• Signal Messaging App Rolls Out Tool To Bypass Censors
    Developers of the secure messaging app Signal have created a workaround to bypass censorship abroad. The latest Signal for Android release has the anti-censorship feature, as does a beta version of the iOS app.
  • Canada Says All Residents Entitled To High-Speed Broadband
    Regulators in Canada said this week that broadband access is a "basic telecommunications service all Canadians are entitled to receive." The government added that people are entitled to service at speeds of at least 50 Mbps downstream and 10 Mbps upstream.
  • VidAngel Accused Of Flouting Shutdown Order
    Film studios say that streaming service VidAngel is continuing to operate, in apparent defiance of an injunction issued last week.  "Defying last week’s injunction, VidAngel continues to illegally stream our content without a license and is expanding its infringement by adding new titles,” Fox, Disney and Warner Bros. reportedly said Wednesday in a statement. VidAngel countered in court papers that it needs time to comply with the judge’s ruling, due to technical issues.
  • Orlando Victims' Families Sue Facebook, Twitter And Google
    The families of three victims of the attack in Orlando in June have sued Facebook, Twitter and Google for allegedly facilitating ISIS's growth. Twitter defeated a similar lawsuit earlier this year.
  • Hackers Take Over Netflix's Twitter Account
    Netflix's and Marvel's Twitter accounts were briefly taken over Wednesday morning by the hacking group OurMine. The same group has previously taken over Twitter accounts of the CEOs of Google, Facebook and Twitter.
  • Judge To Decide Whether To Dismiss Washington AG Case Against Comcast
    A Washington state judge is expected to decide this week whether Attorney General Bob Ferguson can proceed with a $100 million lawsuit against Comcast for allegedly bilking subscribers. The lawsuit alleges that Comcast duped consumers by selling them a $4.99-a-month "service protection plan" that wasn't as comprehensive as advertised. Comcast argues that the company's terms and conditions stated what was covered by the plan.
  • Wireless Broadband Company Starry Raises Additional $30 Million
    Starry Internet has raised an additional $30 million, bringing the company's total to more than $63 million. Starry, a project of Chet Kanojia -- who formerly started the streaming video company Aereo -- aims to offer a high-speed wireless broadband service.
  • Feds Charge Two 'Copyright Trolls' With Fraud
    Federal authorities in Minnesota have arrested two well-known "copyright trolls" for allegedly running a "multimillion-dollar extortion scheme," Ars Technica reports. The defendants, attorneys Paul Hansmeier and John L. Steele, sued hundreds of people for allegedly downloading porn films from file-sharing sites. In many cases, the alleged infringers paid $4,000 to settle the matter. The two lawyers were charged with fraud, perjury, and money laundering. "The conduct of these defendants was outrageous -- they used deceptive lawsuits and unsuspecting judges to extort millions from vulnerable defendants," US Attorney …
  • Verizon May Walk Away From Yahoo
    Verizon's general counsel is investigating whether to scuttle the deal to purchase Yahoo for $4.8 billion, or renegotiate the price, in light of the company's disclosure that hackers stole data associated with 1 billion accounts in 2013. “As we’ve said all along, we will evaluate the situation as Yahoo continues its investigation,” Verizon said in a statement emailed to Bloomberg.  
  • Tech Workers Say They Won't Create Database To Track Muslims
    Two hundred tech workers said in an open letter to President-elect Donald Trump that they won't help build a database to track Muslims in the U.S. "We refuse to build a database of people based on their Constitutionally-protected religious beliefs," the letter states. "We refuse to facilitate mass deportations of people the government believes to be undesirable."
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