The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently filed a series of comment letters with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) supporting that agency’s consideration of privacy and data security in the development of its Broadband Plan. The first of these letters,[1] dated December 9, 2009, highlights the extent to which federal agencies,…
Is text-messaging protected against surveillance by an employer? Currently, it is if the employer is a governmental entity. But for how long? The Supreme Court recently agreed to review the Ninth Circuit’s panel opinion in Quon v. Arch Wireless, 529 F.3d 892 (9th Cir. 2008), cert. granted sub. nom. City…
A type of “driver’s license” for the Internet. Yeah. That’s what Craig Mundie, Microsoft’s chief research and strategy officer, proposed this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. It’s not as ominous as it sounds since Mundie was suggesting a simple solution for the complex world of cybercrime,…
The state’s high court said today that sexually explicit instant messages used by a Beverly man to arrange a sexual encounter with someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl are not illegal under current state law. The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the conviction of Matt H. Zubiel, who in 2006…
China’s police are working with the country’s highest investigative organ and the Supreme People’s Court to release a judicial interpretation on hacking crimes, according to the People’s Daily, the official paper of the Communist Party, citing a Chinese police representative. The report gave no details, but such documents are used…
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A federal appeals court has revived part of a western Pennsylvania couple’s lawsuit against Internet search engine Google Inc. But the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling says Aaron and Christine Boring will have to prove the pictures of their home on Google’s “Street View” actually…
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE The Newseum, Washington, D.C. SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you very much, Alberto, for not only that kind introduction but you and your colleagues’ leadership of this important institution. It’s a pleasure to be here at the Newseum. The Newseum is a monument to some of our most…
Redmond’s top legal mouthpiece Brad Smith is calling on US lawmakers to overhaul rules on cloud computing, just as the company ramps up its efforts to belatedly step on other vendors’ toes in that marketplace. He asked Congress yesterday to legislate cloud computing, in a move to protect business and…
Internet users face regular “brownouts” that will freeze their computers as capacity runs out in cyberspace, according to research to be published later this year. Experts predict that consumer demand, already growing at 60 per cent a year, will start to exceed supply from as early as next year because…
NEW YORK (AP) – A federal appeals court in New York has revived a lawsuit that accuses major record labels controlling 80 percent of U.S. digital music sales of scheming to charge high prices. The lawsuit brought by music purchasers had been tossed out by a lower court judge. The…