The arrest of a New Yorker for using Twitter to alert protesters to police movements at a meeting of world leaders in Pittsburgh would be deemed a human rights violation if it happened in Iran or China, rights activists charge. Pittsburgh police arrested Elliot Madison, 41, on September 24 as hundreds of people -- some throwing rocks and breaking shop windows -- protested on the first day of a summit of the Group of 20 rich and developing nations.
RealNetworks to Appeal Decision on DVD-Copying Software
RealNetworks, a maker of media software, has said it will file an appeal and ask that a district court decision to ban sales of its DVD-copying software, RealDVD, be overturned. In August, a federal district judge issued a preliminary injunction to halt sales of the $30 software, which enables users to create digital copies of DVDs and then store them on a hard drive.
Most Companies Limiting Employees' Use of Social Networks
Workers who want to share the latest news with Facebook friends and Twitter followers will need to wait until after hours or risk violating company policy, according to a survey released by Robert Half Technology. More than half (54 percent) of chief information officers interviewed for the survey said their firms do not allow employees to visit social networking sites for any reason while at work.
Gmail Accounts Targeted by Phishing Scheme
Google's web-based e-mail system, Gmail, has been targeted as part of an "industry-wide phishing scheme." The firm said that it had immediately safeguarded the affected accounts.
AT&T to Let iPhone Customers Use VoIP Services
AT&T said that it would no longer prevent customers with the iPhone from using Internet telephone services that bypass its own voice network. Until now, AT&T wouldn’t let users of voice chat services like Skype from connecting over its wireless data network.
YouTube Workers May Have Known of Infringing Content
Lawyers working on a $1 billion copyright lawsuit filed by Viacom against Google's YouTube may have uncovered evidence that employees of the video site were among those who uploaded unauthorized content to YouTube. In addition, internal YouTube e-mails indicate that YouTube managers knew and discussed the existence of unauthorized content on the site with employees but chose not to remove the material, three sources with knowledge of the case told CNET.
Eolas Files Patent Suit Against High-Profile Companies
Eolas Technologies, a company that ground through a years-long patent infringement lawsuit against Microsoft, now has sued a large swath of corporate powers for infringement of that same patent and another related patent concerning interactive programs on Web sites.
FTC Vote Requires Bloggers to Disclose Endorsements
The Federal Trade Commission will try to regulate blogging for the first time, requiring writers on the Web to clearly disclose any freebies or payments they get from companies for reviewing their products. Violating the rules, which take effect Dec. 1, could bring fines up to $11,000 per violation.
Thousands of Hotmail Accounts Fall to Phishing Attack
Thousands of accounts on web-based e-mail system Hotmail have been compromised in a phishing attack, software giant Microsoft has confirmed. BBC News has seen a list of more than 10,000 e-mail accounts, predominantly originating from Europe, and passwords which were posted online.
More Republicans Oppose Network Neutrality Rules
Republican opposition is mounting as federal regulators prepare to vote this month on so-called "network neutrality" rules, which would prohibit broadband providers from favoring or discriminating against certain types of Internet traffic flowing over their lines. Twenty House Republicans -- including most of the Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee -- sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski on Monday urging him to delay the Oct. 22 vote on his net neutrality plan.
Pirate Bay Goes Offline Again After Copyright Demand
The Pirate Bay was once again inaccessible after a group representing copyright owners forced the BitTorrent search engine's bandwidth provider to cut off service, according to a published report. NForce, the Pirate Bay's latest Internet service provider, complied with a request to shut off service to The Pirate Bay made by Netherlands-based antipiracy group Brein, according to online news site Tweakers.net.
Google Says Deleting Pirate Bay Listing Was Error
Google said that an error caused the search engine to remove The Pirate Bay from its search pages. "Google received a (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) take-down request that erroneously listed Thepiratebay.org, and as a result, this URL was accidentally removed from the Google search index," Google said in a statement.
Man Arrested for Secret Videos of ESPN Sportscaster
A Chicago-area man is the creep behind the secret nude video tapes made of sexy ESPN sportscaster Erin Andrews undressing in her hotel room, according to the FBI. The feds arrested Michael David Barrett, 48, of Westmont, Ill., on charges of interstate stalking, officials said.
Lawmakers Want Delay on Internet Gambling Ban
U.S. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank and other lawmakers urged regulators to delay the December 1 implementation of financial rules to enforce a ban on Internet gambling. Enforcing the rules in two months time would put an unreasonable burden on regulators and the financial services industry at a time of economic crisis, the lawmakers said.
Book Publishers Get More Concerned About Digital Piracy
Mindful of what happened to the music industry at a similar transitional juncture, book publishers are about to discover whether their industry is different enough to be spared a similarly dismal fate. Adam Rothberg, vice president for corporate communications at Simon & Schuster, said: "Everybody in the industry considers piracy a significant issue, but it's been difficult to quantify the magnitude of the problem."
Court Dismisses Two eBay Claims Against Craigslist
A Delaware court dismissed two of eBay's claims against classified website Craigslist and its two biggest shareholders, but five key claims remain to be heard in an upcoming trial. The case, expected to go to trial in December after two delays, stems from an April 2008 lawsuit filed by eBay in which the online giant claimed Craigslist's two majority shareholders approved a "coercive plan" that diluted eBay's minority share in the company from 28.4 percent to 24.85 percent.
Secret Service Identifies Juvenile in Facebook Threat
The Secret Service has determined that a juvenile was behind the online survey that asked whether people thought President Barack Obama should be assassinated, an agency spokesman said. No criminal charges will be filed against the juvenile or the juvenile's parents, spokesman Edwin Donovan said.
Amazon Settles Suit Over E-Book Deletion on Kindle
Amazon.com has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by a high school student over the online retailer's deletion of an e-book he bought for his Kindle electronic reader. Justin D. Gawronski, 17, sued Amazon after it erased copies of the George Orwell novels "1984" and "Animal Farm" from customers' Kindles in July.
British Court Orders Injunction Against Twitter Page
Britain's High Court ordered its first injunction via Twitter, saying the social website and micro-blogging service was the best way to reach an anonymous Tweeter who had been impersonating someone. Solicitors Griffin Law sought the injunction against the micro-blog page arguing it was impersonating right-wing blogger Donal Blaney, the owner of Griffin Law.
Payroll Processor Investigating Breach, Malware
Payroll processor PayChoice said it is investigating a breach in which customers received targeted e-mails purporting to be from the company but were designed to trick people into downloading malware. Workers received e-mails that directed them to download a browser plug-in or visit a Web site so they could continue accessing the Onlineemployer.com PayChoice portal.
