Virginia's attorney general asked the nation's highest court to revive a state anti-spam law that was struck down by a lower court as unconstitutionally overbroad. Virginia's Supreme Court ruled in September that the law violates the free-speech protections of the First Amendent because it prohibits anonymously sending any type of unsolicited bulk e-mail, including political and religious messages.
Panelists Debate Success of Government Work Online
A panel comprised of campaign workers, Capitol Hill staffers and other advocates for open e-government, generally agreed that the recent Obama campaign signaled a major shift in the use of the Web for building political momentum. But that's a far cry from bringing the nuts and bolts of the governing process online so that anyone with an Internet connection could view and comment on transcripts of markup sessions or access archived videos of hearing.
U.S. Sues Sony Under Children's Online Privacy Law
Sony BMG, which is changing its name to Sony Music Entertainment, was sued by the U.S. government, which accused the music company of violating federal rules aimed at protecting the online privacy of children. The music company improperly accepted registrations on its music websites from users who were under 13, without obtaining consent from their parents, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
Australia to Test Nationwide Web Filtering System
The Australian government plans to test a nationwide Web filtering system that would force Internet service providers to block access to thousands of sites containing questionable or illegal content, prompting cries of censorship from advocacy groups. The proposed filter is part of a $82 million "cybersafety plan" started in May with the goals of protecting children online and stopping adults from downloading content that is illegal to possess in Australia, like child pornography or materials related to terrorism.
Bush Administration Opposes FCC's Free WiFi Plan
Bush administration officials are trying to put the brakes on the Federal Communications Commission's plan to encourage a free, national wireless Internet plan. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez sent a letter to the agency's Republican chairman expressing the administration's displeasure with the idea.
L'Oreal Calls eBay Negligent in French Counterfeit Case
Internet auction Web site eBay takes a "negligent attitude" toward sales of counterfeits, a lawyer for L'Oreal told a French court. L'Oreal, the world's largest cosmetics maker, asked the Paris court to appoint an expert to determine the actual value of lost sales as part of its lawsuit against eBay.
Malware Use Triples, Anti-Phishing Group Says
The use of malware on Web sites to steal passwords and other sensitive information is skyrocketing, according to a new report from the Anti-Phishing Working Group. The number of URLs with hidden code for stealing passwords nearly tripled between July 2007 and July 2008, to a record high of 9,529, while the number of malicious-application variants hit a high of 442 this May, the APWG reports in its quarterly report.
Court Asked to Disclose Posters' Identities
In a First Amendment case with implications for everything from neighborhood e-mail lists to national newspapers, an Eastern Shore businessman argued to Maryland's highest court that the host of an online forum should be forced to reveal the identities of people who posted allegedly defamatory comments. It is the first time the Maryland Court of Appeals has confronted the question of online anonymity, an issue that has surfaced in state and federal courts over the past few years as blogs and other online forums have increasingly become part of the national discourse
Indian Court Asked to Ban Google Earth
Legal advocates have petitioned an Indian court to ban Google Earth following intelligence indicating the satellite imaging site was used to plan last month's terrorist attacks in Mumbai that killed 170 people. Advocate Amit Karkhanis told India's High Court the free service "aids terrorists in plotting attacks" by providing detailed images used to acquaint radical militants with their targets.
China Blacklists Sites for False Medical Claims
China, beset by food and drug safety scandals, has blacklisted dozens of websites for making false claims about traditional Chinese medicine, state media said. The health scares, including the addition of melamine, used in making plastics, to milk and baby formula, have prompted many countries to close their markets to Chinese food and drugs, and Beijing is trying to restore the reputation of its exports with a quality drive.
Bosnians Join Anti-Massacre Group on Facebook
Over 6,000 Bosnians joined in less than 48 hours a group on social networking site Facebook which wants to shut down a Serb nationalist group celebrating the massacre of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica. The group, created under the name "Close Group Noz Zica Srebrenica," alerted administrators about the language of hatred against Muslims on the site.
Apple Copycat Alleges Abuse of Copyright Law
Having run into a roadblock in its attempt to fire back at Apple, Psystar is changing tactics. Court filings indicate that Psystar is dropping its argument that Apple is violating antitrust laws -- which Judge William Alsup has already rejected -- in favor of a new argument that Apple is abusing its copyright on Mac OS X to stifle competition.
Cybercriminals Taking Advantage of Recession
Amid the global downturn in the economy, cybercrminals appear to be winning in the war against law enforcement. That's the sobering conclusion drawn by a panel of experts in a report from McAfee.
Judge's Jokes Sent via E-mail Called Raunchy
Alex Kozinski, one of the highest ranking and most intellectually respected federal judges, has periodically distributed jokes to a group of friends and associates, including his law clerks, colleagues on the federal bench, prominent attorneys and journalists. The jokes he sent ranged from silly to politically oriented to raunchy.
Early Version of Windows 7 Posted Online Again
The pre-beta version of Windows 7 that Microsoft handed out at two major conferences this fall was uploaded to BitTorrent sites almost immediately -- enabling almost anyone with a little tech savvy to begin kicking the tires early. Now, it's happened again, despite Microsoft's vaunted tight-lipped policies regarding unreleased products.
British ISPs Restore Access to Wikipedia
Wikipedia functionality has returned for Brits after the country's Internet watchdog reversed its decision to prevent users in that country from visiting a Wikipedia page containing an image of a naked child. The Internet Watch Foundation had taken exception with a page dedicated to a 1976 album by rock band The Scorpions.
Obama Urged to Create Cybersecurity Post
A bipartisan commission of computer security experts are recommending that President-elect Barack Obama set up a high-level post to tackle cyber security, consider new regulations to combat cyber crime and shore up the security of the nation's most sensitive computer networks. The proposals from the Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency follow a series of cyber security breaches at some of nation's most sensitive computer systems.
Court Limits RemoteSpy Keylogger Spyware
A U.S. District Court refused to impose an outright ban on the sale of RemoteSpy keylogger spyware, but the court has barred its parent company from marketing the product for deceptive purposes while it considers a complaint from the FTC that the software may violate the FTC Act.
British ISPs Filter Wikipedia After Blacklist
Internet service providers in the U.K. have begun filtering access to Wikipedia after the site was added to the Internet Watch Foundation's blacklist.
Cuba Blocks Blogger from Cyber-Workshop
Police have prohibited Cuba's most prominent blogger from attending an independent cyber-workshop and warned that her activities ran afoul of the law, her husband said. Yoani Sánchez and husband and fellow blogger Reynaldo Escobar were summoned separately Wednesday to a police station near their apartment in Havana's Vedado district and reprimanded, Escobar said in a telephone interview.
