Results for January 2012

Google Chimes In On Righthaven Appeal
Search giant Google is asking a federal court to reject a key argument put forward by copyright enforcer Righthaven in one of its appeals. Righthaven's appeal in this particular case centers on whether the nonprofit group Center for Intercultural Organizing was entitled to claim fair use after reposting an entire article from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.» 0 Comments
House Democrats: Carrier IQ Software Could Pose 'Significant' Privacy Threat
Carrier IQ still can't shake the controversy that erupted last month, after researcher Trevor Eckhart posted a video showing how the company's software can log keystrokes.» 1 Comments
Leahy Suggests Revising Protect-IP Act
Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, is preparing to perform some surgery on the controversial Protect-IP Act now pending in the Senate. The Democrat from Vermont said today that one of the bill's most hotly debated components -- a provision allowing judges to order Internet service providers to block certain domain names -- could be revised.» 0 Comments
Reddit Plans Blackout To Protest Anti-Piracy Bills
Reddit intends to black out its site for 12 hours next Wednesday, administrators said this week. The move marks the social news site's latest attempt to rally opposition to the Hollywood-backed Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect-IP Act.» 0 Comments
Righthaven Defendant Argues Fair Use To 9th Circuit
Copyright enforcement outfit Righthaven might be floundering, but issues raised by the company's business model are still up for consideration in the courts. One of the unresolved questions stemming from Righthaven's litigation campaign centers on whether newspapers that invite readers to share articles effectively grant readers licenses to reproduce material in ways that would otherwise infringe on copyright. That question -- which came up when Righthaven launched its litigation campaign -- is among the issues that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals could address when it considers Rightaven's appeal in an unsuccessful lawsuit against the nonprofit Center for Intercultural Organization.» 0 Comments
Markey, Barton Not Satisfied With Facebook's Answers On Privacy
Reps. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas) recently asked Facebook to explain why it obtained a patent for tracking people across the Web. The social networking service's response, made public today, reiterates its prior statements to the media -- namely, that tech companies often obtain patents they don't intend to use.» 0 Comments
Tech Companies Mull Blackout To Protest Anti-Piracy Law
Tech companies like Google, Twitter and Amazon have made no secret of their opposition to anti-piracy proposals currently under consideration on Capitol Hill. So far, however, their efforts have been limited to lobbying Congress against the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (pending in the House) and Protect-IP Act (in the Senate). But this week reports have swirled that the companies are considering a more radical approach: a blackout to protest the measures.» 2 Comments
EPIC: Facebook Should Restore Old Privacy Settings
The Federal Trade Commission should require Facebook to restore users' 2009 privacy settings, the advocacy group Electronic Privacy Information Center says.» 1 Comments
Righthaven Says It Can't Give Copyrights To Court-Appointed Receiver
Righthaven has been nothing if not aggressive in its litigation campaign against bloggers who reposted newspapers' content. The company, which notoriously sued first and asked questions later, brought a total of around 275 cases against bloggers and small publishers before its campaign came to a halt this summer.» 1 Comments
Proposed COPPA Regs Could Knock Ad Networks Off Kids' Sites

If the Federal Trade Commission wants to ban companies from using behavioral advertising techniques on children, the agency should try the direct approach. That's according to the think tank Future of Privacy Forum.

“The straightforward way to regulate the ability of operators to target children with behavioral advertising would be to simply prohibit operators from engaging in the practice,” the think tank says in written comments regarding a proposed update to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. “But the FTC instead focuses on the types of information operators collect rather than on how operators use the information. This approach unnecessarily ...» 2 Comments

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