Slideshow: Some of These Tech Companies Protect Your Privacy, Others Don't Make the Grade

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Few issues are as endemic to our time as that of Internet privacy. The unprecedented growth of Internet applications that store users' private information has changed the world, sparking a new legion of legal debates. Since 2011, the nice folks at Gizmodo have been evaluating the commitment of tech companies to transparency about how data flows to government, as well as corporate stances on protecting user privacy. The results of
their survey
are fascinating. Gizmodo used six individual criteria to grade the performance and policies of tech companies. These include (1) requiring a warrant for content of communications; (2) notifying users of government data requests; (3) publishing transparency reports on how often companies provide user data to government; (4) publishing law enforcement guidelines on how companies respond to government data demands; (5) fighting for users' privacy in courts; and (6) fighting for users' privacy in Congress. If a company met the specification for a criteria, it was awarded a star. There's plenty of uplifting news out of the report.
Yahoo!YHOOearned a star
for fighting a Justice Department attempt to seize a user's email address without any probable cause. Not surprisingly, the survey revealed a significant lack of commitment to protecting users' privacy among certain companies. Despite assurance that
VerizonVZ
protects user privacy, an in-depth read of the company's privacy policy fails to meet any of the report's specifications. A total of 18 companies were evaluated for privacy practices. They include
Amazon.comAMZN
,
AppleAAPL
,
AT&T
T
,
ComcastCMCSA
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, Dropbox,
FacebookFB
, Foursquare,
GoogleGOOG
,
LinkedInLNKD
,
MicrosoftMSFT
, MySpace, Sonic.net, Spideroak, Twitter, Tumblr, Verizon, WordPress and Yahoo! How did the tech companies that make up your online experience fare when it came to protecting your privacy? You'll have to check out our slideshow to find out.
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Posted In: NewsTechGeneralCybersecurityDropboxFoursquarePrivacy MyspaceSonic.netSpideroakTumblrtwitterWordPress
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