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What is Respectful Use of Location Information? New Me2BA Research Published

What is Respectful Use of Location Information? New Me2BA Research Published

As we’ve been performing independent product audits over the past year and a half, we received some push-back on our passing criteria related to the automatic translation of IP address to geographic location. Vendors felt that automatically calculating the user’s geographical location was, in fact, a benefit. However, in our specification, that behavior will receive a failing score. At an impasse, we decided to conduct some validation testing with Me-s.

Dangling Domain From SDK Installed in 150+ Apple Apps Putting Kids, Families and Crypto Traders at Risk

Dangling Domain From SDK Installed in 150+ Apple Apps Putting Kids, Families and Crypto Traders at Risk

Over the past month, the Me2B Alliance product testing team has been investigating something we refer to as “dangling domains” and the risks they pose to people, especially children and families.

A “dangling domain” refers to any URL/domain previously owned by a legitimate organization or business, but which has been either abandoned due to the business shutting down, or due to a mistake where the organization or business forgets to renew their own domain.

Flash Guide #10: Data Flow & the Invisible Parallel Dataverse

Flash Guide #10: Data Flow & the Invisible Parallel Dataverse

The reality of online data flows is nothing like what we expect. Our personal data flows do not start light and increase with time and trust. Instead, a firehose of personal information is released – and shared with a host of unseen third parties – as soon as we open an app or website. Me2BA’s Respectful Tech Specification V.1 is largely focused on testing for these invisible parallel dataverse data flows.

Flash Guide #8: Digital Me2B Commitments & Deals

Flash Guide #8: Digital Me2B Commitments & Deals

Over the course of the digital Me2B Lifecycle, individual “Me-s” (Data Subjects) will have the choice of deepening the relationship through a series of Me2B Commitments with the online vendor, “B” (Data Controller). This guide provides examples of common Commitments and Deals, and shows how they map to the stages of a Me2B Lifecycle. It also reflects social norms for being anonymous, recognized, or known at each stage.

Flash Guide #7: The Me2B Lifecycle: Overlaying Social Norms on the Digital World

Flash Guide #7: The Me2B Lifecycle: Overlaying Social Norms on the Digital World

The key to creating a safety standard to measure the behavior of technology is the ability to take several contexts into consideration, including the current status of the Me2B relationship. The Me2B Lifecycle model provides a framework and vocabulary to articulate and account for the dynamic “relationship context” over time when evaluating the behavior of technology.

Flash Guide #6: Online Me2B Relationships

Flash Guide #6: Online Me2B Relationships

Me2B Relationships in the digital world have even more layers than those in the physical world. In addition, our relationship with connected technology includes a set of “hidden affiliates” (third party integrations) that most of us are not aware of. This guide describes how these relationships – conscious or not – emerge as we interact with digital technologies.

Flash Guide #5: Online Me2B Deals: Currencies in the Digital World and the Price of “Free”

Flash Guide #5: Online Me2B Deals: Currencies in the Digital World and the Price of “Free”

The Me2B Deals or transactions that occur online typically involve three types of “currency”: money, attention or data. The individual consumer (Me) exchanges one of these currencies for goods or services online. Data monetization has emerged as the primary method of income generation to subsidize so-called “free” digital services, with little to no regulation or oversight. What sets online data monetization apart from the other two currencies is that often, customers have no idea what they are paying with – or that they are paying at all.