In a solid win for the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), a U.S. District Court ruled that the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) cannot ban computer and video game ads. In a press release posted to the ESA's website, Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer's ruling was quoted as saying that the ads the CTA wanted to ban are "expression that has constitutional value and implicates core First Amendment concerns."
FCC to Delay Report on National Broadband Plan
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission will delay submitting its highly anticipated National Broadband Plan report to Congress by one month to better digest all the data and public input, an FCC official said. The report, a framework to promote affordable high-speed Internet access and use among Americans, is due to be submitted to Congress on February 17, as mandated by President Barack Obama's massive economic stimulus package.
Suit Says Chinese Firms Stole Code for Monitoring Program
A software company in California has sued two Chinese technology firms, charging that they stole its computer code to make an Internet-monitoring program that China's government sought to install on every computer in the country last year before backing down. The lawsuit by Cybersitter also names as defendants seven computer makers, including Sony, Lenovo and Acer, accusing them of willingly joining a Chinese government plan to spread the software, known as Green Dam Youth Escort, throughout the country.
French Report Urges Tax on Net Advertising Companies
A report financed by the French government recommends that Google, MSN, Yahoo, and other big advertising companies -- as well as Internet service providers -- be taxed, with the revenue set to help fund the music and publishing sectors. Google is "profiting without any consideration" for music artists and book publishers, according to the report, written by Jacque Toubon, France's former minister of culture, Patrick Zelnick, a former music executive who produced French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy's songs, and Guillaume Cerutti, an executive at Sotheby's France.
Google, Viacom Seek Meeting with Judge in Copyright Case
Google and Viacom are preparing to throw legal blows at each other as part of Viacom's $1 billion copyright lawsuit against YouTube, according to documents filed with a federal court last month. Both parties have requested a meeting with the judge to discuss the individual motions for summary judgment that each plans to file.
New French Internet Piracy Law Takes Effect
The first effects of France's new law against Internet piracy will begin to be felt as the new year begins. The law was passed after a long struggle in parliament, and in the teeth of bitter opposition from groups opposed to internet restrictions.
Chinese Police Arrest Thousands in Net Porn Crackdown
Chinese police arrested thousands in a drive against Internet pornography throughout 2009, officials said, vowing a deepening crackdown that critics say is being used to tighten overall censorship. The Chinese government has run a highly publicized campaign against what officials said were banned smutty and lewd pictures overwhelming the country's Internet and threatening the emotional health of children.
Hacker Pleads Guilty to Stealing Credit Card Numbers
A 28-year-old college dropout pleaded guilty to charges that he stole tens of millions of payment card numbers by breaking into corporate computer systems. The hacker, Albert Gonzalez, told a federal judge in Boston that he had engineered electronic thefts at companies including the card processor Heartland Payment Systems, the convenience store 7-Eleven and the Hannaford chain of New England grocery stores.
Digital Piracy Spreading Quickly Among E-Books
Digital piracy, long confined to music and movies, is spreading to books. And as electronic reading devices such as Amazon's Kindle, the Sony Reader, Barnes & Noble's Nook, smartphones and Apple's much-anticipated "tablet" boost demand for e-books, experts say the problem may only get worse.
Facebook Scam Artists Snag FCC Chairman
Facebook scam artists have closed out 2009 by snagging a prominent victim: Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. It's not clear how Mr. Genachowski's Facebook account was compromised; perhaps he or a family member clicked on a malicious link, allowing his account to be taken over.
TSA Drops Subpoenas Issued to Internet Writers
The Transportation Security Administration dropped the subpoenas it had issued to two Internet writers in its effort to learn who leaked an airline security directive. The security directive ordered extra measures after a Christmas Day attack on a Detroit-bound airliner.
Cyber Bullies in South Korea Hide Behind Anonymity
In recent years, celebrities, authors and ordinary South Koreans have been subjected to relentless online assaults -- at times with disastrous, or even lethal, effects. Most South Korean cyber bullies are teenagers hiding behind the cloak of Internet anonymity, analysts say, products of a highly regimented culture in which the young are discouraged from speaking their minds with parents, teachers and bosses.
"High School Musical" Actress Sues Site Over Nude Photos
Vanessa Hudgens is suing the owners of moejackson.com, after the Web site refused to remove nude pictures of the "High School Musical" actress. According to TMZ.com, the 21-year-old claims that the pics were "self-portrait photographs" taken in a private residence.
DNS Attack Briefly Takes Down E-Commerce Sites
An attack directed at the DNS provider for some of the Internet's larger e-commerce companies -- including Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Expedia -- took several Internet shopping sites offline two days before Christmas. Neustar, the company that provides DNS services under the UltraDNS brand name, confirmed an attack, taking out sites or rendering them extremely sluggish for about an hour.
Comcast to Pay $16 Million in Net Neutrality Case
Cable giant Comcast agrees to pay $16 million to make a 2007 class action lawsuit go away. The lawsuit claimed Comcast blocked or throttled peer-to-peer traffic in violation of Comcast's user's agreement, charges the FCC subsequently investigated. The FCC found the company in violation of its network neutrality principles.
Hackers Claim to Crack Protections on Kindle
Hackers say they've successfully cracked copyright protections on the company's Kindle e-reader, making it possible to export e-books to other devices. One hack reportedly resulted from a Kindle DRM challenge issued on Israeli forum Hacking.org.
Microsoft to Pay $200 Million in Word Patent Case
Microsoft must alter its popular Word software or stop selling the product after it lost its appeal of a $200 million patent-infringement verdict won by a Canadian company. The company, based in Redmond, Washington, was given until Jan. 11 -- five months from the original order issued in August -- to make the change by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington.
Chinese Dissident Sentenced to 11 Years in Jail
Leading Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo has been jailed for 11 years for "inciting subversion of state power", after a trial condemned in the West. The trial, from which Western diplomats and journalists were barred, followed Mr Liu's co-authorship of a document last year urging political reform.
Russians Concerned About Use of Cyrillic Domain Names
Cut off for decades under Communism, Russians revel in the Internet's ability to connect them to the world, and they prize the freedom of the Web even as the government has tightened control over major television channels. But now, computer users are worried that Cyrillic domains will give rise to a hermetic Russian Web, a sort of cyberghetto, and that the push for Cyrillic amounts to a plot by the security services to restrict access to the Internet.
Judge Allows Subpoena for Google, AT&T in GQ Case
A federal judge has cleared the way for the publisher of GQ magazine to subpoena Google and AT&T in an attempt to learn the identity of a computer intruder who stole unpublished editorial content and posted it online. Sometime in September, an unknown thief accessed the computer network of Conde Nast and made off with more than 1,100 files containing pictures and editorial content for the December issue of GQ, Vogue and Lucky magazines, according to papers filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
