blumenthal

Senators aim to cut through 4G baloney

A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday would compel wireless carriers to be more forthcoming about what exactly customers can expect from services marketed as 4G.

The bill from Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, along with Connecticut's Richard Blumenthal--all Democrats--is similar to the " Next Generation Wireless Disclosure Act," which was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in June by Palo Alto Democrat Anna Eshoo.

Together the lawmakers are aiming to cut through the marketing mishmash that slaps the 4G label on a handful of next-generation network flavors such as LTE, … Read more

Craigslist cuts off adult services worldwide

Craigslist's adult services section is now out of business around the world.

The ouster of the controversial section was confirmed by Craigslist to the office of Connecticut Attorney General General Richard Blumenthal yesterday, according to the Associated Press. The removal of the section from dozens of countries follows a similar action that saw it taken down in the U.S. four months ago.

Responding to the global takedown, Blumenthal called it "another another important step in the ongoing fight to more effectively screen and stop pernicious prostitution ads," the AP reported.

No date was specified as to … Read more

Mr. President, please protect Web shoppers

commentary During one of the busiest online shopping periods of the year, legislation that protects online shoppers from being preyed upon by unscrupulous marketers and Internet retailers could become law soon.

A bill called the "Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act" was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week and should soon hit the desk of President Barack Obama.

The legislation is designed to stop a practice made infamous by three marketing firms: Webloyalty, Vertrue, and Affinion. These companies presented ads for membership programs to consumers just as they were completing transactions at Web stores. The … Read more

Google, CT headed for showdown over Street View

As the hours tick away before the close of business today, it appears Google is not going to comply with a demand from the State of Connecticut for the data gathered through its Street View project.

Google technically has until 5 p.m. ET today to turn over the payload data it says it inadvertently gathered, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. The Wall Street Journal obtained a statement from Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's office implying that Google had already decided against complying with the civil investigative demand issued last week by Blumenthal's … Read more

Conn. AG wants Google's Wi-Fi Street View data

Google's legal headache spurred by its Street View project shows no signs of easing.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who has been leading a cadre of attorneys general investigating Google's Wi-Fi Street View data gathering, formally ordered the search giant today to hand over data gathered during the years it operated Street View cars. He issued a civil investigative demand, a legal order similar to a subpoena, after Google refused to provide the data after less formal requests, according to a statement released by his office.

"We need to verify what confidential information the company surreptitiously and … Read more

Connecticut AG investigating Apple, Amazon e-book deals

MarketWatch has posted a short news item about how Connecticut's Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is investigating whether "e-book deals between Amazon.com and Apple and major book publishers may be anticompetitive."

"These agreements among publishers, Amazon, and Apple appear to have already resulted in uniform prices for many of the most popular e-books--potentially depriving consumers of competitive prices," Blumenthal said in statement.

Ironically, of course, Amazon did not want to enter into the current agreements but was forced to after four out of the five major publishers signed on with Apple and moved to an &… Read more

Connecticut heads up 30-state Google Wi-Fi probe

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal plans to head up a 30-state investigation into Google's Wi-Fi data gathering scandal, his office announced Monday.

Blumenthal's investigation adds to the legal headaches for Google caused by the revelation that its Street View cars were collecting wireless "payload" data in addition to geolocation data from unsecured wireless hot spots. Ever since Google revealed the extent of its data gathering a month ago in response to inquiries from German regulators, lawyers and politicians have been lining up to express their outrage.

"Consumers have a right and a need to know … Read more

This holiday, who's looking out for online shoppers?

Web shoppers are in need of a digital-age Ralph Nader, the kind of firebrand consumer advocate who can focus public scorn on unscrupulous merchants.

Last week, the U.S. Senate Commerce committee revealed that some of the Web's best-known retailers, including Barnes & Noble, Hotwire, Yahoo, Pizza Hut, Travelocity, Fandango, and Victoria's Secret, were part of a dubious marketing operation designed to mislead their own customers.

Serious questions about who's policing e-commerce were raised after the Commerce committee issued a report detailing how three marketing firms, Affinion, Webloyalty, and Vertrue, generated $1.4 billion with the help … Read more

Predator panic increases risk

I've been an Internet safety advocate since 1993 and right now I'm discouraged and angry about what's going on in this field. I'm angry because people who ought to know better are trying to mislead the public with false information about online risks which is diverting attention away from real risks. And I'm not alone. Many respected online safety organizations and leading youth-risk researchers are trying to shift the discussion away from mostly predator danger to youth behavior risk. Thanks to some politicians, it's an uphill battle.

Online safety groups and public officials should … Read more