EU Officials Discuss Data-Privacy Laws, Cookies

European officials are mounting a new push to clarify -- and enforce -- rules involving small Internet files that can be used to track users, exposing the slow progress of Europe's plan to implement far-reaching privacy rules. Digital-privacy agencies from the European Union's member countries hashed out new recommendations late last week for how to apply European data-privacy laws to so-called cookies, the common Internet files that websites use to remember things about users.

Despite Reports, UN Not Seeking to Regulate Internet

This just in from Geneva: The United Nations has no plans to seize control of the Internet. Internet conspiracy theorists will be disappointed. The latest one, fueled by “open Internet” groups, Internet companies like Google and some U.S. lawmakers, was that mouse-clicking bureaucrats at U.N. headquarters in Geneva, supported by governments suspicious of the United States, were scheming to take over the Internet itself.

Pinterest Hires Google Lawyer as Copyright Threat Looms

Pinterest, the latest hot startup in social media, has hired one of Google's top lawyers to be its head of legal. Pinterest's interest in Michael Yang, Google's former deputy general counsel, likely came from a looming threat the company could soon be facing. The issue is that many of the pictures posted Pinterest are copyrighted and do not have their owners' approval to be pinned.

Data Breach at LinkedIn Highlights Security Woes

What has surprised customers and security experts alike about the data breach at LinkedIn is that a company that collects and profits from vast amounts of data had taken a bare-bones approach to protecting it. The breach highlights a disturbing truth about LinkedIn’s computer security: there isn’t much. Companies with customer data continue to gamble on their own computer security, even as the break-ins increase.

Tech Firms Get Summonses in India for Not Censoring

A trial court in India moved ahead with a criminal case against Microsoft Corp., Google Inc., Facebook Inc., Yahoo! Inc. and some other entities, by issuing summons to the global executives of these companies for allegedly failing to censor objectionable content from their websites. The criminal case against the firms follows a complaint from journalist Vinay Rai, who alleged offenses such as defamation, obscenity and promoting enmity among different groups on grounds of religion and race against these sites.

UN Considers Tax on Large Online Content Providers

The United Nations is considering a new Internet tax targeting the largest Web content providers, including Google, Facebook, Apple, and Netflix, that could cripple their ability to reach users in developing nations. The European proposal, offered for debate at a December meeting of a U.N. agency called the International Telecommunication Union, would amend an existing telecommunications treaty by imposing heavy costs on popular Web sites and their network providers for the privilege of serving non-U.S. users, according to newly leaked documents.

Seoul Police Stop North Korean Cyber Attack

According to an independent report published in Korea’s JoongAng Daily, Seoul’s Metropolitan Police Agency has intercepted a cyber attack plot orchestrated by North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau, which successfully shipped malware-infected games to South Korean users which were later on used to launch a DDoS attack against the web site of Incheon Airport.

  • Read the article: ZDNet

Swiss Court Allows Google Street View Service

Technology giant Google can continue to provide its Street View service in Switzerland after a Swiss Court ruled the company was not bound to blur all faces and number plates before publishing images on the Internet. That softened a March 2011 ruling by a lower court which had upheld claims from the Swiss privacy watchdog that Google should obscure all faces and number plates from its photo mapping service, a judgement Google appealed.

Judge Cancels Apple-Motorola Patent Trial

A federal judge canceled a scheduled June 11 trial between Apple Inc and Google Inc's Motorola Mobility unit over patents related to mobile phones and tablet computers, and expects to dismiss the case because neither can prove damages. In a "tentative" order, U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Posner in Chicago said each company's case should be dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be brought up again.

MPAA 'Sympathetic' to Legitimate Megaupload Users

The Motion Picture Association of America says that it is "sympathetic" to users that stored "legitimately acquired or created data" on Megaupload's servers, but points out that the file-sharing service's terms of use "clearly disclaimed any guarantee or continued access to uploaded materials." Responding to a brief filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation on behalf of a user, the MPAA asked an Eastern Virginia District Court to ensure that no illegally downloaded copyrighted material on Megaupload's servers be released back to users.

Barnes & Noble Says E-Book Settlement Hurts Buyers

Barnes & Noble Inc. has objected to the U.S. government's proposed settlement of its price-fixing lawsuit against top publishers and Apple Inc., saying it would harm book sellers and "millions and millions" of book buyers. The top U.S. bookstore chain, which has been battling with Amazon.com Inc. in the growing e-books market, said in a letter sent to the U.S. Department of Justice that the settlement would lead to "higher overall average e-book and hardback prices and less choice, both in how to obtain books and in what books are available."

EU Exploring What Role to Play on Net Neutrality

In Europe, the debate over unrestricted Internet access — so-called net neutrality — has shifted to a core question: How much should the European Union intervene when mobile Internet service providers restrict Web access? Neelie Kroes, the European commissioner for telecommunications, raised the issue late last month when she announced an effort to require clearer and more truthful descriptions of Internet service practices, particularly for mobile contracts.

Apple Says Samsung Galaxy S III Infringes Its Patents

Excited shoppers weren't the only ones buying Samsung's latest flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S III hands-on, when it went on sale in the U.K. last month. Apparently Apple bought one too, and wasn't too happy about what it found in the box. In a new court filing, picked up by intellectual property-tracking blog FOSS Patents, Apple says the S3 infringes on two of its patents, both related to software features.

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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.