Customs Officials, Music Industry Defend Site Shutdowns

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not explained how it selected music sites that it shut down, accused of copyright infringement and selling counterfeit goods, but a spokesman for the Recording Industry of Association of America, which represents the major music labels, said it had worked with ICE and other federal agencies in identifying infringing sites. “The sites and services we identify are flagrantly violating federal copyright laws, illegally offering songs of well-known artists or pre-release content not commercially available online or in any store,” said the trade group spokesman, Jonathan Lamy.

Facebook Faces Difficult Decisions on Removing Content

Facebook's decision in the WikiLeaks matter illustrates the complexities that the company grapples with, on issues as diverse as that controversy, verbal bullying among teenagers, gay-baiting and religious intolerance. With Facebook’s prominence on the Web -- its more than 500 million members upload more than one billion pieces of content a day -- the site's role as an arbiter of free speech is likely to become even more pronounced.

Data Breach Exposes McDonald's Customers' Info

McDonald's Corp. says some of its customers' private information was exposed during a data breach. The company said Monday that a third party was able to get past security measures and see into a database of its customer information that included e-mail, phone numbers, addresses, birthdates and other specifics that they provided when signing up for online promotions or other subscriptions to its websites.

WikiLeaks-Inspired Attacks Test Online Defenses

The computer attacks against Visa Inc., PayPal and other companies that cut off ties with WikiLeaks are testing businesses' digital preparedness for what has become a high-stakes cyber war. The fact that financial companies like MasterCard and Visa have left part of their operations vulnerable raises questions of whether businesses are using every tool available to them to gird for attacks from a more-sophisticated cyber army.

Lawsuits Called of Limited Value Against Piracy

Lawyers representing independent filmmakers, including the studio that produced Oscar-winner "The Hurt Locker," might learn something from a document filed with the U.S. Department of Commerce by music, television, and film industry trade groups. "The role of lawsuits in solving the online theft problem is clearly limited," wrote the coalition that included the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA).

Dutch Prosecution Website Blocked in WikiLeaks Protest

Cyber activists attacking organizations seen as foes of WikiLeaks briefly blocked a Dutch prosecution website after a 16-year-old suspected of involvement in the campaign was arrested in the country. The activists also tried to block the website of online payment firm Moneybookers, but denied their attacks were intended to create business turmoil or badly disrupt online Christmas shopping.

ICANN Delays Approval of New Domain Name Process

Internet regulatory body ICANN postponed approval of a mechanism to let groups apply for and manage new Internet domain extensions called generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs), such as the existing .com and .net. More time is needed to work through some remaining issues, the board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers board said in a resolution approved at a meeting in Cartagena, Colombia.

Connecticut Attorney General Seeks Data from Google

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal issued the equivalent of a subpoena, demanding access to personal data improperly collected by Google Inc. for its Street View mapping service. Blumenthal said in a statement that his office has issued a civil investigative demand in cooperation with the Department of Consumer Protection, as a result of Google's refusal to provide access to e-mails and other data that the company has said was collected inadvertently.

Winklevoss Twins Seek More Money from Facebook

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, famously portrayed by Armie Hammer in The Social Network, aren't finished with their legal action against Facebook. The 29-year-old twins, seemingly unsatisfied with their $65 million they won in 2008, are embroiled in ongoing litigation against Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg claiming that they were lied to about the company's value, according to recently leaked court documents.

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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.