policy

Verizon Wireless' decision to extend the wait time for a phone upgrade has some concerned about the potential consumer reaction.

Verizon recently said it would do away with early upgrades, forcing consumers to wait the full 24 months before they are eligible to buy a new phone with the lower subsidized price. Customers previously had to wait only 20 months before getting the early upgrade.

The move comes as T-Mobile said it would do away with contracts and subsidized pricing, providing a better financial deal to consumers. From a broader industry perspective, more consumers are starting to move away from … Read more

Google's 2012 rewrite of its privacy policy, which gave the company the right to "combine personal information" across multiple products, is still ruffling feathers in Europe.

France's privacy watchdog, the Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertes (CNIL), said today that six European countries are launching "coordinated and simultaneous enforcement actions" because Google "has not implemented any significant compliance measures," despite a request for changes to the policy. The countries are France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.

It all dates back to early last year, when Google … Read more

A Chinese marketplace watchdog is calling for tighter supervision of Apple's consumer-rights practices as the state-controlled media continued its assault on the iPhone maker's after-sale policies.

The State Administration for Industry and Commerce issued a notice today that urged authorities to increase supervision of Apple's warranty policies, according to a report on China National Radio's Web site.

"Local authorities should investigate and punish illegal acts according to law," the notice said, according to state media reports.

The wave of criticism against the iPhone maker began earlier this month during a TV segment on state-run network China Central Television Station … Read more

Generally each account on an OS X system is protected with a password; however, the security of a system can be compromised by the use of an insecure password. For example, common passwords like "12345," "password," or "letmein," or short passwords may be easily guessed. Sometimes account holders on a multiuser system may even use a blank password, which can easily let anyone into their accounts. By default OS X will warn users of such practices and recommend strong passwords be used, but ultimately does not prevent users from setting whatever password they want.… Read more

When putting your phone into your pocket, you can accidentally activate the camera on the lock screen. This will run down your battery and can heat up the phone, especially if the flash happens to be on. For any Jelly Bean user with these reoccurring issues, Lockscreen Policy comes to the rescue.

Since Lockscreen Policy is a simple and light program, it downloads instantly. The user interface is virtually nonexistent, as the program runs in the background. The application simply adds an extra option in the settings menu to disable the camera application and widgets from the lock screen. This … Read more

The European Parliament will vote Tuesday on a proposal that could lead to a blanket ban on pornography in any forms of media with potentially wide-ranging implications for freedom and expression in the 27-member state bloc.

Passage of the proposal, "Eliminating gender stereotypes in the EU," would allow the EU to help secure the rights for those across the gender spectrum, particularly women. While the report states that there is an "increasingly noticeable tendency...to show provocatively dressed women, in sexual poses," it also notes that pornography is becoming mainstream and is "slipping into our … Read more

A rose is still a rose by any other name.

The same, as far as Facebook is concerned, goes for a breast.

The company's breast police don't offer leeway, as some of your local policemen do.

When they see a breast, they not only incise it, they also slice the account that harbors it from the Facebook community.

The latest to hang their heads in horror are the social networkers of the Jeu De Paume, a highly respected art museum in Paris.

In all Gallic innocence, they posted an extremely artistic photograph of a blonde lady covered merely … Read more

The White House today backed an Internet petition asking the Library of Congress to change its stance on the legality of smartphone unlocking.

In a post on the We The People blog, R. David Edelman, the White House senior adviser for Internet, innovation and privacy, said the administration agrees with those who signed the petition, and aims to support any legislation that would remedy the issue.

"The White House agrees with the 114,000 plus of you who believe that consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties," Edelman wrote. "… Read more

In response to the uproar caused by its upcoming ban on telecommuting, Yahoo issued a brief statement this evening acknowledging that its work-at-home ban runs contrary to practices in the tech industry as a whole.

"This isn't a broad industry view on working from home," Yahoo said in a statement published by The New York Times. "This is about what is right for Yahoo right now."

A spokesperson declined to elaborate and said, "We don't discuss internal matters."

Yahoo's new policy, which requires employees to work in the company's offices, … Read more