Corporate

Google Advertising Based on Environmental Conditions Patent

This document describes a system for allowing advertisers to target on-line advertisements based on environmental factors of end users. When determining what ads to serve to end users, the environmental factors can be used independently or in combination with matching of keywords associated with the advertisements and keywords in user search queries. A web browser or search engine located at the user’s site may obtain information on the environment (e.g., temperature, humidity, light, sound, air composition) from sensors. Advertisers may specify that the ads are shown to users whose environmental conditions meet certain criteria. For example, advertisements for air conditioners can be sent to users located at regions having temperatures above a first threshold, while advertisements for winter overcoats can be sent to users located at regions having temperatures below a second threshold.

Facebook Outsourced Abuse Standards/Content Moderation Manual

A manual for the California-based outsourcing company oDesk is used by “live content” moderators of Facebook to provide standards for monitoring photos and postings in accordance with Facebook’s abuse and inappropriate content provisions. The manual was originally provided to Gawker by a 21-year-old Moroccan man who says he was paid $1 dollar an hour to scan Facebook for illicit content.

Debbie Cook Scientology $1 Billion Cash Reserve Email

The text of an email sent on January 1, 2012 by a senior member of Scientology’s Sea Org named Debbie Cook. The email was published on the website of the Village Voice, then was removed at the request of Ms. Cook. The email discusses Cook’s problems with the direction that the Church of Scientology has recently taken, including what she perceives an obsessive emphasis on fundraising and a more than $1 billion dollar unused cash reserve. Cook confirmed the email’s authenticity via Facebook.

Amazon Location Tracking and Future Destination Prediction Patent

Mobile device users may be tracked either via mobile-signal triangulation or via Global Positioning Satellite information. A mobile device user’s recent movements may be analyzed to determine trails or traffic patterns for device user among various locations. Mobile device trail information, either for an individual user or aggregated for multiple users, may be analyzed to determine a next destination for the user. Electronic advertising content, such as advertisements, coupons and/or other communications, associated with the next destination may be sent to an electronic device likely to be viewed by the mobile device user. Additionally, the identity of the mobile device user may be known and the advertisements or coupons may be tailored according to demographic information regarding the mobile device user. In addition, destinations may be recommended to mobile device users based on the recent locations the users have visited.

Carrier IQ Cellular Phone Intelligence Software Training Materials

A presentation included in a collection of materials related to Trevor Eckhart’s research into the “mobile service intelligence” software produced by Carrier IQ. The document was specifically mentioned in a cease and desist order that the company sent to Eckhart demanding that he remove their “confidential training materials” and take down his analysis of the company’s software. Though the company later withdrew the legal complaint, this presentation remains unavailable from its original location and is only available via a number of mirrors at file-hosting sites.

Facebook Law Enforcement Subpoena/Data Request Guidelines

A series of documents comprised of all publicly available versions of Facebook’s subpoena and legal compliance guides produced for law enforcement information requests. This site previously published the Facebook law enforcement guides from 2007-2010, which included a 2008 version of the manual that was originally published by Cryptome. The guides were referenced by privacy scholars and others in the media, yet Facebook would not even confirm to Reuters the authenticity of the documents. With two more editions provided by the latest #AntiSec leak (including a second expanded copy from 2010 and a shorter version from 2006), there are now 6 separate versions available from 2006-2010. All but one of the guides are labeled with version numbers documenting the evolution of the Facebook process for supplying user information to law enforcement.

Clark Lytle Geduldig Cranford Occupy Wall Street Lobbyist Response Proposal

Leading Democratic party strategists have begun to openly discuss the benefits of embracing the growing and increasingly organized Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement to prevent Republican gains in Congress and the White House next year. We have seen this process of adopting extreme positions and movements to increase base voter turnout, including in the 2005-2006 immigration debate. This would mean more than just short-term political discomfort for Wall Street firms. If vilifying the leading companies of this sector is allowed to become an unchallenged centerpiece of a coordinated Democratic campaign, it has the potential to have very long-lasting political, policy and financial impacts on the companies in the center of the bullseye. It shouldn’t be surprising that the Democratic party or even President Obama’s re-election team would campaign against Wall Street in this cycle. However the bigger concern should be that Republicans will no longer defend Wall Street companies- and might start running against them too. Well-known Wall Street companies stand at the nexus of where OWS protestors and the Tea Party overlap on angered populism. Both the radical left and t he radical right are channeling broader frustration about the state of the economy and share a mutual anger over TARP and other perceived bailouts. This combination has the potential to be explosive later in the year when media reports cover the next round of bonuses and contrast it with stories of millions of Americans making do with less this holiday season.

Blue Coat Systems Web Filtering/Surveillance Technology Sales Guide

A “Sales Playbook” for distributors of Blue Coat equipment includes pricelists and a guide to selling web filtering technology including some of the very same models discovered by Telecomix to be in use by the Syrian government for spying on their population. These models include the SG-400 and SG-810, among others, which have a price range of $3,999 up to $34,999 depending on the specific model.

Zuccotti Park Owner’s Letter to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly on Occupy Wall Street

As you know, for over three weeks, Zuccotti Park (the “Park”) has been used by “Occupy Wall Street” and other protesters as their home base. The Park is owned by a Brookfield affiliate and was recently renovated at Brookfield’s considerable expense as an amenity for the general public. It is intended to be a relaxing tree-filled oasis in the midst of the hustle and bustle of Lower Manhattan. We fully support the rights of free speech and assembly, but the manner in which the protesters are occupying the Park violates the law, violates the rules of the Park, deprives the community of its rights of quiet enjoyment to the Park, and creates health and public safety issues that need to be addressed immediately. Within the Park, the protesters have set up living spaces with tarpaulins, mattresses, sleeping bags, tables, bookshelves, gasoline-powered generators and other items that arc inconsistent with the rules and normal public use of the Park. At all hours of the day and night, protesters arc sleeping on benches and walkways, blocking normal pedestrian access to the general public and preventing cleaning and maintenance workers from performing necessary upkeep. When not blocked by protesters, the walkways throughout the Park are blocked by the various items and equipment brought to the Park by the protesters.

Verisign Website Takedown Anti-Abuse Domain Use Policy

Abusive activity on the internet continues to rise, and public concern about the safety of the internet is clear. Verisign is aware that some reports have sought to portray the com/net TLDs as being at risk from maliciousness. All parts of the internet community are feeling the pressure to be more proactive in dealing with malicious activity. ICANN has recognized this and the new gTLD Applicant Guidebook requires new gTLDs to adopt a clear definition of rapid takedown or suspension systems that will be implemented. To address concerns over malware, Verisign is seeking to (i) provide a malware scanning service to assist registrars in identifying legitimate sites that have been infected and (ii) establish an anti-abuse policy to facilitate the takedown of abusive non-legitimate sites.

Facebook Logged-Out User Tracking Patent

A method is described for tracking information about the activities of users of a social networking system while on another domain. The method includes maintaining a profile for each of one or more users of the social networking system, each profile identifying a connection to one or more other users of the social networking system and including information about the user. The method additionally includes receiving one or more communications from a third-party website having a different domain than the social network system, each message communicating an action taken by a user of the social networking system on the thirdparty website. The method additionally includes logging the actions taken on the third-party website in the social networking system, each logged action including information about the action. The method further includes correlating the logged actions with one or more advertisements presented to the one or more users on the third-party website as well as correlating the logged actions with a user of the social networking system.

Pujo Committee “Money Trust” Wall Street Banking Cartel Investigation 1912-1913

For those who wish to understand the true nature of our current financial system, the Pujo Committee’s 1912-1913 investigation of the “Money Trust” is essential reading. The Committee identified a concentrated group of Wall Street bankers who operated a sophisticated financial network unified by 341 interlocking directorships held in 112 corporations valued at more than $22 billion in resources and capitalization exerting significant control and influence over the U.S. economy and monetary system. The companies and individuals comprising this network were primarily agents of the Morgan and Rockefeller banking empires which dominated U.S. finance following the “Industrial Revolution”. The Committee names a number of prominent banking institutions as participating in this system including J.P. Morgan & Co., First National Bank of New York, Kuhn Loeb & Co. and individuals such as Paul Warburg, Jacob H. Schiff, Felix M. Warburg, Frank E. Peabody, William Rockefeller and Benjamin Strong, Jr. Understanding this system of overlapping financial networks and how those networks are used to dominate utilities, railroads, banking and the U.S. financial infrastructure throughout much of the twentieth century is key to the proper analysis of our current economic situation and the influence that the “Money Power” wields over global politics.

Boeing “Project Gemini” South Carolina 787 Factory Anti-Union Presentation

A presentation entered into evidence in a National Labor Relations Board lawsuit by the International Association of Machinists (IAM) against Boeing over the location of a new factory for constructing 787 Dreamliners in South Carolina. The presentation shows that Boeing determined a South Carolina location to be less profitable and more likely to fail, yet the company ultimately decided to locate the facility there to avoid unions and, according to IAM, to punish unions for past disagreements.

Center for Copyright Information ISP Copyright Alert System Memorandum of Understanding

While the government maintains a critical role in enforcing copyright law, it should be readily apparent that, in an age of viral, digital online distribution, prosecution of individual acts of infringement may serve a purpose, but standing alone this may not be the only or best solution to addressing Online Infringement. If Online Infringement is to be effectively combated, law enforcement must work with all interested parties, including copyright holders, their licensees, artists (and the guilds, unions and other organizations that represent them), recording companies, movie studios, software developers, electronic publishers, Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”), public interest groups, other intermediaries and consumers on reasonable methods to prevent, detect and deter Online Infringement. Such efforts must respect the legitimate interests of Internet users and subscribers in protecting their privacy and freedom of speech, in accessing legitimate content, and in being able to challenge the accuracy of allegations of Online Infringement. This work should include an educational component because evidence suggests that most informed consumers will choose lawful services and not engage in Online Infringement. This work also should include the development of solutions that are reasonably necessary to effectuate the rights that are granted by copyright without unduly hampering the legitimate distribution of copyrighted works online or impairing the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and ISPs.

Confidential Rightsholder Group UK Website Blocking Scheme Working Paper

This note has been produced by the Rightsholder Group as an initial response to a request from the Minister for Culture, Communications and the Creative Industries to see whether there is scope to move toward across-industry voluntary approach to inhibiting access to websites that are substantially focused upon infringement of copyright. Our proposal is for a voluntary approach that will have a significant impact on the problem of infringement undertaken using the internet while being legally and technically feasible, cost-effective and proportionate. Our proposal is advanced on the basis that sound internet policy should encompass notions of accountability to incentivise private sector participants to take commercially reasonable steps, where available, to prevent or limit those harms that flow from the products or services they offer. This is a complex issue and we have addressed it here by offering a general approach based on core principles, exemplified by a more detailed explanation of the legal basis for the approach and of how such a system could work.

West Virginia Massey Energy Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster Investigation

At approximately 3:02 p.m. on Easter Monday, April 5, 2010, a powerful explosion tore through the Upper Big Branch mine, owned by Massey Energy and operated by its subsidiary, Performance Coal Company, at the convergence of Boone and Raleigh counties in southern West Virginia. Twenty-nine miners died and one was seriously injured as the enormously powerful blast rocketed through two and one-half miles of underground workings nearly 1,000 feet beneath the surface of the rugged mountains along the Coal River. The disaster has had grave consequences for a mining company, for a community and, most importantly, for the family members who lost men dear to them.