signs ‘kick me’ on boy’s back (also see Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Ananova: Consumers would object to paying for MSN; Newsbytes: Internet users want free content, no taxes … well, duh!

Wired News: ID, registration and DNA, please (experts discuss possibility of creating a national DNA database)

February 25, 2001

Politechbot: U.S. medical privacy regulations may be postponed indefinitely

Ananova: Sheriff bids to embarass criminals by painting jail pink

February 24, 2001

Wired News: This spam will drive you crazy

February 23, 2001

National Law Journal: Texas Supreme Court puts an end to law firm bonuses during clerkships

AP: U.S.-bound Chinese students get lesson in scandal

Orlando Sentinel: Barry University School of Law loses second bid for ABA approval; Bristol (Va.) Herald Courier: Appalachian School of Law wins provisional status from ABA

U. of Florida Alligator: UF’s first notification letter sent to parents (university will inform parents of child’s violations of campus alcohol policies)

Ananova: Court allows artist to sell sexual Barbie photos (also see RCFP press release)

USA Today: Filtering firm stops selling lists of sites kids visit

CNET News.com: High school student wins parody case (also see Ananova, and ACLU press release)

Wired News: Beware those insidious vcards (also see CNET, Computerworld, InternetNews.com, The Register)

February 22, 2001

Politechbot: Federal judge denies order against Realtime Blackhole List

Chronicle: ‘Automatic Professor Machine’ is unveiled — by a longtime technology critic (also see UB Reporter, The APM)

AP: Hong Kong may jam phones

Ananova: Lawyer ate evidence, claim police

AP: Stolen merchandise sold on eBay

February 21, 2001

Deseret News: Students rally against porn (high school students in Utah march on State Capitol, chanting “Heck No, Porn”)

Fairfax I.T.: We’re still fair game for privacy invaders

The Register: UK rejects CD-R tax

February 20, 2001

Los Angeles Times: AOL Time Warner in privacy dilemma: Mining its huge database may irk Net subscribers

Ananova: Man ‘smuggled tobacco inside cow’s bottom’

The Independent (Banjul, The Gambia): 12-year boy fights off killer crocodile

Ananova: Bingo seat gets eight women pregnant

February 19, 2001

Newsweek: ‘Joyce DeWitt Virus’ harms almost no computers, experts say

Politechbot: Disposal fees for unsolicited ads on new computers (purchaser of new computers seeks payment from Microsoft for removal of contaminants, including “Windows 2000″)

Politechbot: Here’s what happens to email and web pages after someone dies

The Atlantic: The Reinvention of Privacy

N.Y. Post: Kid cyberslams teachers (12-year-old student suspended from school for posting web site containing altered photos and insults about teachers) (also see Ananova)

N.Y. Post: Oh, brother! DWI bust for Roger (Roger Clinton arrested for drunken driving arrest less than a month after a pardon by his former presidential half-brother wiped away his criminal record) (also see Pravda)

February 17, 2001

Reuters: Bush, in Mexico foray, faces dreaded green nemesis (President Bush visits ranch of Mexican president and broccoli grower Vincente Fox)

February 16, 2001

Federal Trade Commission: Internet “pagejacker” settles FTC charges

Village Voice: Making Nike sweat (Nike declines customer’s order for personalized sneaker with the word “Sweatshop” on it) (also see Slashdot and Nike iD)

Oklahoma State Daily Collegian: Alumni’s privacy may be at risk (alumni group sells data to credit card issuer)

Ananova: ‘Free internet access’ lands family with £17,000 bill (“free” service caused Floridian’s computer to dial ISP in Britain)

SatireWire: Headhunting firm decapitates 250

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: Protest letter to the U.S. Secret Service (agents interrogated student author of editorial asking Jesus to smite George W. Bush)

Politechbot.com: What Canada doesn’t want you to see: Info on banned site

February 15, 2001

Univ. of Wisconsin Daily Cardinal: ASM lawsuit expected against UW (student government seeks course evaluation data under Freedom of Information Act)

AP: Belgian police raid homes of music downloaders

Privacy Forum: Network Solutions sells out — domain info for sale to marketers

San Diego Union-Tribune: San Francisco mayor gets restraining order against Elvis impersonator (also see S.F. Chronicle)

USA Today: Cash crunch makes it harder to avoid e-mail ads

Christian Science Monitor: Some practical advice on protecting your identity online

February 14, 2001

Ananova: Imelda Marcos to open shoe museum

Ananova: ‘Hamburglars’ steal giant Whopper

February 13, 2001

Ananova: Computers blamed for eight-year-old’s second jury call

Ananova: Pensioner wore neck brace for 14 years – instead of four weeks

Daily Northwestern: Ex-student faces felony in attempt to change grades

Ananova: Firms face closure for mis-spelt adverts (United Arab Emirates will impose fines for mistakes in ads)

Ananova: Bentley driver douses engine flames with champagne

The Onion: Lava lamps revert from passé retro kitsch back to novel retro camp

February 12, 2001

Fox News: Gary Coleman records steamy Valentine’s Day messages

SatireWire: Court orders Napster to stop as soon as it finishes downloading Pink Floyd

AP: Head-of-state status trumps W’s drunken driving conviction

February 11, 2001

BBspot: RIAA sues mirror manufacturers

February 10, 2001

AP: Soul sale pulled from eBay

Reuters: eBay seller hocks Atlantic City beach by the pound

BBspot: Top 10 White House pranks

BBspot: Priceline offers name your own price prostitutes

Wired News: FBI goes after Bonsaikitten.com (MIT served with grand jury subpoena for info about parody site)

February 09, 2001

Detroit Free Press: Proposed law would erase free Web users’ anonymity (ISPs would be required to collect subscriber data)

Philadelphia Inquirer: High tech joins the lunch line (fingerprint scanning for school lunches) (also see MSNBC, Popular Science, Food Service Solutions, and Libertarian Party press release)

February 08, 2001

Times (London): Insurance firm admits using genetic screening

CNET: Hobby industry looks to sew up thieves’ loose ends online (trade group fights needlepoint pirates)

February 06, 2001

Reuters: Pranksters hang Volkswagen from Golden Gate Bridge

Reuters: Vatican could name cyberspace patron saint

AP: Aquarium workers ate rare turtle

News.com: Privacy group seeks review of Net access to court files

UH Daily Cougar: Electronic devices spur U. Houston to reconsider academic honesty policy

February 05, 2001

Reuters: Lovelorn peacocks terrorize British villagers

Privacy Foundation: Email Wiretapping (describes how the sender of an HTML e-mail message can see comments added by a recipient who forwards the message to someone else)

February 03, 2001

ChristianityToday: Saint Flanders: He’s the evangelical next door on The Simpsons, and that’s okily dokily among many believers

Guess who owns aoltimewarneryahoo.com?

ICANN: Third advisory concerning Register.com v. Verio litigation

February 02, 2001

Reuters: Wayward penguin treated for depression … and, also from Reuters: Study: Penguins do not topple watching aircraft

Virginian-Pilot: Senate passes bill to make students pledge allegiance (students in Virginia schools could face suspension for failing to participate in Pledge of Allegiance)

February 01, 2001

The Onion: Department of Education: Metric system thriving in nation’s inner cities

BBC News: Data theft raises child abuse fears

Automotive News: Internet security is a thorny issue, and the title of “chief privacy officer” is becoming more common

Reuters: Phony $200 bill with Bush picture used in Kentucky

Washington Post: FTC watches for violations of privacy law

Reuters: Whiskers the cat may be a serial killer

Reuters: William Shatner to host Miss USA pageant

L.A. Times: Secret cameras scanned crowd at Super Bowl for criminals (facial recognition technology identified 19 people with criminal histories) (also see Washington Post report)

Wired News: Should states regulate privacy?