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World’s Top Tech Companies Get Failing Grade on Privacy- Survey by Ranking Digital Rights 2015

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Image result for data privacyWorld’s Top Tech Companies Get Failing Grade on Privacy

The Guardian reports that, “according to the most comprehensive assessment to date of their user agreement policies,” the world’s biggest tech companies are not protecting their users’ privacy and freedom of expression. Companies from the U.S., Europe and Asia all received failing grades from a project known as Ranking Digital Rights. None of the companies reviewed offered users appropriate information on privacy and censorship, the New America Foundation think tank survey stated. “There are no ‘winners,’” the group said, adding, “Even companies in the lead are falling short.” Meanwhile, a separate report has found that nine out of 10 of the Internet’s top websites are leaking user data. University of Pennsylvania privacy researcher Tim Libert published the peer-reviewed report, which sought to quantify all the “privacy compromising mechanisms” on the world’s most popular websites.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/nov/03/data-protection-failure-google-facebook-ranking-digital-rights

Image result for data privacyPrivacy

This category examines whether companies’ commitments and disclosures demonstrate credible efforts to respect users’ right to privacy. Companies that performed well in this category showed a strong public commitment to transparency, not only in terms of how they respond to government demands, but also how they determine, communicate, and enforce terms of service and commercial practices that affect users’ privacy. Commitments to protect and defend users’ digital security are also an important component of this category.



Are the company’s privacy policies freely available and easy to understand?
P2. Privacy Policies, notice and record of changes
Does the company commit to provide meaningful notice and documentation to users when it changes its privacy policies?
P3. Collection of user information
Does the company disclose what user information it collects, how it collects this information, and why?
P4. Sharing of user information
Does the company disclose if and how it shares user information with third parties?
P5. User control over information collection and sharing
Does the company provide users with options to control the company’s collection and sharing of their information?
P6. Users’ access to their own information
Are users able to view, download or otherwise obtain, in structured data formats, information about them that the company holds?
P7. Retention of user information
Does the company disclose how long it retains user information?
P8. Collection of user information from third parties
Does the company publish clear information about whether it collects user information from third parties?
P9. Process for responding to third-party requests for user information
Does the company publish information about its process for evaluating and responding to requests from government and other third parties for stored user data and/or real-time communications, including the legal basis for complying with such requests?
P10. User notification about third-party requests for user information
Does the company commit to notify users to the extent legally possible when their data has been requested by governments and other third parties?
P11. Data about third-party requests for user information
Does the company regularly publish data about government and other third-party requests for user information, plus data about the extent to which the company complies with such requests?
P12. Security standards
Does the company deploy industry standards of encryption and security for its products and services?
P13. Encryption of users’ private content
Can users encrypt their own content and thereby control who has access to it?
P14. Inform and educate users about potential threats
Does the company publish information to help users defend against cyber threats?

For full analysis, please check the below links.

Reference: https://rankingdigitalrights.org/index2015/categories/privacy/
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/nov/03/data-protection-failure-google-facebook-ranking-digital-rights

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