Hibnick v. Google Inc.

Filing 121

OBJECTIONS to re 120 Proposed Order by Electronic Privacy Information Center. (Attachments: # 1 Appendix 1, # 2 Appendix 2, # 3 Appendix 3, # 4 Appendix 4, # 5 Appendix 5, # 6 Appendix 6, # 7 Appendix 7, # 8 Appendix 8, # 9 Appendix 9, # 10 Appendix 10, # 11Appendix 12, # 12 Appendix 13, # 13 Appendix 11)(Friedman, Philip) (Filed on 3/30/2011) Modified on 4/1/2011 (cv, COURT STAFF).

Appendix 7 – Privacy Activism’s Application for cy pres Funds in In Re: Google Buzz
Privacy Litigation (submitted to the Rose Foundation Mar. 14, 2011)
Application Coversheet
1. Name of Applicant Organization and EIN Number PrivacyActivism EIN #03-0437980
Type of organization: x 501c(3)
___________________________
2.

o Other - Please describe:

Contact Information:
Contact Person, Title Deborah Pierce, Executive Director
Address
Telephone

425-736-7319

Email
3.

4026 18th Street
San Francisco, CA 94114

[e-mail]

Financial Information:
(a)

your organization’s overall annual 2011 operating budget:
budget $223,000, including our request from this cy pres fund.

projected

(b)
total amount of money spent on Internet privacy or Internet education
programs in 2010:
$70,400
(c)
total amount of funding your organization received, if any, in
contributions from Google,
Inc. or the Google Foundation in 2010: No contributions from Google or
the Google
Foundation in 2010, or any previous year.
(d)

amount of funding you are requesting from this Settlement fund: $153,000

4.

Describe your organization’s Internet privacy education programs: Since
incorporating in 2001, Privacy Activism has focused primarily on online consumer
privacy issues, raising public understanding of complex questions about privacy, and
helping people make informed choices. We use visual rather than verbal means of
communication as much as possible. Our latest project is a graphic novel “Networked:
Carabella on the Run.” A science fiction story line appeals to students from middle
school to college age, encouraging them to consider privacy risks of social networks, cell
phones and other networked programs and devices. A teacher’s guide offers additional
resources and tips. “Networked” debuted at ComiCon 2010 to very positive reviews. We
donate the book and teacher’s guide free to Bay Area public schools and libraries.

5.

Describe the particular program that funding from this Settlement would support:
Privacy Tips + Privacy App. A year of weekly privacy tips, available via mobile phones
and the web. Each tip includes a humorous cartoon highlighting a privacy issue, a
discussion with information to help people understand and resolve the issue, and
resources for learning more about the subject. Android and iPhone apps will let users
discuss the tips as well as share tips among themselves. We’ll host the tips on Privacy
Activism’s webpage, and at the end of the year will compile them into a free
downloadable e-book.

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Privacy Tips and Privacy App - Longer Description
Privacy Tips
“Privacy tips” are practical resources for non-technical people that will help them resolve
specific privacy problems, using humor and accessible language to convey the information.
Today, web sites that offer information about privacy often describe the issue in dense legalese
or highly technical language, or offer a litany of horror stories without telling people what they
can do. Our approach, by contrast, focuses on solutions and resources, and shares information
with people in a way that’s entertaining to read and easy to understand.
Each weekly privacy tip will begin with a cartoon highlighting a current or persistent privacy
issue. Accompanying text will discuss the issue, offer suggestions for resolving it, and include
resource links to more information on the topic. As well as providing mobile access through the
app, we’ll use Twitter and other social networks to draw traffic to the regular postings on the
Privacy Activism web site. At the end of the year, we’ll compile all 52 tips into a free,
downloadable e-book for readers to have as a reference.
Privacy App
To accompany the tips and make the project interactive, we will provide free applications for
Android and iPhone/iPad allowing people to share and discuss our privacy tips and exchange
their own ideas and experiences.
The apps are based on Kismet World Wide (KWW) Consulting’s crowd-sourcing information
exchange platform, originally developed for their free environmental idea sharing iPhone app
WasteNot. KWW is donating a perpetual license to use and extend the platform, and will
develop custom privacy tip sharing apps on Android and iOS under PrivacyActivism’s direction
as part of this project.
These screenshots from the current “environmental” version of WasteNot
show some of the functionality we’ll adapt. Users can browse “seeds” —
ideas for reducing one’s impact on the environment—share information
about suggestions they’ve tried, and see “heat maps” of who else found the
seed useful. The video at http://www.kismetworldwide.com/WasteNot/ has
more information.
For the privacy-focused app, “seeds” will come “tips” and other terminology
and instructions will be adapted to the model of helping users find practical
and effective ways to protect their privacy.

The current codebase allows for worldwide distribution and discussion of tips. Users can use the
app for free and sort through tips, favorite the ones they like, and indicate how often they
perform the tip in their daily lives. All information is collected through a privacy-respectful, optin only process, governed by a strong privacy policy. The platform then displays "heat maps" of
all the people worldwide who choose to perform each of the tips. Finally, it totals the collective
actions worldwide, and lets users see their cumulative global impact.
The Team
Deborah Pierce and Linda Ackerman founded PrivacyActivism a decade ago and have led
multiple privacy projects including Flash games, a graphic novel, and a teachers’ guide. Sonya
Hipper designed the PrivacyActivism web site and Twitter page (@privacyactivism), and has
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worked in the web design field for ten years. Kismet World Wide Consulting is a globally
distributed team providing products and services that make the world a better place for everyone;
Waste Not was their second mobile app. Once project funding is in place, we will add a
cartoonist and an intern to assist with research and writing.
Project budget
Project donations to date
WasteNot codebase Gift-in-Kind donation:

$70,000.00

Proposal Budget
Web page design for privacy tips:

$ 2,000.00

Web page design and integration of the app:

$ 8,000.00

Privacy Tips content (research and writing):

$20,000.00

Cartoon strip:

$20,000.00

e-book production:

$ 3,000.00

Icon design (for the app, twitter, etc.):

$10,000.00

Database costs:

$ 7,000.00

Codebase modification for iPhone/iPad:

$ 8,000.00

Android application development:

$30,000.00

Marketing, social media and promotion:

$ 5,000.00

Project management:

$30,000.00

Internationalization of app and tips page:

$10,000.00

Total Proposal Request:

$153,000.00

About PrivacyActivism
PrivacyActivism is a non-profit organization whose goal is to enable people to make wellinformed decisions about the importance of privacy on both a personal and societal level.
When people understand the real-world implications of privacy losses or invasions, there is
plenty of evidence that they care passionately about the issues. The problem is that privacy is too
often discussed in technical and legal jargon which makes the issues seem abstract.
We make the discussion more concrete and relevant by helping people understand the
ramifications of the choices that they make in everyday life. We take novel approaches such as
using graphics, videos, games, and stories to communicate the issues. To accomplish this, our
staff and volunteers include not only the usual suspects (lawyers, technologists) but also graphic
designers, artists, and writers.

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