California's governor and attorney general are asking Internet service providers to help stop the dissemination of child pornography. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. issued a press release asking Internet service providers in California to follow the lead of Verizon Communications, Time Warner Cable, and Sprint in "removing child pornography from existing servers and blocking channels" that disseminate the illegal material.
Judge Upholds Patent Ruling Against Microsoft
A U.S. judge upheld a jury's ruling for $368 million in damages against Microsoft Corp. for violating patents held by Alcatel-Lucent. U.S. District Judge Marilyn Huff said in a ruling that Microsoft owes Alcatel-Lucent a total of $512 million, which includes interest on the original award.
EU Official Wants to Ease Online Shopping Rules
The European Union's consumer chief will propose new rules to make it easier and safer for the bloc's 490 million consumers to shop online in any corner of the 27-nation EU. Some 150 million EU citizens turn to websites such as Amazon.com and EBay for shopping but only 30 million buy goods and services from another EU state, spending on average 800 euros ($1,240) a head.
China's Net Censorship "Unacceptable," EU Official Says
EU's telecoms chief Viviane Reding said that China's censorship of the Internet was "unacceptable" and that the Beijing Olympics were a chance for the country to show its commitment to free flow of information. Reding, who is the European Commissioner for Information Society and Media said she regards the Internet as a free medium for expression and any curtailment of that is limiting the citizen's right to information.
Study Debunks Myth About Internet Usage at Office
A new study attempts to shatter perceptions that Web surfers at the office are just slackers trying to avoid work. In fact, it turns out everyone does it, from senior managers to entry-level employees -- and researchers figure that means management attempts to clamp down on Internet use may be missing the mark.
Google-Yahoo Deal Faces Scrutiny from Justice Dep't
Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. face intense U.S. Justice Department scrutiny of their deal to share some advertising revenue, and the heat will likely increase under a new administration, antitrust experts said. Google, with more than 60 percent of the Web search market, and Yahoo, with 16.6 percent, announced a deal that would allow Yahoo to place Google ads on its site and collect the revenue.
AT&T, Verizon Want FCC Action on Net Neutrality
Executives from AT&T and Verizon Communications said that it's important for the Federal Communications Commission to take action in the Comcast debate over slowing down certain forms of peer-to-peer traffic in order to prove that legislation is not necessary when it comes to Net neutrality. Comcast, the largest cable provider in the U.S., has been under fire for months after it was discovered the company had been slowing down peer-to-peer traffic on its network.
After Pressure on Google, Ask.com Adds Privacy Link
Ever the publicity hound nipping at Google's heels, Ask.com has issued an open letter to the public about adding a privacy policy link to its home page. The letter highlights the fact that, weeks ago, several privacy groups asked Google to play up the privacy policy on its start page.
U.S. Faults Microsoft on Antitrust Compliance
As they prepare for their regular quarterly meeting with the judge, lawyers for the U.S. Department of Justice and Microsoft filed the two sides' quarterly joint report regarding the company's antitrust compliance. Slow delivery of documentation for Microsoft communications protocols lands near the top of the DoJ's list of infractions.
MySpace Wins $6 Million Award in Spam Case
An arbitrator has ordered Media Breakaway and Chief Executive Scott Richter to pay the social-networking giant $4.8 million in damages and $1.2 million in legal fees, according to legal filings. The company's employees were also ordered to stay off MySpace.
Apple, eBay, AT&T Settle Lawsuit Over "Visual Voicemail"
Klausner Technology Inc. said that Apple Inc., eBay Inc. and AT&T Inc. have agreed to license its "visual voicemail" technology and settled a lawsuit against them. Privately held Klausner did not disclose the financial details of the settlements or licensing deals, but said it was also in discussions with Comcast Corp. and Cablevision Systems Corp. about using the technology.
Japanese Police Arrest Three for Online Death Threats
Japanese police arrested four people for allegedly threatening copycat killings online after a man posted similar messages on Web sites before stabbing seven people to death, officials said.
Worker Exonerated of Child Porn Charges on Computer
A fired Massachusetts state worker has been exonerated of a charge of possessing child pornography after computer forensics showed that his work laptop was infected with malicious software that was surreptitiously visiting illegal Web sites. Michael Fiola, 53, was fired as a worker's comp fraud investigator with the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents in March 2007 after IT administrators found cached images of child porn in the temporary Internet files in his browser, according to the Dark Reading security news site.
White House Not Required to Disclose E-mail Documents
The White House Office of Administration is not required to turn over records about a trove of possibly missing e-mails, a federal judge ruled. The decision means the White House does not have to disclose documents relating to its troubled e-mail system.
New York Seeks to Combine Internet Tax Lawsuits
New York has asked Overstock.com Inc. to consolidate its lawsuit against the state with Amazon's lawsuit, Overstock said. Overstock.com Inc., based in Salt Lake City, Utah, has filed a lawsuit challenging New York's tax law that requires Internet retailers to collect and pay state sales tax
Bloggers Face Record Arrests for Exposing Abuses
More bloggers than ever face arrest for exposing human rights abuses or criticising governments, says a report. Since 2003, 64 people have been arrested for publishing their views on a blog, says the University of Washington annual report.
British Hacker Fighting Extradition to U.S.
A Briton is taking his fight against U.S. extradition for allegedly carrying out the "biggest military computer hack of all time" to the House of Lords. Glasgow-born Gary McKinnon, a systems analyst, is accused of gaining access to 97 U.S. military and NASA computers from his north London home.
Woman Pleads Not Guilty in MySpace Suicide Case
A Missouri woman has pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles federal court to charges in an Internet hoax blamed for a 13-year-old girl's suicide. She pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and accessing protected computers without authorization to get information used to inflict emotional distress.
FBI Warns of Child-Support Payment Phishing Scam
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation warned that online scammers are now targeting single parents who use the EPPICard system to receive child-support payments. The criminals are running a typical phishing scam, but one that is targeted at a new group of victims.
TiVo Settles Patent-Infringemnent Suit with Lycos
TiVo, the San Jose digital-video-recorder pioneer, settled a patent-infringement suit filed by Internet search engine Lycos over a feature that provides recommendations to customers for movies or television shows. Financial terms weren't disclosed in a May 30 court filing that said the two sides settled their dispute.
