Germany Threatens Legal Action Over Google Street View

Google came under increased pressure in Europe over its collection of private data from unsecured home wireless networks, as a German regulator threatened legal action if the company did not surrender a hard drive for inspection. The German demand underscored the seriousness of the quandary Google now faced following its admission that it had stored the snippets of Web sites and personal e-mail messages from people around the world while compiling its Street View photo archive.

MySpace Outlines "Simplified" Privacy Settings

In a letter to users, MySpace's co-president Mike Jones outlined the company's stance on privacy and its place within social networking, as well as detailing what he calls a "simplified" version of the social network's privacy settings that will roll out to users in the next few weeks. The announcement comes just three weeks after Facebook's F8 conference, where Facebook introduced, and immediately implemented new privacy settings that have drawn user and media ire for making profile information too public.

ITC to Investigate Apple's Complaint Against Kodak

The U.S. International Trade Commission will investigate complaints by Apple that Eastman Kodak violated its patents related to digital imaging devices and software, the latest dispute in a long-standing patent skirmish between the two companies. Apple filed a so-called section 337 complaint against Kodak on April 15, alleging that the company had violated its patents related to digital imaging devices and associated software.

EC Leader Says WTO Should Probe Chinese "Firewall"

China's Internet "firewall" is a trade barrier and needs to be tackled within the framework of the World Trade Organization, Neelie Kroes, vice-president of the European Commission, told reporters in Shanghai. Dutch-born Kroes, who is also in charge of Europe's digital agenda, said the firewall was a trade barrier as long as it blocked communication for Internet users, preventing the free flow of information.

White House to Seek Comments on Cybersecurity Research

The Obama administration will open a Web-based forum to discuss a cybersecurity research and development agenda, according to a notice published in the Federal Register. Nextgov.com reported that the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Coordination Office for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development asked the public to submit comments for a "game change" initiative to boost the safety and security of the Internet, telecommunications and computer systems, according to the notice.

Germany Scolds Google for "Street View" Privacy Breach

Germany's consumer protection minister strongly criticized Google for a widespread privacy breach and insisted the U.S. Internet giant must cooperate better with data protection authorities. Google Inc. issued an apology, acknowledging it has been vacuuming up fragments of people's online activities broadcast over public Wi-Fi networks for the past four years while expanding a mapping feature called "Street View."

Judge Releases Court Documents in Case of Stolen iPhone

Apple pressed local police to investigate the loss of a next-generation iPhone a day after Gizmodo published photographs, telling investigators that the prototype was so valuable, a price could not be placed on it, according to court documents made public. In response to arguments made by media organizations, a San Mateo judge unsealed documents that provide a detailed glimpse into an April 20 meeting between Apple lawyers and executives, and law enforcement.

Sheriff's Candidate Sues Opponent for Domain Names

Ed Teal, a candidate for Marshall County Sheriff in Guntersville, Alabama, has filed a lawsuit against his opponent, incumbent Scott Wall's, chief deputy, Doug Gibbs. In Teal's lawsuit in U.S. Federal Court, he claims that in January he went to register a website for his campaign and discovered that almost all of the web addresses he could use, for example www.edtealforsheriff.com, had already been registered.

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FCC Chairman Calls Broadband Approach "Narrow and Tailored"

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski told a skeptical audience of cable executives he is pursuing a "narrow and tailored" approach to regulating broadband networks to promote adoption, competition and innovation. At a cable industry conference, Mr. Genachowski said his recent decision to push a weightier regulatory framework toward broadband was a reaction to a recent federal appeals court decision that damaged "the legal foundation underneath" the commission's long-stated policy objectives.

Smartphone Patent Suits Could Lead to Price Hikes

The patent wars are raging in the mobile device market, and they could result in rising costs for handset makers and higher gadget prices for wireless carriers and consumers. So far this year, Apple and HTC -- two of the most innovative smartphone makers -- have become embroiled in more patent-related litigation than in all of 2007, and they are on track to beat their own 2008 and 2009 records, according to Bloomberg data.

European Group Calls Facebook Privacy "Unacceptable"

A European data protection group penned a letter to Facebook in which it told the social networking site that its recent privacy changes are "unacceptable". That Article 29 Working Party, a collection of European data groups, sent letters to 20 social networking sites overall, but singled out Facebook for "fundamentally chang[ing] the default settings on its social-networking platform to the detriment of a user."

Cyber Threats Outpace Defense Ability, Official Says

The United States is losing enough data in cyber attacks to fill the Library of Congress many times over, and authorities have failed to stay ahead of the threat, a U.S. defense official said. In a sobering assessment, the Defense Department's Jim Miller said more than 100 foreign spy agencies were working to gain access to U.S. computer systems, as were criminal organizations.

Republicans Urge Obama to Block FCC on Broadband

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va., wrote President Obama urging him to block the FCC from proceeding with an effort to reclassify some aspects of broadband as a telecommunications service, saying the move will hinder the nation's economic recovery. The letter was sent in response to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's decision to launch a proceeding that would reclassify the transmission component of broadband service as a telecommunications service under the Title II provisions of the Communications Act.

Court Rules for Music Labels in LimeWire Case

A big victory for big music: A federal court has ruled in favor of the music labels in their fight against LimeWire, one of the most prominent filesharing services on the Web. Almost all of music available on the service -- 93 percent, according to a study used in the lawsuit -- and even more of the stuff actually downloaded -- 98.8 percent, via the same study -- was protected by copyright and shouldn’t have been there.

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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.