Age ratings for downloaded video content and video games are to be introduced in the UK. Overseen by the British Board of Film Classification, the scheme will see certificates appear on websites, via set-top boxes and portable players.
Lawmaker Wants Openness from Google on DoubleClick
The top Republican on the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee asked Google chief executive Eric Schmidt to detail the search engine's privacy practices since it acquired rival DoubleClick. "It is critical that Google's and DoubleClick's policies and procedures for handling this information be transparent, and that every effort is made to protect consumers' data," Texas Rep. Joe Barton wrote in a letter to the company.
Japanese Student Convicted in Computer Virus Case
A student who allegedly spread a computer virus was convicted of copyright infringement in a case that has highlighted the lack of laws in Japan to police cyberspace. Masato Nakatsuji, 24, a graduate student at Osaka Electro-Communication University, was charged with maliciously spreading a virus by embedding it in an image from a Japanese animation film he illegally copied and distributed.
TV Networks Want Video Syndication Site Shut Down
Three of the largest broadcast TV networks have sent a cease-and-desist letter to RedLasso, a little-known but rapidly growing video syndication site. Fox News Network, NBC Universal, and CBS sent a letter, accusing the company of "building a business based on the unauthorized syndication of" the content owners' news, sports, and entertainment shows.
Microsoft Giving Mixed Signals on Its Linux Patent Claims
It was just over a year ago that Microsoft dropped a bombshell of a claim: users of Linux and open-source software were unwittingly violating as many as 235 Microsoft software patents. Since then, critics say Microsoft has played the "good cop, bad cop" routine with the open-source camp.
Chicago Sues eBay for Not Collecting Taxes on Tickets
The city of Chicago is suing eBay and its subsidiary StubHub for failing to collect city amusement taxes on concert and sporting event tickets sold through the Web sites. Chicago's amusement tax ordinance includes Internet sites that resell tickets, but eBay, which bought StubHub last year, says the 8 percent tax does not apply to it.
Microsoft Loses Patent Suit Against Alcatel-Lucent
Microsoft lost a lawsuit that had accused Alcatel-Lucent of violating patents used in business telephone networks, the U.S. International Trade Commission said. Microsoft had accused Alcatel-Lucent of infringing four patents for software in a system that integrates telephones with computers for calls, messages and videoconferences.
Iran Reportedly Blocks Access to Women's Sites
Iranian authorities have blocked access to several websites and blogs of women's rights advocates and journalists critical of the government, a press report said. The move follows a new directive sent out by a committee tasked with identifying illegal websites to Internet service providers, the reformist Etemad Melli newspaper said without giving a source.
Thailand Threatens to Down Sites Offensive to King
Thai authorities threatened to shut down 29 websites over content deemed offensive to the nation's revered king, warning that owners of the portals could face prosecution. The latest threat came after Thailand banned the video-sharing service YouTube for five months last year, over videos that mocked Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Cisco Questioned by Committee on Internet Freedom
Cisco Systems, seeking to penetrate the Chinese market, prepared an internal marketing presentation in which it appeared to be willing to assist the Chinese Ministry of Public Security in its goal of "combating Falun Gong evil cult and other hostile elements," according to a translation of a document obtained by congressional investigators. The Cisco presentation will take center stage at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the Global Internet Freedom Act, which aims to defeat Internet censorship.
OECD Warns of Slow Progress on Net Address Changes
Slow progress on the Net's new addressing system risks breaking it into regional blocks, warns the OECD. The problem may come as nations move to the new scheme at different paces, says the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
South African Parliament Approves Online Gambling Law
South Africa's parliament approved a new Internet gambling law to regulate an industry plagued by crime and vulnerable to money laundering and terrorism financing, parliamentary papers showed. A memorandum attached to the National Gambling Amendment Bill said the interactive gambling industry in Africa's biggest economy was currently unregulated and "generally plagued" by crime.
Spanish Police Arrest Five Active Internet Hackers
Spanish police have arrested five hackers they describe as being among the most active on the Internet. The hackers, who include two 16-year-olds, are accused of disrupting government websites in the United States, Asia and Latin America.
Supreme Court Upholds Child Porn Law in Internet Case
The Supreme Court upheld a law aimed at preventing child pornography, ruling a provision dealing with "pandering" illicit material does not violate constitutional protections on free speech. The case involves Michael Williams, convicted in a Florida federal court for promoting child pornography on the Internet.
Court Says MySpace Not Liable for Sexual Assault
A federal appeals court ruled that MySpace can't be held responsible for the sexual assault of an Austin, Texas, teen by a man she met on the site. The girl, named in the case as Julie Doe, initially filed suit along with her mother, named as Jane Doe, after she was sexually assaulted in May 2006 by 19-year-old Pete Solis, whom she met on MySpace.
Phishing Schemes Lead to 38 Arrests in U.S., Romania
Thirty-eight people in the U.S. and Romania have been charged in two indictments alleging they used complicated Internet phishing schemes to steal thousands of credit and debit card numbers, U.S. and Romanian authorities announced. The indictments, in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and the District of Connecticut, focus on two related phishing schemes with ties to organized crime, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Old Laws May Restrict Monitoring of Internet Usage
Privacy advocates and attorneys point to a collection of federal laws -- written in the 1980s when broadband services were merely a pipe dream -- that combine to create a treacherous legal landscape for broadband providers that plan to conduct Web monitoring.
Hamas Tries to Block Porn Sites in Gaza Strip
Islamist group Hamas has told the main Palestinian telecoms company to block access to pornographic Internet sites in the Gaza Strip, a Hamas government official said. Gaza's Ministry of Communications said in a statement that telecommunications firm PALTEL has agreed to block Internet users in the Hamas-controlled coastal enclave from viewing adult websites starting this month.
New Group Wants to Make Social Networks Safer
A group of Internet safety experts plans to announce a new start-up aimed at helping social networks provide safer Web 2.0 environments for kids and adults. The company, called Wired Trust, will be one of the first consulting companies designed specifically to help social networks and kids' virtual worlds navigate safety issues in an age of cyberbullying, Internet predators, and anything-goes content from members.
MySpace Prosecution Could Impact Routine Online Tactics
Think twice before you sign up for an online service using a fake name or e-mail address. You could be committing a federal crime. Federal prosecutors turned to a novel interpretation of computer hacking law to indict a Missouri mother on charges connected to the suicide of a 13-year-old MySpace user.
