Tech Companies Want Change to Privacy Law

A broad coalition of companies including Google, Microsoft, and AT&T, joined by liberal and conservative advocacy groups, will announce a major push to update federal privacy laws to protect mobile and cloud computing users, CNET has learned. They hope to convince the U.S. Congress to update a 1986 law -- written in the pre-Internet era of telephone modems and the black-and-white Macintosh Plus -- to sweep in location privacy and documents stored on the Web through services like Google Docs, Flickr, and Picasa.

Stolen Student Loan Data Affects 3.3 Million People

Company and federal officials said they believed the theft of identity data on 3.3 million people with student loans was the largest-ever breach of such information and could affect as many as 5% of all federal student-loan borrowers. Names, addresses, Social Security numbers and other personal data on borrowers were stolen from the St. Paul, Minn., headquarters of Educational Credit Management Corp., a nonprofit guarantor of federal student loans, during the weekend of March 20-21, according to the company.

Lawmakers Want FTC Probe of Google Buzz

A group of House Energy and Commerce members are urging the FTC to investigate complaints that Google's Buzz social networking service and some of its other services may harm consumer privacy. In a letter sent to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, the lawmakers urged the agency to investigate whether Google disclosed personal information about its customers without their consent as part of the launch of Buzz in February.

Suit Says Microsoft Zune Feature Infringes Patent

As Microsoft struggles to fight off several high-visibility patent lawsuits, an ophthalmologist in Wisconsin has filed another patent infringement suit that potentially could cost the software giant an eye-popping amount. The suit, filed in U.S. District for the Western District of Wisconsin, alleges that Microsoft's Zune music player's "Buy from FM" feature infringes a pair of patents that were granted in 2002.

British Internet Cafes Asked to Report Suspicious Activities

Scotland Yard is advising administrators of public Web spaces to periodically poke through their customers' files and keep an eye out for suspicious activity. The Metropolitan Police said that the initiative — which has been rolled out over the past weeks under the auspices of the government's counterterrorism strategy — is aimed at reminding cafe owners that authorities are ready to hear from them if they have concerns about their Internet users.

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China Provides Instructions for Media Covering Google

A Chinese government ministry ordered Chinese media companies to toe the government line in their reporting on Google's decision to move its search operations to Hong Kong. The list of instructions contains specific details on which types of stories can be published and asks media outlets in China to purge reader discussions from their pages that attack the government's view.

Google Executive Urges Trade Agreements for Internet

A top Google executive called for new rules to crack down on governments that filter the Internet, saying the practice was hindering international trade. Alan Davidson, director of United States public policy for Google, told a joint Congressional panel that the United States and other democracies should draft trade agreements that incorporate pledges to keep Web sites uncensored.

GoDaddy to Stop Registering Chinese Domain Names

GoDaddy.com Inc., the world's largest domain name registration company, told lawmakers that it will cease registering Web sites in China in response to intrusive new government rules that require applicants to provide extensive personal data, including photographs of themselves. The rules, the company believes, are an effort by China to increase monitoring and surveillance of Web site content and could put individuals who register their sites with the firm at risk.

Documents Shed Light on Battle Against Cybercrime

An examination of the FTC's complaint and documents from a legal dispute among Innovative Marketing Ukraine's executives offer a rare glimpse into a dark, expanding -- and highly profitable -- corner of the Internet, cybercrime. IMU was at the center of a complex underground corporate empire with operations stretching from Eastern Europe to Bahrain; from India and Singapore to the United States.

Senate Bill Targets "Countries of Cyber Concern"

Foreign countries that fail to crack down on cyber criminals operating within their borders could face a host of new economic penalties if a Senate bill becomes law. That legislation, authored by Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), aims to cut down on the growing number of "countries of cyber concern" -- states in which fraud schemes, cyber attacks and computer hacks targeting the United States are routinely plotted, they said.

Officials Suggest Ambassador-Level Cybersecurity Post

The alleged Chinese cyber attacks on Google have spurred proposals at the State Department and on Capitol Hill to establish an ambassador-level cybersecurity post and to tie foreign aid to a country's ability to police cybercrime. In the wake of the cyber attacks on Google, officials at the State Department circulated a proposal to create an ambassador-like post, according to officials briefed on the proposal.

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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.