And the Privacy Gaps Just Keep On Coming

Excerpt from an article in The New York Times
Monday, February 20, 2012

And the Privacy Gaps Just Keep On Coming 

By NICK BILTON

SAN FRANCISCO -- Another week. Another privacy debacle.

This time, Apple is to blame. Yes, the company that has promoted itself as more private and secure than the other guys, with its stringent app approval process, has actually been handing out people's address books as if they were sausage samples on a toothpick at the supermarket.

Next week there will be another privacy slip. And again the week after. Like the movie "Groundhog Day," where the day repeats itself. Where the day repeats itself. Where the day repeats ... you get the point.

It might be Google, Amazon, Sony, Facebook or Apple, again. Or perhaps a small Silicon Valley start-up in such a rush to get its product out in the face of competition that it will focus more on designing the icon of its app, than ensuring users' privacy.

Imagine if a bank paid more attention to the color of the carpet in its lobby than the type of safe it uses to store its customers' valuables. No one would want to store anything there, that's for sure.

During the time it took to write this column, yet another privacy violation was reported. The Wall Street Journal said Friday that Google and other advertising companies bypassed privacy settings in Apple's Safari browser in order to track people's online behavior; three legislators called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate. Google said it immediately moved to address the concerns.

Whose fault is all of this? We can't just point fingers at the companies that make iPhones, apps, social networking services and Web sites - although there are a lot of fingers that can be aimed in their direction. We're all somewhat to blame.