Judge OKs Access to 'Occupy' Protester's Tweets

An Occupy Wall Street protester can't stop prosecutors from getting his tweets, a judge has ruled in a clash over the bounds of privacy in an age of living publicly on social networks. In a ruling punctuated with Twitter users' beloved hashtag marks, the judge said prosecutors weren't overreaching by seeking Malcolm Harris' public tweets for weeks before and months after his Oct. 1 disorderly conduct arrest on the Brooklyn Bridge, as well as the user information surrounding the Twitter account he used at the time.

Antitrust Scholars Support E-Book-Pricing Lawsuit

The U.S. Justice Department has come under criticism since filing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple Inc. and five publishers, accusing them of colluding to fix e-book prices. But many experts say that under antitrust law, the department didn't have much choice. And even if it did, antitrust experts say, it is far from clear that doing nothing would have been wise.

Australian Man Gets Six Months for Nude Photos of Ex

A jilted boyfriend who put nude pictures of his former lover on Facebook has been sentenced to six months' jail -- the first social networking-related conviction in Australian history and one of just a handful in the world. Ravshan ''Ronnie'' Usmanov told police: ''I put the photos up because she hurt me and it was the only thing [I had] to hurt her.''

Obama Unveils Sanctions for Tech Tracking in Syria, Iran

U.S. President Barack Obama unveiled sanctions against those who help Syria and Iran track dissidents through cell phones and computers and said he would keep adding pressure on both governments to prevent mass atrocities. In a somber speech at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Obama said Damascus and Tehran were monitoring the social media tools that allowed democracy campaigners to organize rallies in the Middle East to plot attacks against opposition groups.

Iran Probes Cyberattack on Oil Ministry

Iranian authorities are investigating alleged cyber-attacks against Iran's oil ministry and possibly against the key export hub, though oil shipments haven't been affected, Iranian oil officials said. The computer attack -- reminiscent of a virus that allegedly targeted Tehran's nuclear program in 2010 -- highlights potential new vulnerabilities for the Islamic Republic's oil exports, which international sanctions have already impeded.

Facebook Updates 'Statement of Rights and Responsibilities'

Facebook unveiled changes to its terms-of-use document, tweaking earlier drafts in an apparent effort to ease users' concerns about privacy and how their information is used. The proposed changes to the networking giant's Statement of Rights and Responsibilities come after the plan was opened up for user comments last month, and just weeks before Facebook is expected to go public in a stock offering some expect could value the company at $100 billion.

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German Judge Orders Google to Install YouTube Filters

In a provisional victory for musicians, filmmakers and other creators of art and entertainment, a court in Hamburg ordered Google to install filters on its YouTube service in Germany to detect and stop people from gaining access to material for which they do not own the rights. The judge, Heiner Steeneck, agreed in his ruling that Google was not directly responsible for the uploaded material, but he said the company needed to do more to stop violations.

Domain Name Application System Remains Shut Down

The group that manages the Internet's domain name system is expected to provide more detail about why it has been unable to re-open a database for those seeking to apply to run a new top-level Internet address. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers shut down its application system for those applying to run a new generic top-level domain.

Australian Court Rules for ISP in Downloading Suit

Movie and television studios failed to convince Australia's High Court that Internet service providers should be punished for illegal video downloads made by their customers. U.S. and Australian studios had challenged a landmark lower court ruling that service providers cannot be held accountable for illegal downloads. The studios wanted the companies to be required to take "reasonable steps" to stop customers from downloading pirated movies.

Privacy Group Wants FCC to Release Google Street View Report

An Internet privacy advocacy group wants the Federal Communications Commission to release the full report of its investigation of Google's Street View, which collected and stored data from unencrypted wireless networks. The Electronic Privacy Information Center has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to see the commission's full 25-page report, saying it "raised questions about the scope of the FCC's Street View investigation."

Phishing Attacks in China Linked to New iPad

The recent omission of China from Apple’s latest list of countries that can expect to get the new iPad has done more in China than leave the fanboys despondent. According to a report from the China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Centre (CIIRC), a government-sponsored NGO, the slow release of the new iPad (unofficially known as the iPad 3) to China, along with continuing scarcity of the iPhone 4S has led to a surge in phishing attacks targeting those desperate enough, or simply not savvy enough, to click phishing attacks targeting those desperate enough, or simply not savvy enough, to click on a link offering an iPad or iPhone for a cheap price.

Judge Orders Tech Firms to Trial Over Poaching

Apple Inc, Google Inc, Intel Corp and four other technology companies were ordered by a judge to face an antitrust lawsuit claiming they illegally conspired not to poach each other's employees. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, rejected the companies' bid to dismiss claims brought under the federal Sherman antitrust law and California's own antitrust law, the Cartwright Act.

Lawmaker Seeks Greater Privacy Probe of Google

Not content with Google's $25,000 fine for obstructing a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) investigation into the allegations, a U.S. Congressman and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) are calling for further investigations of the search giant. "The circumstances surrounding Google’s surreptitious siphoning of personal information leave many unanswered questions," Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said in a statement.

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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.