by Marisa Taylor, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
The Council of the European Union has approved new legislation that would require Web users to consent to Internet cookies.
Cookies, small programs that can be used to track Web movements, have come under fire as consumer groups, including the Federal Trade Commission, have sought to regulate companies that engage in targeted behavioral advertising.
Online advertisers joined the blogger backlash against the Federal Trade Commission’s new guidelines that require bloggers, Twitterers and others to disclose any cash or freebies they’ve received to hawk stuff online.
Noting the new guidelines have created a “firestorm of controversy within the ad-supported interactive-media industry,” Interactive Advertising Bureau President Randall Rothenberg suggested the FTC rescind the new guidelines.
As you’ve likely heard by now, the Federal Trade Commission is trying to reign in freebie-grabbing bloggers and graft-happy social media users masquerading as unbiased critics.
by Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
The Federal Trade Commission is planning three public discussions, starting in December, devoted to technology and consumer privacy.
According to the FTC, the roundtables will address topics such as social networking, cloud computing, online advertising and mobile marketing, the goal being “to determine how best to protect consumer privacy while supporting beneficial uses of the information and technological innovation.”
by Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
The future of the cash for clunkers program is in doubt, but consumers should remain wary of fraudulent sites that claim to be associated with it.
The Federal Trade Commission has issued a consumer alert noting that only one Web site, Cars.gov, is the official destination for the Car Allowance Rebate System.
Patrick Moorhead, vice president of advanced marketing at Advanced Micro Devices, is a prolific blogger and tweeter about issues of concern to the chip maker. One of his biggest pet peeves is how battery life is measured in laptops, a topic that he thinks is going to become very hot.
by Rachel Emma Silverman, Editor, The Juggle, The Wall Street Journal
A number of Juggle readers are parent-bloggers themselves–and many of you read mom- or dad-blogs regularly. In many cases, parent-bloggers review products, such as diapers, toys and baby gear, and often receive free samples or services from companies hoping to see their wares get real parents’ seal of approval.
by L. Gordon Crovitz, Former Publisher, The Wall Street Journal
The last time cookies became a matter of public debate was when the “Sesame Street” character Cookie Monster was accused of encouraging poor eating habits among toddlers. Today’s controversial cookies are the small text files that track where people go online. Web sites do a poor job of explaining how and why this information is used, even as details about our lives are increasingly knowable online. Risks to privacy make this a race between smarter self-regulation on the Web and threatened new regulation by the Federal Trade Commission.
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