The nation's major Internet service providers were noticeably absent from an FCC-sponsored, network management hearing during which Republican and Democratic commissioners clashed on how best to ensure the open nature of the Internet. "It is important that we hear from a variety of different folks," FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said during the event, which was held at Stanford Law School and Web cast over the Internet.
Group Wants Child Abuse Websites Shut Down
Hundreds of child abuse Web sites around the world could be shut down if countries worked together to tackle the problem, an Internet watchdog said in a report. The Internet Watch Foundation said it had made the first attempt to find out how many sites peddle abusive images and videos of children.
Facebook User Sues Over Beacon Ad Program
As if troubled movie rental company Blockbuster didn't have enough to deal with already: an angry Facebook user has taken issue with its participation in the social network's controversial Beacon advertising program, and is pursuing legal action. Cathryn Elaine Harris, a Texas resident, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for eastern Texas on April 9, claiming that it's a violation of a federal statute for Blockbuster to participate in Beacon, which shares rental history on Facebook members' "news feeds" unless they manually opt out.
Chinese Officials Defend Efforts to Stop Piracy
Officials defended China's efforts to stop rampant copying of movies and other goods, saying that 4,322 people were convicted of product piracy last year and promising special efforts to protect Olympics-related trademarks. China is the world's biggest source of illegally copied goods and trade groups say violations are growing despite increased penalties and repeated crackdowns.
Many Internet Users Reuse Passwords, Creating Risks
Using the same password for multiple Web pages is the Internet-era equivalent of having the same key for your home, car and bank safe-deposit box. Even though a universal password is like gold for cyber crooks because they can use it to steal all of a person's sensitive data at once, nearly half the Internet users queried in a new survey said they use just one password for all their online accounts.
Experts Debate Scope of Cyberterrorism Problem
International experts called for greater cooperation to fight threats to computer networks but they differed on the definition of cyberterrorism, with a top British security official describing it as a "myth." Estonian defense ministry official Christian-Marc Liflander said sustained electronic attacks on his country last year came both from crude hackers and from sophisticated "cyberterrorists" remotely manipulating zombie computers known as botnets.
University Sued for Providing Course Material Digitally
Three prominent academic publishers are suing Georgia State University, contending that the school is violating copyright laws by providing course reading material to students in digital format without seeking permission from the publishers or paying licensing fees. In a complaint filed in United States District Court in Atlanta, the publishers -- Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press and Sage Publications -- sued four university officials, asserting "systematic, widespread and unauthorized copying and distribution of a vast amount of copyrighted works" by Georgia State, which the university distributes through its Web site.
E-mail Scam Lures High-Ranking Corporate Executives
An e-mail scam aimed squarely at the nation's top executives is raising new alarms about the ease with which people and companies can be deceived by online criminals. Thousands of high-ranking executives across the country have been receiving e-mail messages that appear to be official subpoenas from the United States District Court in San Diego.
Petition Seeks to Cancel Facebook's Trademark Registration
The hard feelings between Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and a former college classmate have boiled over into another legal dispute, this time over the popular online hangout's trademark. In a petition filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Aaron Greenspan is seeking to cancel Facebook's legal claim to its name.
NBC Wants iTunes to Provide Better Piracy Protection
NBC Universal would like to have its TV shows distributed once again through Apple's iTunes service, a top executive said, but he called for antipiracy measures to help protect his business' revenue. George Kliavkoff, chief digital officer at NBC Universal, didn't specifically mention Apple by name in his request, but it was clear he had the iPod maker in mind when it came to combating people's consumption of pirated content.
Japan Idenfities Problems on Schools' Websites
Japan has over 38,000 unofficial middle and high school Web sites that are not overseen by the schools, and harassment, sexual content, and violent slang are prevalent among them, an education ministry survey showed. "There have been many incidents involving such Web sites, but we didn't really know what exactly was going on out there," said Tsuyoshi Seno, an education ministry official, giving the reason for conducting the survey.
Comcast Seeks "Bill of Rights" for File-Sharing
Comcast, under federal investigation for interfering with the traffic of its Internet subscribers, said it wants to develop a "Bill of Rights and Responsibilities" for file sharing. The announcement expands on Comcast's new policy toward file-sharing: It said last month that rather than singling out such traffic and blocking some of it, the company will move toward a system that treats all types the same.
India, RIM to Discuss BlackBerry Security Concerns
The Indian government will hold its next meeting with BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion, a government official said, as the two sides look for a way to meet India's security concerns. India's Ministry of Telecommunications has written to RIM asking for servers to be installed in India, which it says would help agencies monitor BlackBerry services.
French Officials Seek Penalties for "Pro-Anorexia" Sites
French politicians called for stiff penalties of up to three years jail and heavy fines against "pro-anorexia" websites and publications that encourage girls and young women to starve themselves. "Giving young girls advice about how to lie to their doctors, telling them what kinds of food are easiest to vomit, encouraging them to torture themselves whenever they take any kind of food is not part of liberty of expression," Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot said in a speech in parliament.
"White Box" Mac Seller Back Online After Flap
Psystar is back online selling "white box" Macs with a few subtle changes, and one employee has already played the monopoly card. As you might recall, Psystar's Web site was overwhelmed after it was found to be selling cheap computers with Mac OS X Leopard preinstalled.
STEC Vows to Defend Seagate Patent Lawsuit
STEC issued a formal response to a patent infringement lawsuit filed by rival storage maker Seagate Technology and its subsidiaries. STEC, which responded to the lawsuit Seagate filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, says it will "aggressively" defend itself against Seagate's four patent infringement claims and contends it was one of the first companies to develop, manufacture, and ship high-performance solid-state drives, predating the patents cited in Seagate's complaint.
Recent Breaches Indicate New Front in Data Battle
Security managers often describe their efforts to protect corporate data from being compromised as a full-fledged battle of wits against cybercrooks who are continually arming themselves with innovative tools and methods of attack. And the security breaches disclosed last month by Hannaford Bros. and Okemo Mountain Resort -- along with unconfirmed reports of dozens of similar network intrusions -- suggest that a new front may have opened up in the battle.
Hackers Still Take Advantage of Old Web Flaws
Web designers making very old mistakes are letting malicious hackers hijack visitors to their sites, say experts. Many of the loopholes left in the code created for websites have been known about for almost a decade say the security researchers.
Apple, Sony Settle Suit Over Battery Caught Fire
Apple and Sony have agreed to pay 1.3 million yen ($12,000) to settle a lawsuit filed by a Japanese couple whose Mac caught fire when its Sony-made battery went up in smoke. The couple had wanted damages, arguing that the husband had suffered burns during the incident, which took place in their Osaka home.
New York Set to Collect Internet Sales Taxes
New York State's novel interpretation of its taxing powers over Internet sales will likely get a test in court. The New York State legislature has included a provision in the $122 billion budget it passed.
