The chances of a lawsuit challenging the new network neutrality rules are extremely likely, according to most FCC observers. And several Republicans in Congress have promised attempts to repeal the rules, although the chances of success there are slim.
Prosecutors in Michigan, relying on a state statute typically used to prosecute crimes such as identity theft or stealing trade secrets, have charged Leon Walker, 33, with a felony after he logged onto a laptop in the home he shared with his wife, Clara Walker. Using her password, he accessed her Gmail account and learned she was having an affair.
As Internet TVs, smartphones and other popular Web-ready gadgets become more popular, experts say, consumers can expect to run into familiar scams like credit card number thefts as well as new ones that play off features in the products. And because the devices are relatively new, they do not yet have as much protection as more traditional products, like desktop computers, do.
Intel has received a thumb's up from the Federal Trade Commission for its proposed purchase of McAfee. The chipmaker confirmed the news in a note on its Investor Relations site, announcing that the Federal Trade Commission has finished its review of the deal and has cleared it.
According to a report by nonprofit consumer advocacy group MyWireless, state and local taxes on e-books could bump up the total price of digital literature by 21%. While e-books have always been far cheaper than their hard-copy counterparts, such high taxes could drive costs higher than physical books, reports SmartMoney.
A new rule appears to mean that BlackBerrys, iPhones, iPads and the whole burgeoning universe of applications that run on them and are now available to members of Congress even as they are working hard (or not so hard) on the House floor. The rule, if it is adopted without change at the start of the 112th Congress, would still require members to silence their devices.
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has refiled a lawsuit against several major technology companies over claims of patent infringement. In his revised complaint, Allen alleges that 11 tech companies and retailers -- Apple, Google, Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, YouTube, eBay, Netflix, OfficeMax, Office Depot, and Staples -- are violating patents granted to him when he headed Interval Research, a small R&D firm that he started in 1992 and ran until it went out of business in 2000.
Apple confirmed that it had removed from its online store an iPhone and iPad app that let users view the content on the WikiLeaks site and follow the WikiLeaks Twitter account. Trudy Muller, an Apple spokeswoman, said, "Apps must comply with all local laws and may not put an individual or group in harm's way."
The fallout from a patent dispute between Kodak and web photo site Shutterfly could embroil many online image sites, says patent experts. Kodak claimed it owns patents regarding the display of online images that is being infringed by Shutterfly.
Cyprus has put off legislation to ban online gambling because of a three-month delay in feedback on its plans from its European Union partners, the finance ministry said. The east Mediterranean island's Communist-led government wants to ban online poker, slot machines and other casino games, which legislators say have an estimated turnover of 2.5 billion euros a year. It does not intend to ban online sports betting.
Facing growing public concern about privacy breaches, a lobby representing mobile-phone advertisers and publishers called for guidelines to better protect smartphone users from intrusive tracking technologies. The Mobile Marketing Association said it would begin work on a "comprehensive set of mobile privacy guidelines" to help marketers and phone users navigate the rapidly changing landscape.
The Federal Communications Commission voted to approve its first ever Internet access regulation, which ensures unimpeded access to any legal Web content for home Internet users. The rules have sparked intense debate and lobbying over whether such legislation is needed, and are likely to face a legal challenge.
British government plans to block pornography "at source" are unlikely to prove effective, say ISPs. The proposal to cut off access to pornographic material was floated by Culture Minister Ed Vaizey in an interview with the Sunday Times.
Craigslist has closed the door on all its adult services sections, in every country in which it operates. For the 50 million Craigslist users in the U.S., that door has been shut since September, when the online classified service yielded to pressure from a group of attorney generals from 17 states, who complained the site was passively facilitating prostitution and child trafficking.
The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission appears to have the votes he needs to pass a framework for net neutrality rules. Net neutrality -- which broadly speaking is an effort to ensure open access to Web sites and online services -- is on the agenda of an FCC meeting Tuesday in Washington.
When federal authorities shut down five Web sites last month on suspicion of copyright infringement, they gave no warning and offered no details of their investigation, and they have not filed any criminal charges since. But after the seizure warrant used in the operation was released, the operators of several of the sites said in interviews that they were innocent of infringement, and criticized the investigation for misrepresenting how their sites worked.
Gawker Media has implemented a number of changes to tighten security, according to a staff memo posted online on a Poynter Institute blog. The changes follow a recent hack that compromised user passwords and corporate communications.
Britain's minister for culture, communications and creative industries is taking aim at all three areas by asking the nation's Internet service providers to block porn from going to home Internet users. The 3-C minister, Ed Vaizey, told the Sunday Times that according to the proposal, home Internet users would have to ask their ISPs for access to porn, which seems hugely embarrassing, demeaning and a violation of free speech.
Microsoft has killed an anti-piracy service that checked whether customers were running legal copies of Office, saying that the program had "served its purpose."
Personal data collected by Google's UK Street View cars has been deleted. The UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which has been criticised for not taking a more hardline stance against Google, confirmed the deletion.
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