EU Antitrust Chief Uncertain as Digital Leader

The nomination of Neelie Kroes, who was hard-nosed as Europe's antitrust chief, to a new post as commissioner for the digital agenda was in doubt after she was accused of being evasive during a testy appearance before a committee of the European Parliament. Members of the two biggest blocs in Parliament, the conservatives and the Socialists, expressed concerns about the failure by Ms. Kroes to endorse clearly what they considered pro-consumer lines on price caps for mobile phone roaming, redeployment of broadcast frequencies for wireless broadband and revisions to digital copyright law.

Chinese Find Ways to Avoid Internet Censorship

Just as Mongol invaders could not be stopped by the Great Wall, Chinese citizens have found ways to circumvent the sophisticated Internet censorship systems designed to restrict them. They are using a variety of tools to evade government filters and to reach the wide-open Web that the Chinese government deems dangerous -- sites like YouTube, Facebook and, if Google makes good on its threat to withdraw from China, Google.cn.

RIAA Asks FCC to Allow "Flexible" ISP Rules

The Recording Industry Association of America asked the Federal Communications Commission to "adopt flexible rules" that free Internet service providers to fight copyright theft. According to a copy of comments submitted by the RIAA to the FCC, others, including two U.S. congressmen have already argued that the "Open Internet" principles should not protect unlawful content such as pirated songs.

  • Read the article: CNET News

    • Schools to Stop Promoting Kindle in Settlement

    Three U.S. universities will stop promoting the use of Amazon.com's Kindle DX e-book reader in classrooms after complaints that the device doesn't give blind students equal access to information. Settlements with Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Pace University in New York City and Reed College in Portland, Oregon, were announced by the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • Read the article: PC World

    • Court Reinstates Antitrust Downloading Suit

    A federal appeals court reinstated an antitrust lawsuit accusing major record labels of conspiring to fix prices for potentially millions of people who download their music over the Internet. The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said a federal district judge erred in dismissing the case in October 2008 against defendants that include Bertelsmann AG, EMI Group, Sony Corp, Vivendi SA and Warner Music Group Corp or various affiliates.

  • Read the article: Reuters

    • Alleged NASA Hacker's Extradition to U.S. Delayed

    A Briton who hacked into NASA and Pentagon computers has won the right to challenge the government's decision to refuse to block his extradition to the United States, his lawyers said. Gary McKinnon was arrested in 2002 after U.S. prosecutors charged him with illegally accessing computers, including at the U.S. Defense Department and NASA, and causing $700,000 worth of damage.

  • Read the article: Reuters

    • Mobile Banking Apps Pulled Over Security Concerns

    A programmer who goes by the nickname "09Droid" has just illuminated security concerns sure to come into sharper focus as tech and financial services corporations move to popularize mobile device banking. Antivirus supplier F-Secure says 09Droid offered more than 50 mobile banking applications for sale through Google's Android Marketplace, the app store for smartphones based on the Android operating system.

  • Read the article: USA Today

    • Google Seeks to Improve Work with Chinese Authors

    Google has agreed to hand over a list of books by Chinese authors that it has scanned in recent years, company executives said, in an apparent effort to placate writers who say their works were digitized without their permission. In a letter sent to an association of 8,000 Chinese writers, Google also apologized for any misunderstanding that might have angered authors and said it would work to forge an agreement on digitizing books by early summer.

  • Read the article: The New York Times

    • Judges Question FCC's Authority to Fine Comcast

    Federal judges questioned whether the Federal Communications Commission has the authority to enforce rules that require Internet providers to give equal treatment to all traffic on their networks. In a hearing in a dispute between the agency and Comcast Corp., the judges questioned whether the FCC acted properly when it ordered the Philadelphia-based cable giant to stop blocking subscribers from using file-sharing services.

  • Read the article: The Wall Street Journal

    • The GigaLaw Firm helps companies of all sizes protect their brands online, using domain name dispute policies – such as the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) – and other legal tools available to copyright and trademark owners on the Internet.