The U.S. Supreme Court turned away the Federal Trade Commission's bid to impose antitrust penalties that would have limited the royalties collected by memory-chip technology company Rambus Inc. The justices, without comment, left intact a federal appeals court decision favoring Rambus, which gets more than 80 percent of its revenue from royalties.
Obama's Pick for FTC Has Supported Consumers Online
President Obama plans to appoint current Federal Trade Commission member Jon Leibowitz to lead the agency, which partially enforces antitrust laws and has taken a recent interest in online advertising. An administration official on Monday confirmed that Leibowitz, a Democrat appointed to the five-person commission in 2004, would be nominated as chairman.
More Internet Attacks Take Aim at Bank Accounts
New and nasty banking trojans are on the rise on the Internet and attacking online bank accounts. The new trojan programs -- which wait on your hard drive for an opportunity to crack your online banking account -- are different from traditional "phishing" e-mail scams that try to trick you into typing your login information at fake bank websites.
Hackers Targeting Users of Microsoft's Xbox Live Service
Xbox Live is being targeted by malicious hackers selling services that kick players off the network. The booting services are proving popular with players who want a way to get revenge on those who beat them in an Xbox Live game.
British ISPs Not Blocking All Child Abuse Images Online
Children's charities have expressed "serious concerns" many U.K. households still have access to images showing child sex abuse via their computers. The government had asked all Internet service providers to block illegal websites by the end of 2007.
California Video Game Law Found Unconstitutional
A U.S. appeals court ruled that a California law restricting the sales and rental of violent video games to minors and imposing labeling requirements is too restrictive and violates free speech guarantees. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the labeling requirement unfairly forces video games to carry "the state's controversial opinion" about which games are violent.
Senator to Push for Repeal of Internet Gambling Ban
A senior Democratic lawmaker will push legislation this year to repeal a U.S. ban on Internet gambling that has hurt trade ties with the European Union, a congressional aide said. "The bill introduction should happen in the next month," a spokesman for House of Representatives Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said.
Bill Would Require ISPs, Wi-Fi Operators to Retain Data
Republican politicians called for a sweeping new federal law that would require all Internet providers and operators of millions of Wi-Fi access points, even hotels, local coffee shops, and home users, to keep records about users for two years to aid police investigations. The legislation, which echoes a measure proposed by one of their Democratic colleagues three years ago, would impose unprecedented data retention requirements on a broad swath of Internet access providers and is certain to draw fire from businesses and privacy advocates.
University of Florida Issues Cyber-Attack Alert
For the second time in less than four weeks, the University of Florida has been forced to notify students, staff and faculty about a cyber attack. This time, a hacker got into the university's antiquated Grove system, set up in 1996, and possibly stole the names and social security numbers of more than 97,000 people.
EU Considers Tapping Internet-Based Phone Calls
An investigation into the possibility of tapping Internet telephony conversations has been launched by the European Union's Judicial Co-Operation Unit, also known as Eurojust. The Italian government has cited concerns that organized criminals and arms and drug traffickers are using VoIP services such as Skype to avoid traditional, more easily-tapped phone networks.
Former eBay CEO Preparing Run for California Governor
Meg Whitman, a former chief executive of eBay, once said that running the Internet auction site was like being the mayor of a large city, with the mix of politics, competing constituencies and widespread resistance to change. Now Ms. Whitman, 52, says she is ready to be the governor of California, a state nearly paralyzed by its political and fiscal problems.
Lawmaker Targets White House's Use of Gmail Accounts
A California Republican congressman has called on President Obama to put in place a system that ensures all White House emails be preserved even if official business was done through private e- mail accounts. Rep. Darrell Issa, the senior Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, specifically mentioned the new administrationís brief use of Gmail accounts after Obama was sworn in last month, as they waited for the official White House e-mail accounts to become active.
Dell Seeks to Cancel Company's "Netbook" Trademark
Dell filed a petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel a registered trademark for the term "Netbook" by a company called Psion. Psion is a Canadian mobile computer maker that owns the trademark and indeed has sold a product called Netbook in the past. Psion began sending some tech bloggers and Netbook makers cease-and-desist notices late last year asking them to stop using the term "Netbook."
Delta Air Lines Faces Patent Suit Over Wi-Fi Service
Delta Air Lines and its in-flight Wi-Fi service provider have been sued by a Massachusetts company for patent infringement. Ashland, Mass.-based Ambit Corp., a technology development firm, claims in its suit that Atlanta-based Delta and Wi-Fi provider Aircell LLC infringe on its patent for a "system for enabling communication from personal computer communication devices located within a passenger vehicle to a distant communication system located outside of said passenger vehicle," using antennae on the devices.
Italian Judge Lets Google Video-Taunting Case Proceed
An Italian judge gave the go-ahead to a case in which Google could be held responsible for content it hosts but does not produce. The case centers on a 2006 video of four Italian youths taunting a child with Down syndrome. In the video, one of the youths incorrectly claims to be part of a small Down syndrome advocacy group called Vivi Down.
Verizon Plans Action to Deter Spammers from Its Network
Verizon.net is home to more than twice as many spam-spewing zombies as any other major Internet service provider in the United States, according to an analysis of the most recent data from anti-spam outfit Spamhaus.org. Verizon, however, says it plans to put measures in place to prevent it from being used as a home to so many spammers.
Internet Music Royalty Agreement Announced
A group that collects royalties for music artists and recording companies has agreed to reduce rates for thousands of commercial radio stations that also play songs over the Internet. Internet radio station operators had complained that rates originally set by the federal Copyright Royalty Board in 2007 could essentially force them to shut down.
After Uproar, Facebook Returns to Old Terms of Use
Facebook founder and CEO Marc Zuckerberg reverted to the social networking site's old "terms of use" agreement, undoing a legal change that implied the site might own its members' information forever. Facebook recently changed its terms of use, the legal language found at the bottom of many websites, causing an uproar among members who feared losing control of data they posted to the site.
Google Wins Privacy Suit Over "Street View" Service
A couple in Pittsburgh whose lawsuit claimed that Street View on Google Maps is a reckless invasion of their privacy lost their case. Aaron and Christine Boring sued the Internet search giant last April, alleging that Google "significantly disregarded (their) privacy interests" when Street View cameras captured images of their house beyond signs marked "private road."
Intel, Nvidia Fighting Over Rights to Chipsets
A legal showdown is brewing between Intel Corp. and Nvidia Corp. over whether a 2004 license agreement should cover a new generation of microprocessors. The battle flared up after Intel filed a motion before a Delaware Chancery Court challenging Nvidia's right to make chipsets compatible with new Intel semiconductors that have memory controllers integrated into the main microprocessor unit.
