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The nation's largest media and marketing trade associations introduced a set of self-regulatory principles on Thursday to enhance privacy protection for consumers surfing the Web.

Among other things, advertisers and Web sites will be required to clearly inform consumers about the data-collection practices they use. The new guidelines also will enable online users to exercise control over their personal information.

"This historic collaboration represents businesses and trade associations working together to advance the public interest," said Interactive Advertising Bureau CEO Randall Rothenberg. "We are acting early and aggressively on their concerns, to reinforce their trust in this vital medium that contributes so significantly to the U.S. economy."

Changing the Status Quo

The new set of principles represents the behavioral advertising industry's direct response to mounting criticism from members of Congress and the Federal Trade Commission. Earlier this year, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz warned the industry that it needed to do a better job of delivering meaningful, rigorous self-regulation.

"Put simply, this could be the last clear chance to show that self-regulation can -- and will -- effectively protect consumers' privacy in a dynamic online marketplace," Leibowitz said.

Self-regulation, if it works, can be the fastest and best way to change the status quo, Leibowitz noted. "If there isn't an appropriately vigorous response, my sense is that Congress and the commission may move toward a more regulatory model," Leibowitz said.

The industry has incorporated many of the ideas that consumer advocacy watchdogs such as the Center for Democracy and Technology have suggested. On the upside, noted CDT Chief Computer Scientist Alissa Cooper, the guidelines include a robust framework for providing notice outside of privacy policies, and lay the groundwork for the use of a uniform link or icon that would appear on any Web site or advertisement where data is collected or used for...

The first jailbreak application for Apple's new iPhone 3GS has been made available just two weeks after the iPhone debuted. George Hotz, a 19-year-old Google employee originally from New Jersey, created the application.

Jailbreaking the iPhone 3GS allows a user to install any programs directly onto the iPhone, including applications that are not from Apple.

Hotz, at the age of 16, was credited with being part of the team that unlocked the first-generation iPhone. The unlock, announced in a blog post, allowed users to operate the first-generation iPhone with any SIM card. Hotz traded his unlocked iPhone for three regular iPhones and a Nissan 350Z.

"Normally I don't make tools for the general public, and would rather wait for the development team to do it. But guys, what's up with waiting until 3.1? That isn't how the game is played," Hotz wrote in his blog Friday. "We release, Apple fixes, and we find new holes."

In his blog post, Hotz provides a step-by-step explanation of what users need to do to jailbreak the iPhone 3GS and teases that a jailbreak for the Mac OS is coming soon.

Jailbreak Preparation

Before jailbreaking the iPhone 3GS, Hotz warns users to be prepared by having Windows (not Windows 7) installed on a PC, the latest iTunes installed, and an iPhone 3GS with 3.0 firmware. He also warns potential jailbreakers to first back up all their files and programs.

Once the preparations are complete, Hotz urges those interested in completing the break to go to purplera1n.com.

Once at the Web site, Hotz instructs users to click "make it ra1n" and wait. On bootup users need to run Freeze, the purplera1n installer app.

"Hopefully you'll figure out what to do from there," Hotz wrote. If not, users are instructed to e-mail purplera1n support or call a support hotline.

Purplera1n is small enough, Hotz wrote,...

Despite the delay in China's requirement to install Green Dam Web-filtering software on all new PCs, the controversy is not dead. PC makers are including the software with new PCs even though the July 1 deadline has been postponed indefinitely.

On Thursday, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology told China Daily that the mandate has not been canceled, only delayed. News media reported that China definitely plans to require Green Dam.

In addition, Green Dam publisher Jinhui Computer System Engineering is reportedly testing a version for Apple's Mac computers, which so far have been exempt.

China says the Green Dam-Youth Escort software is meant to protect young people from pornography and violence on the Web. However, opponents say it would be used for political repression. A survey found that many Chinese would not pay for the software after a one-year free trial period.

China originally directed all PC makers to pre-install Green Dam on all PCs sold in China, with a July 1 deadline. However, the ministry delayed the deadline on June 30. Earlier, it had modified its mandate to say that the Green Dam CDs could be included with new PCs rather than pre-installed.

Multiple tests found the software vulnerable to malware, and Sony has included a disclaimer about the software with its PCs. Tests also showed Green Dam blocked images of cartoon cat Garfield and roast pork, and returned links to both soft- and hard-core pornography.