The Department of Homeland Security released new directives covering border searches of electronic devices and media, but the government's rules leave open the question of whether individuals can be compelled to provide passwords and encryption keys. DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano in a statement characterized the rules as an attempt to balance the investigatory requirements for fighting crime and terrorism with privacy and civil liberties.
Facebook Announces New Modifications to Privacy Controls
In conjunction with the Canadian Privacy Commissioner, Facebook announced a new set of modifications to its user privacy controls as well as its developer API, and the targets of these changes are the thousands of third-party applications built on Facebook's developer platform. That means there may be major implications for developers--some of whom rely almost exclusively on Facebook activity as a revenue source.
Italy Investigating Google Over Antitrust Concerns
Italian competition authorities said that they were investigating Google, following complaints from publishers that the company was abusing its dominant position on the Internet to deny them a fair share of online advertising revenue. Carlo Malinconico, president of the Italian Federation of Newspaper Publishers, said the group had complained to the antitrust authority about a "lack of transparency" in Google's search engine and Google News service, which compiles blurbs of news stories on the Web and provides links to them.
Web Developer Warns of "Massive" Twitter Vulnerability
Are Twitter users at risk of having their accounts taken over by evildoers? That's the contention of Web developer James Slater, who wrote a blog post about the issue on site of U.K.-based search optimization expert Dave Naylor.
FCC Votes to Study "Innovation" in Wireless Industry
The Federal Communications Commission decided unanimously to review the state of "innovation" in the wireless industry, a move that could lead to greater regulation of carriers and government intervention in disputes such as one that recently erupted over Google Voice and the Apple App Store. All five FCC commissioners, including the two Republicans, voted to approve a pair of investigations into the wireless industry.
Europe to Propose Rules to Ease Posting Books Online
The European Commission will propose drafting rules that would make it easier to put many books and manuscripts online. The move is a part of the commission’s effort to bolster access to information and to encourage online businesses. The changes would be aimed at allowing Internet users to access out-of-print works and so-called orphan works for which it is impossible or very difficult to trace the rights holders, said Viviane Reding, the European Union commissioner who oversees the Internet.
"Huge" Decline Reported for Phishing E-mails
A report by IBM shows a big drop in the volume of "phishing" e-mails, in which fraud artists send what looks like a legitimate message from a bank or some other company. If the recipients click on a link in a phishing e-mail, they land on a rogue website that captures their passwords, account numbers or any other information they might enter.
Court Upholds $33 Million Cybersquatting Judgment
A federal court in California has upheld a massive $33.15 million penalty against a cybersquatting domain aggregator that registered hundreds of websites mimicking Verizon's name and trademarks. Verizon had been awarded the judgment against OnlineNIC by default after failing to locate any of its employees to serve a summons.
ACLU Chapter Focuses on Facebook Privacy Issues
The Northern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has put out a campaign designed to raise awareness of the privacy implications of Facebook's developer platform. It's focusing specifically on the popular "quiz" applications, like "Which Cocktail Best Suits Your Personality?" and "Which Wes Anderson Movie Character Are You?"
Venezuela Moves to Outlaw Sale of Violent Video Games
Venezuelan lawmakers are moving to outlaw the sale of violent videogames and toys in an attempt to fight rampant crime in the country. A bill to ban sales of violent games passed its first hurdle in the National Assembly on Tuesday evening, the legislative chamber said in a statement.
Judge Not Convinced of Copyright Infringement by Isohunt
The Motion Picture Association of America asked a federal court to rule that Isohunt was liable for copyright violations committed by its users, but the judge in the case was unconvinced. In his order, U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Wilson said the studios had yet to prove that the Isohunt's users had broken U.S. law.
Jessica Biel Called "Most Dangerous Celebrity in Cyberspace"
Actress Jessica Biel has overtaken Brad Pitt as the most dangerous celebrity to search in cyberspace, according to Internet security company McAfee Inc. For the third consecutive year, McAfee surveyed which A-list celebrity was the riskiest to track on the Internet after Pitt topped the list last year and Paris Hilton came in first in 2007.
British Proposal Would Ban Repeat File-Sharers Online
Repeat offenders who persist in illegally downloading music from file-sharing sites such as Limewire could be blocked from accessing the Web under British government proposals. The government said it was publishing new ideas to speed up the process of tackling unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing to prevent damage to the content industries.
Financial Industry Warns of Eastern European Cyber-Gangs
Organized cyber-gangs in Eastern Europe are increasingly preying on small and mid-size companies in the United States, setting off a multimillion-dollar online crime wave that has begun to worry the nation's largest financial institutions. A task force representing the financial industry sent out an alert outlining the problem and urging its members to implement many of the precautions now used to detect consumer bank and credit card fraud.
Appeals Court Rules for SCO in Linux Copyright Case
SCO Group, whose 6-year-old legal case arguing Linux infringes its Unix copyright hasn't been enough to keep it from bankruptcy court, nevertheless won an important victory in its case.
Unmasked Blogger Says She Plans to Sue Google
A judge ordered Google to reveal the name of a blogger who may have defamed Vogue model Liskula Cohen. Now Rosemary Port, whose "Skanks in NYC" blog suggested Cohen was a "skank" and a "ho" among other potentially negative descriptions, is now turning a little of her "frank in NYC" wrath on Google.
Swiss Official Wants Google Street View Closed
A Swiss government official is demanding that Google immediately shut down its Street View Maps service in the country, but the company said that it would discuss the matter with the privacy rights regulator. Hanspeter Thür, the federal data protection commissioner, said Google’s pictures violated the country's privacy laws because they failed to obscure peoples identities.
Microsoft, Yahoo Join Opposition Google Books Deal
Microsoft and Yahoo! are joining a group of opponents to a class action settlement that gives Google the right to digitize millions of books, the companies said. The companies are becoming part of the Open Book Alliance, made up of nonprofits and libraries that have raised a red flag against Google's plan to digitize books and put them on the Internet.
Justice Department Studying Microsoft-Yahoo Venture
As the U.S. Justice Department reviews the proposed partnership, approval figures to hinge on this question: Will the online ad market be healthier if Google's dominance is challenged by a single, more muscular rival instead of two scrawnier foes? The first step toward getting an answer came this month when Microsoft and Yahoo filed paperwork with federal regulators to comply with the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, an antitrust law governing mergers and alliances between competitors.
Former Hacker Helps Companies Increase Security
Marc Maiffret used to be a computer hacker. Now he gets paid to break into the systems of Southern California businesses, testing for security weaknesses.
