Amazon.com has threatened to cut off sales commissions in North Carolina for referrals to the online retailer if a new tax proposal becomes law. Multiple media outlets reported the Legislature is considering a way to collect sales taxes for so-called "click-through" transactions.
European Technology Helps Iran Censor Internet
The Iranian regime has developed, with the assistance of European telecommunications companies, one of the world's most sophisticated mechanisms for controlling and censoring the Internet, allowing it to examine the content of individual online communications on a massive scale. Interviews with technology experts in Iran and outside the country say Iranian efforts at monitoring Internet information go well beyond blocking access to Web sites or severing Internet connections.
Woman Ordered to Pay $1.92 Million for File-Sharing
Jammie Thomas-Rasset was found guilty of willful copyright infringement in a Minneapolis federal court and must pay the recording industry $1.92 million. In a surprise decision, the jury imposed damages against Thomas-Rasset, who was originally accused to sharing more than 1,700 songs, at a whopping $80,000 for each of the 24 songs she was ultimately found guilty of illegally sharing.
PC Makers Say China Not Relaxing Censorship Stance
American computer makers say the Chinese government has not backed down from a requirement that Internet censorship software be preinstalled on all computers sold in China after July 1, despite reports that the rule had been relaxed. In a further sign that Chinese officials are trying to assert more Internet control, the city of Beijing wants to recruit 10,000 volunteers by summer's end to monitor online content, said an employee of the city government's Spiritual Civilization Office.
China Complains About "Vulgar Links" on Google
China's Internet watchdog condemned the Chinese-language version of Google for "disseminating pornographic and vulgar information." The China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Center said it had complained twice to Google about the "pornographic and vulgar links" available through its search engine.
Facebook Defends Its Behavioral Targeting Practices
Facebook's targeted advertising program is "materially different from behavioral targeting as it is usually discussed," Chris Kelly, the social network's chief privacy officer, said in remarks prepared for a earing before two House subcommittees. "In offering its free service to users, Facebook is dedicated to developing advertising that is relevant and personal without invading users' privacy, and to giving users more control over how their personal information is used in the online advertising environment," read the remarks for two subcommittees of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce.
French Music Group Sues YouTube for Infringement
A rights collection org repping indie Gallic record labels has filed a lawsuit accusing YouTube of copyright infringement. Gaul's Societe Civile des Producteurs de Phonogrammes en France (SPPF) lodged the suit with Paris superior court Tribunal de Grand Instance, which handles civil offenses, the org's director general, Jerome Roger, told Agence France Presse.
Google to Blur Faces in Street View for Canada
If your face was captured by Google's Street View cameras in recent weeks, your mug is in the company's image database -- but it won't be for long, the head of Google Canada said. "We'll be permanently blurring them and permanently anonymizing them, so there's no imagery in there that's identifiable," said Jonathan Lister, managing director and head of Google Canada, about two hours before he was to answer questions from the Commons ethics committee about Street View.
Google Agrees to Street View Changes in Germany
Google is willing to concede to German demands the company erase photos for its panoramic mapping service after they have been processed, a data protection official said. Johannes Caspar, head of the Hamburg regional office for data protection, said Google had agreed to erase the raw footage of faces, house numbers, license plates and individuals in Germany who have told authorities they do not want their information used in the service.
Iranians Find Ways to Bypass Internet Restrictions
A new generation of Iranians has found ways to bypass the country's notoriously censorial Internet restrictions and disseminate details about Iran's internal turmoil in the wake of the recent election. In technical circles, at least, Iran is well-known for erecting one of the world's most restrictive Internet blockades, second only to China in its scope.
Malware Attacks Affect 10 Million People Per Year
Legitimate websites are a growing frontier for malware attacks with over ten million pages affected every year. Security start-up Dasient claimed the threat has risen as more people create their own websites and blogs without proper built-in security protocols.
Facebook's New Addresses Highlight Trademark Fights
Since Facebook started giving out customized Web addresses like facebook.com/yourname, some 9.5 million people have rushed to grab their top choice. Staking out and protecting their names and trademarks on the Internet has become a seemingly never-ending battle.
NSA Criticized for Intercepting Phone Calls, E-mail
The National Security Agency is facing renewed scrutiny over the extent of its domestic surveillance program, with critics in Congress saying its recent intercepts of the private telephone calls and e-mail messages of Americans are broader than previously acknowledged, current and former officials said.
W3C Looking Into Apple Patent on Software Updates
The World Wide Web Consortium is opening the possibility of pushing back against an Apple patent on software updates that Apple had refused to license royalty-free for use in a proposed Web standard. The patent, which Apple applied for in 1995 and was granted in 1998, involves this scenario: "a software program running on a computer automatically replaces itself with a newer version in a completely automated fashion, without interruption of its primary function, and in a manner that is completely transparent to the user of the computer."
State Department Helps Social Sites Amid Iranian Drama
Senior officials say the State Department is working with Twitter and other social networking sites to ensure Iranians are able to continue to communicate to each other and the outside world. By necessity, the U.S. is staying hands off of the election drama playing out in Iran, and officials say they are not providing messages to Iranians or "quarterbacking" the disputed election process.
U.K. Government Announces New Antipiracy Plans
Hoping to cut down on rampant online theft of music and movies, the British government plans to ratchet up pressure on suspected pirates with measures that would ultimately restrict the Internet access of repeat offenders. The U.K. government announced new antipiracy measures based on coordinated action by Internet service providers, entertainment companies and Ofcom, Britain's broadcasting regulator.
FDA Reports Drop in Swine Flu Scams Online
Concerned over the surge of phony swine flu treatments hawked on the Internet, the Food and Drug Administration has ordered dozens of Web site operators to stop making fraudulent claims, leading to a drop in the number of scams. In the six weeks since FDA's campaign began, nearly three-quarters have pulled down sites or removed illegal claims, and the number of new sites selling fake swine flu treatments and protective devices has plummeted, FDA officials said.
Microsoft Sues Three People for Committing "Click Fraud"
Microsoft Corp. filed a lawsuit against three people that it alleges committed a form of "click fraud" by improperly manipulating Microsoft's online advertising service for profit. The suit seeks at least $750,000 in damages for an alleged scheme last year to drive up advertising costs for legitimate Microsoft advertisers while creating an advantage for the defendants' own businesses.
Verizon, AT&T Deny Colluding to Set Texting Prices
U.S. wireless carriers Verizon Communications and AT&T took issue with assertions that they colluded in setting prices for text messages, saying that prices for most customers had fallen and the market was competitive. Sen. Herb Kohl, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee, said he was concerned that the four largest cell phone companies doubled their text message rates from 10 cents in 2006 to 20 cents in 2008.
China Orders Fixes to Mandatory Censorship Software
A designer of censorship software that the Chinese government requires to be preinstalled on computers sold in China has been ordered to fix potential security breaches in the software, the newspaper China Daily reported. The report was an indication that the government still supports use of the software despite heated debate over it.
