Do-Not-Call Registry Stays; Software Failures Only Part of the Problem; Study Shows Lax Privacy Protection at Transportation, Logistics Firms

Do-Not-Call Registry Stays

The national do-not-call registry passes constitutioinal muster, as the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by telemarketers on First Amendment grounds. The registry, often lauded by privacy advocates, includes more than 64 million telephone numbers, according to the Federal Trade Commission. A story in the Washington Post telemarketers face a fine of up to $11.000 for every number that they call on the list. The ruling upheld a Denver appeals court that unanimously ruled that the do-not-call list was a valid restraint because it “targets speech that invades the privacy of the home, a personal sanctuary that enjoys unique status in our constitutional jurisprudence.”

For more details, read the full article in the Washington Post.

Software Failures Only Part of the Problem

Don’t blame the software for major breakdowns, at least all the time. An Associated Press story quotes experts who say that in most cases software projects fail because of poor implementation, not bad code. According to the report, the National Institute of Standards and Technology found that software bugs cost the U.S. economy about $59.5 billion annually. The same study showed that about $22.2 billion of that cost could have been saved through better testing. In one case cited in the story, inadequate testing led to a shutdown of a system that controls communication between air traffic controllers and pilots in Southern California.

For more details, read the full Associated Press article in the Los Angeles Times.

Study Shows Lax Privacy Protection at Transportation, Logistics Firms

Customer privacy isn’t being protected as it should at many of the largest transportation and logistics firms. According to a recent survey by The Customer Respect Group released Monday, more than one-third of the largest transportation and logistics companies shared customers’ personal data to third parties without their permission. Furthermore, reports Computerworld (a sister company to CXO Media), one-fifth of the companies surveyed didn’t have privacy policies.

For more details, read the full article in Computerworld.