Posts Tagged With ‘ Internet ’

Have you ever had a problem because of data a company has collected on you? The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is launching an inquiry into companies that track and collect information on the details of people’s personal lives. It’s seeking input on data brokers and how their business practices impact people’s daily life. Companies that collect and monetize peoples’ personal data can pose significant harms, including privacy and security risks, the facilitation of harassment and fraud, and the spread of inaccurate information. People often have little choice on whether to do business... Continue Reading

The theme for International Women’s Day this year is “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality,” because 37 percent of women don’t use the internet and 259 million fewer woman have access to the internet than men. If women aren’t able to access the Internet and don’t feel safe online, they’re unable to develop the necessary digital skills to engage in digital spaces, which diminishes their opportunities to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics or STEM related fields, according to the United Nations website. The purpose of International... Continue Reading

I’m now a T-Mobile customer. Darn. I switched because I was upset that Verizon wouldn’t give me a deal on a new iPhone and I wanted to be in a family plan with my grandson from Spain who’s going to college in Massachusetts. T-Mobile announced last week that its customer records have been hacked again. This time, it affects about 37 million accounts. The disclosure came in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The breach was discovered two weeks before the announcement. T-Mobile, one of the big three cell phone companies, said “a bad actor” obtained “limited... Continue Reading

It’s positive to see government agencies working to curb monopoly power. The U.S. Department of Justice and eight states filed a lawsuit on Tuesday charging Google with operating an unfair monopoly scheme in markets for advertising technology. The lawsuit alleges Google leverages control over advertising technologies that web display ads are bought and sold through, driving out competition and receiving profits that far exceed what could be realized in a competitive market. This scheme hurts advertisers, small businesses, website creators, and consumers, and deters innovation in... Continue Reading

Just because you’re shopping late for the holidays doesn’t mean you should make a lot of costly mistakes. Take a deep breath, make a list, and proceed with confidence. My top tips include: Ask for a gift receipt. In addition, keep your receipts also in case the gift receipt gets lost. Ask what the deadline is for returning items. Give a subscription. That way you can say the gift is in the mail. Buy stocking stuffers at the Dollar Store. Give an experience – a concert, special dinner out, or coupon for a picnic in the park in the spring. Re-gift an item that’s like new, but... Continue Reading

Comcast is one of the companies that I dislike the most. I’m using polite language here because it’s the best thing for bloggers to do. I’ve had poor customer service many, many times, and one customer service manager used abusive language, calling me derogatory names. Another thing that irks me about Comcast is mandatory fees, such as $20 a month for sports, for items that I don’t want or need. I wish there were better alternatives in my area for internet service and competitive prices. In an internet service provider study, Consumer Reports collected data from monthly internet bills... Continue Reading

Photo: The Pancake of Heaven! It’s great progress that 40 state attorneys general have reached a $391.5 million settlement with Google over its location tracking practices. The Big Four – Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook – have tremendous power over our personal information and more needs to be done to rein them in. Google misled its users into thinking they had turned off location tracking in their account settings, when Google actually continued to collect their location information, according to the settlement. In addition to paying money, Google has agreed to improve its location... Continue Reading