Click fraud, in which advertisers have to pay for bogus clicks on text ads, dropped only a smidgen to 16.2 percent of clicks in the second quarter from 16.1 percent in the first, according to new data from Click Forensics, a company that monitors such activity.
"Spam King" Gets 47-Month Jail Sentence
Robert Alan Soloway, dubbed the "Spam King" by investigators, was sentenced Tuesday to 47 months in prison on a variety of charges. According to investigators, Soloway operated Newport Internet Marketing Corp. in Seattle, which offered "broadcast e-mail" services. Soloway, according to the government, sent tens of millions of spam e-mail messages advertising the services, using false and forged headers.
Nintendo Faces Patent Ban on Game Controllers
Nintendo Co., the world's biggest maker of handheld game machines, is facing a ban on U.S. sales of some controllers for its Wii and GameCube systems after it lost a bid to overturn a $21 million patent-infringement verdict. U.S. District Judge Ron Clark in Lufkin, Texas, rejected Nintendo's request for a new trial in the case won by closely held Anascape Ltd. of Tyler, Texas.
China Arrests Prominent Internet Dissident
Chinese police have arrested a prominent Internet dissident for violating his probation terms, a rights group said, as the country steps up a pre-Olympic crackdown on dissent to ensure the Games go smoothly. Du Daobin, from the central province of Hebei, was given a suspended sentence for subversion in 2004 having been detained by police in Wuhan for posting online essays in support of fellow dissident, Liu Di.
TV Networks Sue Redlasso Over Unauthorized Clips
NBC Universal Inc., Fox News Network LLC and Fox Television Stations Inc. sued Redlasso Inc., alleging the Web site is improperly making available video clips of their copyrighted programming. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, alleges Redlasso hasn't been licensed or authorized by the networks to reproduce copies of their news and entertainment programming, including copies of NBC's "Today" show and Fox's "On The Record with Greta Van Susteren."
Woman Charged in MySpace Death Wants Case Dismissed
The lawyer for a Missouri mother accused of creating a fake MySpace page to harass a 13-year-old girl is arguing that charges should be tossed out of court because if she is guilty, then so are millions of Internet users every day. Lori Drew became the focus of national outrage after the girl committed suicide.
Romanian Pleads Guilty to Online Fraud Charges
One of 38 people charged in a global crime ring that allegedly stole personal information from unsuspecting Internet users pleaded guilty to a federal fraud charge. Ovidiu-Ionut Nicola-Roman, 22, of Craiova, Romania, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport, Conn.
Appeals Court Rules Against Child Online Protection Act
A federal appeals court agreed with a lower court ruling that struck down as unconstitutional a 1998 law intended to protect children from sexual material and other objectionable content on the Internet. The decision by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia is the latest twist in a decade-long legal battle over the Child Online Protection Act, which now could head to the U.S. Supreme Court.
N.Y. Vows Legal Action Against Comcast Over Child Porn
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who has pressured Internet service providers to block access to child pornography, said his office would pursue legal action against Comcast Cable Communications LLC if it did not quickly agree to reforms. Last month, major ISPs such as Verizon Communications, Sprint, Time Warner Inc.'s AOL unit, AT&T Inc. and Time Warner Cable, agreed to block Internet bulletin boards and websites nationwide that disseminate child porn.
N.Y. Governor Signs Video-Game Ratings Law
Video games sold in New York state must clearly label ratings for violent content under a new law, which rights groups criticized as likely unconstitutional. The New York Civil Liberties Union said that it planned to mount a legal challenge against the law, signed by New York Gov. David Paterson, as it raised free speech concerns.
American Airlines, Google Settle Advertising Lawsuit
American Airlines Inc. and Google Inc. have settled a trademark-infringment lawsuit by the carrier against the search engine. In the judgment, U.S. District District Court Judge John McBryde said Fort Worth-based American will "recover nothing" from Google, which is based in California.
Bush Seeks Record Funding for Cybersecurity Initiative
President Bush's single largest request for funds and "most important initiative" in the fiscal 2009 intelligence budget is for the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative, a little publicized but massive program whose details "remain vague and thus open to question," according to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Facebook Sues German Company for "Knock-Off" Website
Facebook filed an intellectual property lawsuit against a German company that it has accused of running a "knock-off" of the social networking website. In a complaint filed in a California court, Facebook accused StudiVZ -- a German company that claims 10m users and calls itself “the most successful social network in Germany, Austria and Switzerland” -- of "copying the look, feel, features and services" of the Facebook site.
Facebook's Redesign Tackles New Forms of Spam
Facebook is making sweeping changes to the world's largest social networking site, aiming to give users more control and to curb new forms of spam, company officials said. The site's redesign aims to make user profiles more dynamic by giving more prominence to the newest information, and it is cracking down on applications that violate privacy or user-control guidelines.
IBM, SAP, Adobe Sued Over Server Security Patents
IBM, SAP, and Adobe Systems are the latest targets of patent lawsuits filed by Implicit Networks. Implicit claims the companies "are violating two patents for computer-server software that performs faster security functions," Bloomberg News reported.
TV News Anchor Charged with Illegal E-mail Access
A longtime television newscaster was charged with illegally accessing the e-mail of his glamorous former co-anchor, who suspected details of her social life were being leaked to gossip columnists. Federal prosecutors say fired KYW-TV anchor Larry Mendte accessed Alycia Lane's e-mail accounts hundreds of times and leaked her personal information to a Philadelphia Daily News reporter.
Motorola Sues Former Executive Over iPhone Work
Motorola Inc., the largest U.S. mobile-phone maker, sued a former executive now working for Apple Inc., accusing him of disclosing its trade secrets to aid in the marketing of Apple's iPhone. Michael Fenger in March ended an almost six-year career at Motorola where he was a vice president for the company's mobile- device business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Despite Ban, iPhone Gains Big Market in China, Russia
Moscow and Beijing have become an iPhone trader's paradise. Officially, Russia and China are still on hold — neither last year's original iPhone nor the updated model have been launched in those countries because Apple is still negotiating with mobile service providers.
U.S. Ponders Hacker Warning for Travelers to China
A debate is brewing in the U.S. government over whether to publicly warn businesspeople and other travelers heading to the Beijing Olympics about the dangers posed by Chinese computer hackers. According to government officials and security consultants, U.S. intelligence agencies are worried about the potential threat to U.S. laptops and cellphones.
Teen Dating Site Called "Playground for Pedophiles"
A Newsbeat investigation has uncovered a dating website specifically for teenagers which campaigners fear will become a "playground for pedophiles." Children's Charity, NSPCC, says MyLOL.net, which is marketed for teenagers but has hundreds of adult profiles, should clean up its act or be shut down.
