FTC

Free at last? Not exactly. A consumer privacy bill of rights is long overdue, but anything real will require Congressional action -- an oxymoron if ever there was one.

The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse lets you file privacy complaints electronically and helps you resolve them. Warning to privacy scofflaws: There's a new sheriff in town.

Who is tracking you online and what do they want? The answers aren't obvious. Take this True/False quiz to find out how much you really know about Web tracking.

It has become a lesser worry that studies show even advertisers friendly to Do Not Track features in browsers are ignoring the wishes of users. Some are practically taking DNA samples.

Are federal investigators looking into whether Twitter is strong-arming or trying to kill off third-party providers of apps and services for its microblogging platform?

Shares of Google fell 3.2 percent Tuesday in response to rumors that the search giant will be the subject of a federal antitrust investigation.

Even as some privacy watchdog groups cheer the Federal Trade Commission's decision Wednesday to force a settlement with Google over privacy violations resulting from last year's launch of the search company's Buzz social networking service, others are expressing concern that the FTC didn't go far enough.

Just when Google thought it was getting a handle on ridding its searches of low-quality content created by content farms, aggregators and SEO-riggers, the marriage of two masters of those dark arts was approved by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Google, Microsoft and Mozilla are competing to see who can come out with do-not-track features in browsers first; now about halting tracking at its source.

It's no secret that too many companies exhibit a callous disregard for the privacy rights of web users. The Federal Trade Commission's 122-page report released Wednesday is a step toward addressing that concern.