The Morning Briefing: Divorcing Google, privacy violations, consumer protection

"The Morning Briefing" is SmartPlanet's daily roundup of must-reads from the web. This morning we're reading about privacy and data retention.

1.) Is your privacy worth more than a bagel? What is your privacy worth? According to privacy researchers in Berlin, about 65 cents -- or the cost of a bagel. Researchers at the German Institute for Economic Research brought 443 consumers into a lab to purchase movie tickets online from one of two sellers. One of the ticket vendors asked for more personal information than the other one, and discounts were used as a tool to see whether privacy or financial gain was more important for consumers.

2.) Privacy Regulators: U.S. and EU will take different approaches. The development of online privacy protections will be difficult to coordinate across the Atlantic Ocean, several privacy experts said Monday. The U.S. and the E.U. have very different approaches to privacy enforcement, with the U.S. focused on enforcing privacy promises that companies make, and the E.U. enforcing individual privacy rights.

3.) EU demands Google response to privacy worry. European data protection authorities have asked Google to respond to concerns about the search engine’s new privacy policy, which came into force at the beginning of March.

4.) How to divorce Google. Leave Google and restore your privacy in seven days (or at least get a start on the process) -- One man's tale of escape. It's a fairly long process, but there are alternative products that do not collect or store information concerning you. If you are concerned about your privacy or being tracked, this may be an option.

See also: [video] Google's privacy practices under investigation by U.S., E.U.

5.) Dun & Bradstreet probes alleged privacy violations. Commercial information provider Dun & Bradstreet Corp. has suspended the operations of a China-based business pending an investigation into whether it violated local consumer-privacy laws, and it is also looking into whether employees there violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The business in question, Shanghai Roadway D&B Marketing Services Co., is a firm that helps marketers reach customers through its database.

Bonus: iPad Dictation prompts Apple data retention questions.

Image credit: Johan Larsson

Related:

• CIA: We'll spy on you through your refrigerator
• Take the pill, get fired?
• Smartphones, social networks to blame for rise in identity theft
• France heads EU showdown with Google

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com