Hasbro has dropped its lawsuit against the makers of a popular online version of board game "Scrabble." Hasbro, which owns the North American rights to the word game, sued Jayant and Rajat Agarwalla, brothers from Calcutta, India, this summer.
Google Counsel Says Company Still Wants Net Neutrality
Google Inc. denied that it had reversed its stance on the issue of "Net neutrality" and dismissed a story in The Wall Street Journal on the subject as "confused." Citing undisclosed sources, the newspaper reported that Google had been in talks with major cable and phone companies about getting preferential treatment for traffic to and from its sites.
Report Faults Congress for Technology Confusion
Attempts by Congress and grassroots advocacy groups to employ different technologies to communicate with each other have done more harm than good, a new report says. "The result has been misunderstanding, frustration, wasted effort, and even anger on both sides, which must be resolved to truly realize the tremendous opportunities for electronic communications between citizens and their representatives in Congress," according to a report from the nonprofit, nonpartisan Congressional Management Foundation.
Australian Judge Allows Service via Facebook
In what appears to be a first in Australia and perhaps the world, Master Harper of the ACT Supreme Court ordered that a default judgement could be served on defendants by notification on Facebook. Master Harper ordered that the defendants in the case could be validly served by the plaintiff sending a message by computer to the Facebook pages of both defendants informing them of the entry of and the terms of the judgement.
Free WiFi Network Creates Filtering Controversy
M2Z Networks' proposal to build a free wireless broadband network is not the only controversial part of its business plan. Just as contentious is its intention to filter the content delivered over that network to block any material deemed inappropriate for children.
FCC Cancels Meeting to Vote on Free Internet Plan
The Federal Communications Commission has canceled a meeting scheduled at which it planned to vote on a controversial free Internet plan. The plan has been met with opposition from several top officials, wireless providers, and even civil rights groups.
Open-Source Group Sues Cisco for Violating License
A group that promotes open source software filed a lawsuit against Cisco, claiming that some of the networking vendor's routers violate the terms of open source licenses that govern the use of software embedded in the products. In court papers filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the Free Software Foundation claims Cisco's Linksys routers violate parts of the GNU General Public License, version 2, and the GNU Lesser General Public License.
Sony Agrees to Pay $1 Million in Child Privacy Case
Sony BMG Music Entertainment has agreed to pay $1 million to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission that it improperly collected and disclosed personal information on thousands of children under 13 without their parents' consent. The FTC said that the civil penalty is the largest ever to be paid in a case alleging violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.
Virigina Wants Court to Revive Anti-Spam Law
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.
