Facebook speaks out against employers asking for passwords

Facebook has weighed in on a practice by some businesses asking employees or job applicants for their passwords to the popular social-media site.

In a nutshell? Facebook says don't do it unless you want to get sued.

"This practice undermines the privacy expectations and the security of both the user and the user's friends," Erin Egan, the site's chief privacy officer, wrote Friday on the site's Facebook and Privacy Page. "It also potentially exposes the employer who seeks this access to unanticipated legal liability."

Egan said that Facebook has seen a "distressing increase" in reports of job candidates being asked for their passwords over the past few months. She notes the practice violates not just the user's privacy but also that of his or her Facebook friends.

It also might violate employment laws, according to the post.

"(W)e don't think it's right the thing to do," she said. "But it also may cause problems for the employers that they are not anticipating. For example, if an employer sees on Facebook that someone is a member of a protected group (e.g. over a certain age, etc.) that employer may open themselves up to claims of discrimination if they don't hire that person."

Earlier this week, the American Civil Liberties Union spoke out against the practice. The group said they've gotten multiple reports of people either being asked for their passwords or required to "friend" managers when they were applying for jobs.

Robert Collins of the Baltimore area testified before the Maryland Legislature in February that he was trying to reapply for his corrections officer job after taking a leave of absence when he was told he needed to hand over his password to prove he had no gang affiliations.

"I did not want to do it, but because I really needed my job and he implied that this was a condition of recertification, I reluctantly gave him the password," he told Maryland lawmakers, who are considering outlawing the practice.

In her post, Egan said that Facebook will consider going to court if it hears of the practice continuing.

"Facebook takes your privacy seriously," she wrote. " We'll take action to protect the privacy and security of our users, whether by engaging policymakers or, where appropriate, by initiating legal action, including by shutting down applications that abuse their privileges."

It is already against Facebook's terms of service to share a password.

"You will not share your password, (or in the case of developers, your secret key), let anyone else access your account, or do anything else that might jeopardize the security of your account," the agreement reads.

 

GOP candidates focus on Louisiana

A poll released Friday shows Rick Santorum with a comfortable lead over front-runner Mitt Romney in Saturday's Louisiana Republican primary, but he was in a mess over remarks he made about President Obama, which his rivals seized on.

Santorum said Thursday, "We might as well stay with what we have" in the White House when comparing Romney to President Barack Obama.

An American Research Group poll conducted between Tuesday and Thursday showed Santorum leading Romney by a 43% to 27% margin. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich had 20%, and Rep. Ron Paul had 6%.

Santorum's statement Thursday sought to get more mileage from a Romney adviser's comments that to shift from the Republican primary to the general election was like shaking an Etch A Sketch toy, which his rivals were using to challenge Romney's conservative convictions.

At an event in San Antonio, Santorum said, "You win by giving people the opportunity to see a different vision for our country, not someone who is just going to be a little different than the person in there. If they're going to be a little different, we may as well stay with what we have instead of taking a risk in what may be the Etch A Sketch candidate for the future."

Santorum's rival campaigns seized on the remark.

Rich Beeson, Romney's political director, said Santorum is "becoming the most valuable player on President Obama's team."

At an event in Port Fourchon, Louisiana, on Friday, Gingrich said, "I obviously have a lot of disagreements with Gov. Romney, but I think that to suggest that a Romney presidency would not be dramatically better for any conservative than an Obama presidency is just plain wrong. Just take the issue of Supreme Court justices, and the difference between the people that a Gov. Romney would pick and the people that a President Obama would pick is night and day. It's a 180-degree difference.

"I hope Santorum is going to clarify it today, because it was clearly a major mistake, and it is a dangerous signal to send."

Santorum spokeswoman Alice Stewart started the clarification early Friday on CNN's "Starting Point," saying the former Pennsylvania senator was referring to voters who might not see the difference between the visions of Romney and the president, including their stances on health care, government spending and the Wall Street bailouts.

"What we need in order for the GOP to win is, we need to have a choice. We need to see a clear vision that is different from what we currently have," Stewart said. "And with Mitt Romney, it's the same vision, and it's one that's not the right direction for this country. And he was worried that voters would have that feeling."

Santorum later blamed Romney's campaign for distorting what he said, telling reporters at a rally in West Monroe, Louisiana, "You guys should do some real reporting and not what Gov. Romney feeds you."

"I have said repeatedly I will vote for whoever the Republican nominee is and I will work for them. Barack Obama is a disaster, but we can't have someone who agrees with him on some of the biggest issues of the day, and that is the problem with Gov. Romney: He doesn't provide the clear choice we need," Santorum said.

But Gingrich said, "I'm often cheerful about bashing the media. I don't think the media said that. I think it was Santorum who said it. So it's a little tricky for him to attack them for reporting what he said. I'm pretty sure the videotape shows him saying it."

Romney saved most of his fire for Obama, using the second anniversary of the signing of the president's health care reform plan.

At his first of two campaign events in Louisiana before Saturday's primary, Romney methodically picked apart "Obamacare," blaming the president for stifling economic growth with a law that he said most people want to repeal.

"You'll note the White House is not celebrating Obamacare today," Romney told a small audience inside a New Orleans-area mall, where teenagers were filing past to catch a morning screening of "The Hunger Games."

"They don't have any big ceremony going on," he said. "The president is not giving speeches on Obamacare, and that's for a reason. Most Americans want to get rid of it, and we're among those Americans. I want to get rid of it, too."

Romney said he will sign an executive order on the first day of his administration giving states the ability to opt out of the Obama health care law.

Vice President Joe Biden went after the Republican field over Medicare in a campaign speech before an audience of retirees in Coconut Creek, Florida. "If the Republicans in Congress and their Amen Corner of Romney, Santorum and Gingrich -- if any one of them get their hands on the White House, the keys of the White House, I promise you, you will see Medicare ended as we know it.

"And it is not just about what they want to do to Medicare; it is about the other benefits for seniors that they want to undo."

Romney's lead in a national tracking poll grew to its largest margin in weeks.

The Gallup Poll showed that Romney was supported by 40% of registered Republicans nationwide, with Santorum second at 26%.

Romney's total is the highest point for any candidate since the daily survey began measuring support in early November. It represents a 6-point increase since Tuesday, the same day he won the Illinois primary. Santorum dropped 4 points in the same period. The poll was conducted between Sunday and Thursday.

Gingrich remained relatively steady at 14%, while Paul had a slight decline to 8%.

All four candidates were campaigning Friday in Louisiana, where 20 delegates are at stake.

Gingrich has spent most of the week campaigning there, hoping to regain the strength he once had in the South.

Gingrich stopped Romney's early momentum by winning in South Carolina in January. He also won in Georgia, which he represented in Congress for two decades, on Super Tuesday, but Santorum won contests in Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.

But no matter how he finishes in Louisiana, Gingrich shows no signs of ending his campaign, telling CNN's Piers Morgan that "I'm staying in the race because I believe we ought to have a conservative who's serious, who's had national achievements and who doesn't write his policy on an Etch A Sketch and zig-zag back and forth wildly."

"There may be a morning Gov. Romney has a majority of the delegates," he said. "That morning isn't here."

Romney has 562 delegates, according to CNN estimates, nearly half the 1,144 delegates necessary to clinch the GOP nomination. Santorum has 249 delegates, Gingrich has 137 and Paul has 71.

Florida millionaire found guilty of DUI in man's death

Florida millionaire John Goodman was found guilty Friday after being accused of driving drunk, hitting another vehicle and running it off the road into a canal, where its driver was later found dead in his submerged car.

Goodman, 48, was found guilty on the two counts he was charged with. The first was DUI manslaughter and failure to render aid. The second was vehicular homicide and failure to give information to authorities or aid.

The Palm Beach County jury reached its verdict after about 5½ hours of deliberation, following closing arguments Thursday afternoon.

A sentencing hearing is set for April 30, with Goodman potentially facing 11½ to 30 years in prison.

Until then, Circuit Judge Jeffrey Colbath revoked Goodman's bond and ordered that he be detained by authorities.

The victim's mother, Lili Wilson, thanked the jury after the verdict and took solace in her belief that "justice has been served."

"I'm always going to miss my son. He was the most wonderful," she said, choking up at the thought of her son. "I will always cherish his memories. And now, coming from me and the rest of the family and his friends, it's time for the healing process to begin."

The incident occurred early the morning of February 12, 2010, when Goodman was driving his black Bentley convertible in Wellington, Florida, "at a high rate of speed while intoxicated," according to a probable cause affidavit.

Goodman failed to halt at a stop sign, where the other driver -- Scott Wilson -- didn't have a stop sign and had the right of way, the affidavit said. The two men's vehicles collided, causing Wilson's car to go over a bank and roll over into a canal.

"After the collision occurred, Goodman made no attempt to look for Wilson's vehicle and fled the scene of the collision on foot," according to the affidavit from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. "Goodman left the Bentley GTC at the scene ... and left Scott Wilson to drown in the canal, belted in the driver seat of his vehicle."

A pair of tests taken three hours later showed Goodman's blood-alcohol content level was .177% and .178% -- and, based on those findings, a state toxicologist extrapolated that he was closer to a .20% or .23% at the time of the crash, more than three times Florida's legal limit.

Prosecutor Sherri Collins further argued that Goodman could have saved Wilson's life had he gone after him after the crash rather than walk away.

"He called his friend, and she had to talk him into calling 911," Collins said during closing arguments Thursday. "That is absolutely failure to render aid, that is absolutely failure to give information, that is absolutely not informing the authorities.

"If the defendant had rendered aid, Scott Wilson would have lived."

Goodman himself testified earlier in the trial, claiming he was "absolutely not" intoxicated when he left the second of two establishments he'd gone to that night. He blamed a malfunction with his vehicle for his failure to stop and the fact he hit Wilson's car.

"I began to apply my brakes, and the car did not seem to be stopping as easily as I was used to," he said on the stand. "I continued to apply the brakes, I slowed before the stop sign and ... took my foot off the brake. And that's the last thing I remember."

His lawyer, Roy Black, argued that the blood-alcohol readings don't jibe with eyewitness testimony, saying that people saw him have three drinks and not the 20 he would have needed for such a high reading.

And Black said the observations that Goodman's reactions appeared slow after the crash, that he had trouble gauging where he was and that he seemed confused were "consistent with the symptoms of suffering a concussion."

After Friday's verdict, Assistant State Attorney Ellen Roberts said she suspected the jury "saw through the defense experts," who she said "just weren't real credible" and offered "bizarre" theories.

"(Jury members) were very careful, they gave it a lot of thought, they went over a lot of evidence, and I think that they probably returned the only verdict that they could," Roberts told reporters.

In addition to his role in the fatal crash and the subsequent trial, Goodman made headlines a few months ago when he legally adopted Heather Colby Hutchins -- his "42-year-old girlfriend" -- according to a court order issued in late January.

That court order was written by Dade County Circuit Judge Glenn Kelley in response to a motion filed by Wilson's relatives. They are suing Goodman -- as well as the International Polo Club Palm Beach, which he founded -- for punitive damages tied to Wilson's death in the crash.

The adoption of Hutchins made her eligible for money from a trust fund created for Goodman's children. The court previously noted that any money from this trust fund "may not be considered a part of the net worth, or the financial resources, of Mr. Goodman for purposes of assessing punitive damages," the order said.

The judge, in his order, granted the plaintiffs' motion to get more information on the adoption.

He also said that Hutchins' "interest in the children's trust may be considered in connection with defendant John Goodman's financial resources."

 

Ringing the changes: Big Ben's tower may be renamed for Queen's Jubilee

British lawmakers want to rename one of London's most famous landmarks -- known to tourists around the world as "Big Ben" -- after Queen Elizabeth II, for her Diamond Jubilee.

The Queen marks 60 years on the throne in 2012, and politicians believe that naming St. Stephen's Tower, the clock tower at the Houses of Parliament, in her honor would be a fitting tribute to her years of service.

"Not many kings and queens have served for such a long time," Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, who is leading the renaming campaign, told CNN. "Only two have celebrated their Diamond Jubilee -- Queen Elizabeth II, and Queen Victoria.

"The other tower at the Palace of Westminster is named in honour of Queen Victoria; the clock tower has lots of nicknames -- Big Ben, St Stephen's Tower, or just the Clock Tower -- but no official name.

Queen Elizabeth speaks to Parliament

The Queen's unseen photos

Queen Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee

"It seems a superb way to honor a very distinguished life, and the many years of service she has given to the country."

Ellwood said his plan had the support of MPs from across the political spectrum, and that he hoped they would back his bill to officially name the tower after the Queen in the coming weeks -- in time for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in June.

"Of course, if it does go ahead it will mean that the next time a monarch reaches their 60th anniversary we'll have to build another tower -- but I don't suppose we'll have to worry about that for a while," he joked.

"Big Ben" is officially the name of the 13.5 ton bell inside St Stephen's Tower, and not the name of the tower itself.

The bell rang out for the first time in July 1859 -- but cracked two months later. Its chimes were silenced for the next four years, until a way was found to make it peal again in 1863 (by turning it slightly), however, the crack is still visible. Today it rings -- in the key of E -- each hour, while a series of quarter bells chime every 15 minutes.

It remains unclear whether the new name -- Elizabeth Tower -- will capture the public imagination, or if they will continue to refer to it as "Big Ben". However, jokers have already suggested a new nickname: "Big Beth."

 

Which cities lose cell phones the most, and when?

Editor's note: Amy Gahran writes about mobile tech for CNN.com. She is a San Francisco Bay Area writer and media consultant whose blog, Contentious.com, explores how people communicate in the online age.

(CNN) -- If you're at a coffee shop, anywhere in Philadelphia, or if it's late at night, hang on to your smartphone.

Losing your smartphone can be stressful, given how much important data and access to services a typical one contains. On average, people lose their smartphone once per year, according to Lookout Mobile Security.

Recently, Lookout analyzed phone loss data and found some interesting trends about where and when people lose their phones. This data is presented on a new interactive website, Mobile Lost and Found.

Lookout gathered data from its mobile security app, which is on more than 15 million cell phones around the world (mostly Android phones). In 2011, Lookout found 9 million smartphones. (The company considered a phone as having gone missing whenever a user logged in to Lookout via the Web to find a phone.)

"Losing your phone is absolutely the biggest mobile security risk cell phone owners currently face, even more than malware," said Kevin Mahaffey, Lookout's chief technology officer. "People lose their phones in the places they go every day. It's not a stray comet from the sky snatching your phone. That's why we wanted to study this."

When are people most likely to lose their phone? Lookout found that the vast majority of smartphone losses happen late at night, from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Looks like nightlife may be a culprit.

But on holidays, or during major events such as festivals or big sporting events, people are especially likely to lose a phone. In 2011, phone losses around the world spiked on Christmas and New Year's Eve.

And on February 27, 2011, phones in Dublin, Ireland, were lost at nearly three times the normal rate during a major international rugby tournament there.

In general, throughout the United States, the five types of places where people are most likely to lose a cell phone are coffee shops, bars, restaurants, at the office or at home.

Also, the five U.S. cities where people are most likely to lose a smartphone are Philadelphia; Seattle; Oakland, California.; Long Beach, California; and Newark, New Jersey.

Mahaffey observed that several of the top phone-losing cities also have high crime rates, but that doesn't necessarily mean that more phones are stolen in these cities.

Lookout's data does not indicate what actually happened to those missing phones -- how many were stolen vs. lost, or how many were eventually found. That might be a subject for future Lookout research, he said.

However, where you're most likely to lose your phone may depend on which city you live in. For instance, people in Austin, Texas, are most likely to lose phones at a gas station or garage, at the grocery store or at a pizza place.

But church is the third most common setting where Chicagoans lose their phones. And in Atlanta, people are most likely to lose a phone at the office.

One reason why losing your smartphone is so risky is that recent research by Symantec (another mobile security provider) showed that more than 95% of the time, people who find lost smartphones try to access sensitive data or accounts on those phones -- which can including e-mail, online banking, photos and more.

This is why it's so important to always protect your cell phone with at least a security passcode or swipe pattern.

What's the cost of a lost smartphone? Lookout estimates the average replacement cost (just the device, not counting costs associated with lost data, international phone calls, unauthorized online purchases and illicit access to online banking or other accounts) is about $200.

"For a lot of people, $200 is a lot of money," Mahaffey said. "It could be a month's rent, or groceries."

That said, Mahaffey emphasized that Lookout didn't conduct this research to frighten people, but rather to help them understand the importance of protecting your phone. "You should never be afraid of your phone," he said, "But you should know how to protect it."

Consistently using a passcode or swipe pattern to lock your phone is the most basic level of protection -- not just from a random person who finds your lost phone, or a deliberate thief or snooper, but also from police.

Courts in several states have authorized police to conduct warrantless searches of cell phones seized from people under arrest, but they probably cannot compel an arrestee to unlock a seized phone.

Several mobile security services offer additional features (for an annual fee) such as causing a lost phone to beep (which can help if you just can't find where you put it down at home), or to show the current location of the phone on a map (which in one case helped catch a carjacker), or to remotely lock or even wipe all data and contacts from a lost or stolen phone.

The opinions expressed in this report are solely those of Amy Gahran.

 

'The Hunger Games' earns $19.7 million at midnight screenings

 

Last night, "The Hunger Games" grossed a truly staggering $19.7 million from midnight showings across the country -- the highest midnight total ever for a non-sequel, and the seventh highest midnight total ever (behind three "Harry Potters" and three "Twilights"). After only a few hours, it's clear that the film is already a smash, and it's almost certainly headed for a debut well above the $100 million mark.

Sure, the overnight figure can't compare to the $43.5 million that "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2" conjured up at midnight shows last year (on its way to $169.3 million -- the highest opening weekend of all time), or the $30.3 million that "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 1" found at midnight on its way to $138.1 million, but it's likely that "The Hunger Games," which doesn't have the same amount of built-in sequel anticipation, won't face the same weekend frontloadedness as those titles. Saturday and Sunday grosses should prove quite sturdy. Back in 2008, "The Dark Knight" earned $18.5 million at midnight, but still managed a stunning $158 million debut -- the second highest debut of all time -- proving that not every blockbuster makes a full 25 percent of its opening weekend gross at midnight.

Based on this $19.7 million figure, "The Hunger Games" should take in at least $50 million on Friday and could reach as high as $150 million over the full weekend frame -- although that estimation is very bullish. My fellow box office prognosticating colleague John Young is predicting a more sensible $130 million weekend. We'll have to wait and see see how high it climbs.

Either way, it appears that the odds are very much in Lionsgate's favor!

See the full article at EW.com.