Class Action Privacy Suit Against Google Street View Given Go-Ahead by 9th Circ.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit this week affirmed a lower court's dismissal of a motion to dismiss a class-action invasion of privacy suit brought against San Francisco-based Google, Inc., concerning Street View.

In its 35-page decision in Joffe, et al. v. Google, Inc. (Case No. 11-17483), the appellate court shot down Google's claim that Street View's accumulation of data was protected by an exception to the Wiretap Act [18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2522]. "Surely," wrote 9th Circuit Judge Jay Bybee, "Congress did not intend to condone such an intrusive and unwarranted invasion of privacy when it enacted the Wiretap Act." 

The six-year-old Street View was supposed to supplement Google Maps by offering users images of locations, but Google's vehicles wound up in a ditch when its Wi-Fi antennas captured emails, user names, passwords and other documents from unencrypted wireless networks of businesses and residences.  The company settled a lawsuit with the Attorneys General of 38 states arising from the Street View transgression last March (see "TUOL" post 3/13/13) by agreeing to pay a $7 million fine.

Facebook Borrows a Button from Twitter

Image via CrunchBaseRadio comic Fred Allen once mused that "imitation is the sincerest form of television." Apparently, that applies to virtual world too.

Facebook, the social networking platform behemoth, has added a Subscribe button for its users to play with, in a nod to microblogger Twitter. Joining the Poke and Message buttons on Facebook's Profiles page, the Subscribe button, when clicked, affords access to the inner-most thoughts of participants, including celebrities and pols, irrespective of whether they are among the users' "friends," according to a release by Facebook reported in the San Jose Mercury News, the GMANewsTV.com Website and elsewhere. Additionally, the Subscribe feature enables users to control what content of their friends' profiles they wish to see, for example, granting access to photos but curtailing the endless, dreaded life event updates.

The latest Facebook addition follows its recent expansion of Friends Lists, including Smart Lists, which allows for more efficient grouping of Facebook pals. "TUOL" wonders if a little birdie told Facebook about Google +, the social networking service rolled out this past summer with its Circles, Hangouts, Sparks, Huddles and other cutesie annoyances. Before long, the Facebook site will have more buttons than an Edwardian-style suit jacket.

Is Livestand Yahoo's Last Stand?

Image via WikipediaSometime during the first half of this year, Yahoo plans to launch Livestand, a tablet news and magazine service that users will be able to follow on their Apple iPad or Google Android, the San Jose Mercury News reported today.

Yahoo Finance and Yahoo Sports will be among the content available to subscribers, along with certain magazine and newspaper offerings, the Mercury News story said. No details on the actual launch date or how Yahoo plans to divvy up revenues with participating newspapers and magazines. The company said Livestand would be personalized to individuals' interests and would take into account the users' location and the time of day.