Category Archives: E-commerce

The Prime Minister, Starbucks, Edelman and two bits of good news

Posted on April 28, 2013 by

  It’s not every morning you wake up to find yourself on the front page of a major national newspaper sharing a slot with your country’s Prime Minister. That’s what’s happened to me last Wednesday. The media focus was on … Continue reading →

Posted in Age verification, Default settings, E-commerce, Internet governance, Pornography, Regulation, Self-regulation

Big Brother in your pocket

Posted on March 3, 2013 by

  The American Association for the Advancement of Science met in Boston last week to survey and discuss, erm, the advancement of science. Lots of interesting stuff going on with the boys and girls in white coats. One particular piece … Continue reading →

Posted in Consent, Default settings, E-commerce, Internet governance, Location, Mobile phones, Pornography, Privacy, Regulation, Self-regulation

Research Agenda – Update 1

Posted on February 12, 2013 by

  Good to know my blogs can prompt responses. I have a few suggested additions to my list of unanswered questions or topics that need further examination or thought. Fraud This is tied up with aspects of eCommerce and payments … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Age verification, Child abuse images, Consent, Default settings, E-commerce, Internet governance, Location, Pornography, Regulation, Self-regulation

My research agenda

Posted on February 9, 2013 by

  I expect we all have ideas buzzing around our heads about unanswered questions which, if we had the time and the money, we would like to see resolved. Below is my current list. Some are probably not research proposals … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Age verification, Child abuse images, Consent, Default settings, E-commerce, Internet governance, Location, Mobile phones, Pornography, Privacy, Regulation, Self-regulation

Much ado about……what exactly?

Posted on February 2, 2013 by

  In a blog I wrote in March, 2011, I quoted Robert Madelin, the then newly appointed Director-General of DG Connect. Speaking about the role of self-regulation as a mechanism for making the internet a better place for children Madelin said … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Consent, Default settings, E-commerce, Facebook, Google, Internet governance, Location, Microsoft, Mobile phones, Privacy, Regulation, Self-regulation

COPPA – probably not the last word

Posted on January 9, 2013 by

  The COPPA Rule is an online child protection measure. It was adopted and became Federal law in the USA under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, 1998. The Rule came into effect in 2000. It governs key data collection and advertising practices … Continue reading →

Posted in Age verification, Default settings, E-commerce, Facebook, Google, Internet governance, Mobile phones, Privacy, Regulation, Self-regulation

The world goes mobile – but not in a good way

Posted on January 4, 2013 by

  December was a busy month at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in Washington DC. But first let’s wind back to February, 2012, and a report the FTC published based on research carried out in 2011. Mobile Apps for Kids: … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Age verification, Consent, Default settings, E-commerce, Internet governance, Location, Mobile phones, Privacy, Regulation, Self-regulation | Tagged

More action on privacy. That was quick!

Posted on January 3, 2013 by

  Four days ago I published a blog in which I said we ought to think about mounting a large scale and sustained public campaign which would aim to inculcate more appropriate attitudes towards online privacy and instil some better … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Consent, Default settings, E-commerce, Privacy, Regulation, Self-regulation

Advertising to children

Posted on January 2, 2013 by

  What follows is an edited extract from a bulletin put out by America’s Federal Trade Commission the week before Christmas. The FTC announced the results of a comprehensive study of food and beverage industry marketing expenditures and activities. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, E-commerce, Internet governance, Regulation, Self-regulation | Tagged , , ,

Big can be beautiful

Posted on December 31, 2012 by

  It is possible for us to prove things about ourselves in ways which put those facts and our relationship to them beyond all reasonable doubt. We can say they are true with an exceptionally high level of certainty. Technology … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Age verification, Consent, Default settings, E-commerce, Internet governance, Location, Privacy, Regulation, Self-regulation