U.S., EU Officials Fail to Reach Deal on Data Transfers

American and European officials failed to reach an agreement over how digital data -- including financial information and social media posts -- could be transferred between the two regions. Without an agreement, companies that regularly move data, including tech giants like Google and nontech companies like General Electric, could find themselves in murky legal waters.

Law Professor Says T-Mobile's Video Service Likely Illegal

A new report by an influential Stanford law professor concluded that T-Mobile’s new video offering is likely “illegal” under net neutrality rules. Professor Barbara van Schewick submitted a 51-page report to the Federal Communications Commission that accused the carrier's program, named Binge On, of violating the FCC’s general conduct rule that bars Internet service providers from unreasonably interfering with customers’ Internet choices.

Man Gets Five Years Probation for Distributing Malware

An Arizona man who co-created software distributed by an organization called Blackshades that was used to hack into a million computers worldwide was sentenced to five years of probation. Michael Hogue, who online was known by the moniker "xVisceral," was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel in Manhattan after pleading guilty in 2013 to distributing malware and conspiring to commit computer hacking.

Facebook Institutes Ban on Private Sales of Guns

Facebook is banning private sales of guns on its flagship social network and its Instagram photo-sharing service, a move meant to clamp down on unlicensed gun transactions. Facebook already prohibits people from offering marijuana, pharmaceuticals and illegal drugs for sale, and the company said on Friday that it was updating its policy to include guns.

Congress to Probe NSA Links to Juniper Networks

A U.S. congressional probe into the impact of a hack of Juniper Networks Inc. software will examine the possibility that it was initially altered at the behest of the National Security Agency, a lawmaker said in an interview. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform sent letters asking some two dozen agencies to provide documents showing whether they used Juniper devices running ScreenOS software.

FCC Approves Controversial Broadband Deployment Report

The Federal Communications Commission voted to approve an annual report on broadband deployment that has become a magnet for controversy in recent years. In the report, the commission found that around 34 million Americans still lack access to wired high-speed internet service. It also found that rural residents still have a harder time accessing broadband than their urban counterparts.

U.S. Delegation Urges Cuba to Expand Internet Infrastructure

A group of top U.S. officials and business leaders visited Cuba to urge the government there to more rapidly build out its Internet infrastructure and make it more widely available. U.S. officials said they recommended that the country “leapfrog” current buildout of aging technology, such as DSL and 3G mobile service, for faster technology such as fiber and high-speed mobile.

Anonymous Messaging App Criticized for Cyber-Bullying

A new app that allows users to send anonymous text messages is causing alarm among parents, politicians and some teenagers, who say it is being used as a weapon for cyber-bullying. Blindspot, launched by Israeli company Shellanoo, has attracted 700,000 users since it was launched a month ago, mostly in Israel where it is being heavily marketed but also in the United States and Britain.

Startups Help Companies Find New Ways to Thwart Hackers

With firewalls no longer seen as enough of a defense against security breaches, companies are looking at new tools to foil hackers trying to enter a computer network. U.S. and Israeli startups are leading the way, with new approaches such as "honeytraps" that lure a hacker to fake data or "polymorphic" technology that constantly changes the structure of applications running on a computer.

Security Concerns Dampen Obama's High-Tech Habits

President Obama is the first true gadget geek to occupy the Oval Office, and yet his eagerness to take part in the personal technology revolution is hampered by the secrecy and security challenges that are daily requirements of his job. What counts as must-have features for many people — high-definition cameras, powerful microphones, cloud-connected wireless radios and precise GPS location transmitters — are potential threats when the leader of the free world wants to carry them around.

EU Avoids Regulations, Will Monitor Virtual Currencies

The European Union will monitor rather than regulate "hyped" virtual currencies for now, because too little is known to justify new rules beyond reining in specific risks like money-laundering, the body's executive said. The world's 600 virtual currencies are tiny, with bitcoin alone accounting for 90 percent of the $7 billion sector, compared with daily turnover of about $5 trillion on global foreign exchange markets.

FBI Operated Child Porn Site to Catch Users

For nearly two weeks last year, the FBI operated what it described as one of the Internet’s largest child pornography websites, allowing users to download thousands of illicit images and videos from a government site in the Washington suburbs. The operation -- whose details remain largely secret -- was at least the third time in recent years that FBI agents took control of a child pornography site but left it online in an attempt to catch users who officials said would otherwise remain hidden behind an encrypted and anonymous computer network.

EU Chamber of Commerce Concerned About Chinese Telecom Law

On Jan. 1 a law took effect that requires telecommunications and Internet companies operating in China to provide law enforcement with technical assistance, including decryption of sensitive user data, in any probe meant “to avert and investigate terrorist activities.” The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China says the law’s vague wording on when and how to help law enforcement decrypt data “leaves concern about how companies will be expected to carry this out.”

Italian Police Shut Down 'Sophisticated' Fake Prada Site

Italian police said they had shut down a website selling fake products carrying the high-fashion Prada label. No figures on total sales were available, but police called the website "very sophisticated". It ran worldwide, using 90 service providers and standard electronic payment systems, and carried pictures of actual Prada products sold at prices in line with Prada's factory outlets, lending it credibility.