Friday 6 November 2015

Social Media And Changes In Privacy Laws

One area significantly impacts by social media is privacy.  It used to be that what we did in our private lives remained private unless we talked to someone about our activities.  Today, however with the advent of Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr and Twitter, many find is easier and easier to post tidbits about their daily lives that perhaps, should have remained private.  Bottom line, social media is dangerous to privacy.

While all this sharing is helping to create communities of like-minded individuals, it is also destroying their expectation to privacy.  While Susan’s new bikini is just the thing for the beach at St. Tropez, it may not be something her boss needs to see.  The same is true for pictures posted on Facebook of friends drinking at a party.  Once these images are online, they are online forever and should circumstances change, say a spouse sues for child custody or a rival at work is seeking an edge over another employee, these images could pose significant problems. 

One of the big dangers of posting personal information online is that the internet is crawling with criminals who are just looking for an opportunity to score.  If we post when we are leaving town or that we have inherited a bit of money, we make ourselves vulnerable to exploitation.  Criminals are experts at trawling social media sites looking for information about vacations, nights out, etc., and identifying an easy mark. 

What was once the wild west of personal information is slowly beginning to see some regulation.  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is slowly beginning to enforce new and established privacy policies on social media sites and using these to sue the transgressors.  It has even been able to force transgressive sites to settle and have included agreement to allow the FTC a tighter grip on a specific site’s policies. 

One of the most notable cases occurred in 2011 when the FTC accused Facebook of lying to its users.  Facebook allegedly continually told its users that their personal information would remain private, yet Facebook repeatedly allowed this same personal information to be shared with the public.  Facebook ended up settling this claim and agreeing to a 20-year consent order.  This agreement mandates that Facebook must first have the consent of the user before any personal information may be disclosed.  What is interesting is that two years later, the FTC accused Facebook of violating the 20-year consent agreement when it proposed new privacy policies.  FTC said that Facebook’s intention to use members’ pictures and names in advertising products included an automatic assumption that parents of teenage users on Facebook agreed to this, although Facebook had no written confirmation of this agreement.


These types of victories and restrictions allowed the FTC also to receive 20-year consent agreements from MySpace, Twitter and Google.  In reality, though it is the states that are leading the way in developing regulations and laws to protect people’s private information.  California, New Jersey, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Arkansas, Colorado, Maryland, Illinois, and Michigan have all passed laws specifically restricting an employer’s access to their employee’s social media sites.  These are all steps in the right direction in controlling access to private information on social media.

Friday 25 September 2015

Uber hits roadblock in Florida

Ubers exponential growth has not been without problems. After amazing advances throughout the United States and Europe, they have hit a roadblock in Florida. Uber is now fighting it out with Miami and Tampa, where they are currently illegal. Understand it is against the law to ride in an uber car in Tampa. It's currently against the law for an uber car to be dispatched in under an hour.

Tampa and Miami classify ride-share as a limousine company. The rules are a $50 minimum, and 1 hour advance notification. Why? This rule is to protect taxi ccompanies and drivers, who've invested in medallions. Travis Kalanick says these rules are crazy. he says he is spending too much time fighting the officials in Florida. he says he would rather be at the Miami Shore Club. that is a swanky boutique hotel in South Beach. google it and see if you have the money to stay there.

As much as people say they like uber, they are contributing to the demise of a regulated industry that serves the general public. When the local Tampa news caster asked the Hillsborough County Commissioner if it was still legal for her to use uber, he tried to be polite about it. I am NOT polite about it. Your made up fake ass should be thrown in jail miss channel 8 news caster. sorry about mincing words.

Tampa suing Uber

This is what happened to an Uber driver in Germany. I hope Hillsborough County can shut Uber down to avoid potential violence. ..

The request for a cease-and-desist order, which names 53 drivers in addition to the company, says Uber behaves like a taxi service but operates outside of the PTC's legal purview.

"They have to agree to operate by the rules and regulations that we put in place," said PTC chairman Victor Crist. He said that includes commercial liability and personal injury insurance, vehicle safety inspections, and Level 2 fingerprint background checks on their drivers.

Ride-share companies Uber and Lyft have long quarreled with PTC regulators over whether they must meet those and other requirements. The companies, which use smartphone apps to connect riders with private drivers, started operating in Tampa in April 2014. Almost immediately, the PTC began issuing tickets, calling the services illegal.

The cease and desist order does not mention Lyft. And Crist said Tuesday that Uber could operate in Hillsborough County tomorrow if they met legal requirements. "But they come into town and claim, 'we're not a cab, we're not a limousine,' " said Crist, who also is a Hillsborough County commissioner.

This is not the first attempt by the PTC to close Uber down. The commission voted in early February to pursue injunctive relief against Uber and Lyft after both ride-share companies failed to comply with a cease-and-desist letter.

"Anyone providing for-hire transportation service to the public within Hillsborough County … must comply with these regulations or be subject to civil penalties and even criminal prosecution as a misdemeanor," Kyle Cockream, the PTC's executive director, wrote in a memo issued last December.

Uber declined to comment Tuesday.

Contact Zack Peterson at zpeterson@tampabay.com. Follow @zackpeterson918.

Uber driver Victorious52 is demented

Don't ride with Victorious52 if you use Uber. This gavone has been fired by every cab company in Tampa for reasons they will not say (one could only guess the horrible acts he committed). He is with Uber now. This dumb shit has been a failure at everything he has ever done in life. He now thinks he will find success with Uber. Life doesn't work that way. A loser is a loser.

Uber dominates at U.S. airports

This blurb in the business section of the Tampa Times pretty much confirms my worst fears. Uber has cracked the last vestige of protected business that the taxi companies have. If that percentage is even close st TIA, then the writing is on the wall. The authorities at the airport are extending their middle finger at the cab companies and drivers. They charge an outrageous fee for the right to serve them, force drivers to follow stupid rules. Then, they allow an unlicensed and uninsured Uber to operate at the airport. That is wrong and I swear to God we Will stop it.

The Bobby Hicks Pool

Its about time they started using this excellent facility. On the south side of Tampa is a long course pool called Bobby Hicks. The problem has been in recent years, it just remains closed. Don't know why.


Florida is the place where there is a demand for a pool. You have fitness folks and your 26.2 folks. I will try to get there soon and start regular exercise. You know I will stop about as soon as I start.

Lets see what happens this time.

Houston UBER DRIVER ARRESTED for rape



Duncan Burton served 14 years for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, according to court records and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. He was convicted by a jury in Houston and served time in Beaumont, Louisiana and Georgia before being released in 2012, according to the federal prison agency.

Although sentenced originally to 18 years, he had earned nearly three years of good conduct time and had about two years of jail time.

Burton, 57, was arrested Wednesday and charged with one count of sexual assault, a second-degree felony. If convicted, Burton faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He remains in the Harris County Jail without bail.

Uber spokeswoman Debbee Hancock said Monday that  Burton passed the company's background checks. She could not immediately be reached Tuesday to respond to the disclosure of Burton's drug conviction.

Someone with a negotiated drug conviction on his or her record would not be eligible for a city-issued permit, but could appeal and attempt to receive one, said Lara Cottingham, deputy assistant director in the city's Regulatory Affairs Department.osted by: william2000 (ZEROCENSORSHIP.COM)

An Uber driver is accused of sexually assaulting a customer in Houston. Police say Duncan Eric Burton raped a passenger.

According to the Houston Police Department, the victim, who was visiting from out of town and out with a group of friends at a bar in the Midtown area, was picked up by the driver.

Police said she was too drunk to tell the driver where she was staying, so he offered to take her to his home to sleep. That's when she alleges he raped her.Would you get into a cab with this guy?

UPDATE: this Uber driver was released in 2012 from Federal Prison on a drug cconviction. After serving 14 years in Prison, he still cleared tthe Uber background check



Read more: http://www.zerocensorship.com/bbs/uncensored/103935-texas-uber-driver-duncan-eric-burton-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-customer#ixzz3WLYxL7HW