The European Ombudsman rebuked European Union regulators for procedural errors in their antitrust probe of Intel but the censure will not affect a 1.06 billion euro ($1.58 billion) fine against the U.S. chipmaker. The ombudsman's decision is non-binding but it could help the world's No. 1 chipmaker in its appeal against the ruling to Europe's second-highest court.
BlackBerry Security Chief Warns of Smartphone Threats
Hackers could one day turn ordinary smartphones into "rogue" devices to attack major wireless networks, Research In Motion's security chief warned. Scott Totzke, RIM's vice-president of BlackBerry security, said hackers could use smartphones to target wireless carriers using a technique similar to one used in assaults that slowed Internet traffic in the United States and South Korea in July.
Senate Hearing Focuses on Online Loyalty Programs
Words like "scam," "fraud," and "arrest" filled the air during a Senate hearing that focused on the controversial marketing companies that allegedly dupe consumers into paying monthly fees to join online loyalty programs. Vertrue, Webloyalty, and Affinion generated more than $1.4 billion by "misleading" Web shoppers, said members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which called the hearing.
Facebook Adopts New, Simpler Privacy Policy
Facebook announced that it has decided to adopt a revised privacy policy designed to be more accessible and easier to understand. The social network had just completed a weeklong comment period for the new revision and, though "a lot of people participated," less than 7,000 members commented.
Hackers Attack Website, E-mail of Hitler Supporter
Self-proclaimed anti-fascist hackers have struck a major blow at controversial World War II historian David Irving by taking down two of his websites and publishing scores of his e-mails and private information. The 16,000-word missive posted to Wikileaks contains the names and contact details of supporters of Irving, who -- among other things -- claims that Adolph Hitler was unaware of the Holocaust.
Canadian Financial Group Opposes .bank Domain
A group of financial organizations has suggested that a .bank top-level domain name might help reduce phishing and instill confidence. But the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada (OSFI) has sent a letter to ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom saying that it might undertake an effort to work against .bank's credibility as a safe web address for banking.
Google Offers Access to Historic Legal Opinions
It may not satisfy the needs of Google's lawyers as they research antitrust law, but Google Scholar now offers the full text of numerous legal opinions from throughout U.S. history. The company announced that Google Scholar users now have the option of searching for specific opinions related to broad topics, like copyright or desegregation, as well as famous cases like Brown vs. Board of Education and Roe vs. Wade.
Obama Cites "Open Internet Use" in Chinese Meeting
In China, a country that routinely blocks access to cyberspace, President Obama said at a Shanghai town hall meeting, "I've always been a strong supporter of open Internet use. I'm a big supporter of non-censorship.
Egypt Becomes First to Apply for International Domain
The agency in charge of assigning domain names began accepting applications for domain names written in non-Latin languages, and Egypt -- a country now drawing heated criticism from human rights advocates -- became the first to apply for a domain name in Arabic. Following a controversial decision by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to allow Web sites written in Arabic, Russian Chinese, and other non-ASCII character sets, governments or their designees can now apply for the approval of such names.
Man Indicted for Hijacking p2p.com Domain Name
Danny Goncalves, the man accused of stealing P2P.com from co-owners Marc Ostrofsky, Albert Angel and his wife Lesli Angel in 2006 and selling it on Ebay for six figures, has been indicted for that hijacking, the first known instance of a domain thief being indicted on criminal charges.
Vonage to Pay $32 Million to Settle State Investigations
Internet phone service provider Vonage has agreed to pay $3 million to 32 states to settle an investigation into some of its business practices. In a filing with the Securities Exchange Commission, the company says it also agreed to provide refunds to affected customers.
"Jailbreakers" Keep Seeking to Thwart iPhone's Limits
The iPhone and its App Store not only gave birth to a new digital frontier for mobile software, but created an entire underground ecosystem: the Jailbreak community. In addition to multiple iPhone hacker groups pumping out different unlocking solutions on a regular basis, there are several stores hosting unauthorized iPhone apps and programmers developing software strictly for hacked iPhones.
Internet Companies Want FDA to Revise Ad Requirements
Internet giants Google and Yahoo have lined up with the pharmaceutical industry in asking the U.S. government to draft new rules that would give drug companies more latitude to advertise online. Current U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations require that any mention of a drug's benefits must also reveal its risks, including detailed lists of side effects.
Judge Says Mac Clone Maker Violates Apple's Rights
A judge has ruled in Apple's favor in its copyright-infringement case against Psystar, which has been selling Mac clones running Mac OS X. U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup granted Apple's request for a summary judgment, while denying Psystar's counterclaim.
Google Files Revised Digital Books Settlement
Google will loosen its control over millions of copyright-protected books that will be added to its digital library if a federal judge approves a revised legal settlement addressing the earlier objections of antitrust regulators. The concessions, filed in New York federal court, come two months after the U.S. Justice Department balked at Google's original agreement with authors and publishers, warning the arrangement could do more harm than good in the emerging market for electronic books.
Swiss Officials Sue Google Over Street View Service
Swiss officials said that they had sued Google to try to require it to tighten privacy safeguards on its Street View online service. The Swiss data protection authority said it had filed a complaint with the Federal Administrative Court after Google balked at its demand for additional measures to make obscure the images of people who appear in Street View, particularly in areas around hospitals, schools and prisons.
Few Top Advertisers Have Brand Names at Twitter
A quick survey of Twitter accounts for the top 100 national advertisers, as ranked by Advertising Age's DataCenter, shows that surprisingly few have ownership of the Twitter handles that correspond to the names of their companies or their brands. Among the multinational corporations whose Twitter accounts are being squatted upon: General Motors, General Electric, Diageo, Coty, Comcast, Eli Lilly, Kellogg Co., MasterCard, Nestle and Walt Disney.
CAC Proposes Expedited UDRP Decision Process
A proposal from the Czech Arbitration Court for an expedited decision process for UDRP cases has been published by Icann for public comment. The Czech Arbitration Court (CAC) wants to launch an expedited decision process for uniform domain name resolution policy (UDRP) in cases where the defendant does not file a response.
Biggest UDRP Decision Orders 1,017 Domains Transferred
The National Arbitration Forum (NAF) published a historic domain dispute decision awarding 1,017 cybersquatting domain names to FreeCreditReport.com. The complaint was filed by ConsumerInfo.com, owner of FreeCreditReport.com, through a process called the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP), and is believed to be the largest case in the ten years since the UDRP was first enacted.
Playboy Sues Ex-Columnist for Using "Lawyer of Love"
Playboy.com, which fired a columnist who posed nude in its magazine last year, now wants to strip her of one of her most valuable assets: the "Lawyer of Love" label. The Chicago-based magazine filed a federal lawsuit saying Corri Fetman, a lawyer, illegally tried to register a U.S. trademark on "Lawyer of Love," a moniker for a Playboy column that the mag contends it owns.
