Somewhere along the line, taking a picture of a child other than your own became equated with peddling kiddy porn.
I’ve been scolded at birthday parties and confronted at school even though my lens was pointed …

I am not in favor of bullying.
I am not against school officials taking swift action against anyone who breaks the rules or laws on their campuses.
I am, however, opposed to making principals in charge of …

It’s a classic case of the cliche about two wrongs not making a right. Make it three wrongs in this case.
A California high school student, who, according to Mashable was upset over his homework load, …

Note to California State Sen. Ellen Corbett: Social networking sites do not post personal information about minors. The minors themselves do that.
That’s why Corbett’s bill, which The Sacramento Bee says would ban sites from posting …

The most important point to come out of a diverse coalition that’s callings for tighter electronic privacy laws: Officials should be able to access “communications that are not readily accessible to the public only with …

Your personal information posted online!
It’s 411 for pedophiles – a major security risk!
It’s called Spokeo – a name parodied two years ago as Spookey, the Big Brother of Social Networking sites.
And, in the end, it’s …

Every time Big Guy’s class has a substitute teacher, his regular one says she’ll get a report about their behavior from her “spies” when she gets back.
She’s joking. In a certain school district in suburban …

I have absolutely no problem with the police knowing anything my Internet Service Provider knows about me – as long as they use a proper search warrant to obtain the information.
Anyone’s a fool to think …

Here’s how it works at Wal-Mart: A security guard spots someone she suspects of shop-lifting. She stops the person, calls the police and an investigation takes place.
Here’s how it would work if Wal-Mart were the …

I stood on tip toes and reached high above me, to the top shelf of the coat closet where the bag had been stashed since we moved. I used to leave it open in my …

In the electronic game of cops and robbers, the cops are winning – at least in the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Back in February, that court ruled that it was fine for prosecutors to …

I’m almost offended I wasn’t asked, except I realize I’m not in the right age group to be one of the cool kids.
When Daisy Feletin – 21 and  single – asked 100 people to be …

Quickly after the covert tape-recording habits of those in Attorney General Jerry Brown’s office came to light, his apologists  began trying to recast state privacy law.
An interview? Oh, that’s not a confidential communication. It was …

It’s almost unfortunate that indymedia.us routinely destroys its server logs after five weeks and, as a result, couldn’t comply with a Justice Department subpoena that tried to force the organization to reveal everything it knew …

With the exception of the ever-dwindling numbers in the “I don’t use email” set, most of us know by now not to send personal messages from our work accounts.
Sure, we might slip once in a …

Funny how baseball got serious about trying to verify Latin American player’s ages when the players started coming out ahead.
And funny how the solution – genetic testings – would again exploit teen-agers not literate in …

Good news for conspiracy theorists: The government might not need its fleet of black helicopters for much longer. Isn’t it nice to see possibilities for economizing in this budget climate?
If a study under way at …

Credit reports, criminal history, references and past employment: All valid information for a potential employer, though credit reports aren’t relevant in all instances.
Anything the employer can turn up online about an applicant: Fair game. It’s …

It’s a situation so outrageous that even those who don’t like the American Civil Liberties Union are singing its praises.
A federal prosecutor in Nevada wants a judge to force the Las Vegas Review-Journal to turn …

I used to giggle when I bought a box of Huggies and the cash register would spit out a Pampers coupon. Or when I purchased Beechnut and the machine countered with a Gerber discount.
It was …

It’s a lonely, lonely world in my inbox.
My Nigerian buddies have given up on me, and I haven’t seen a bank email in ages asking me, with or without typos, to confirm my account. No …