• Advocates Target ISP Working With Phorm
    Behavioral targeting company Phorm hasn't launched yet, but is already facing more pushback than even the staunchest privacy advocates likely anticipated. The latest news is that Phorm opponent Alex Hanff is calling for people to picket the annual meeting of BT -- one of the Internet service providers that's working with Phorm.
  • CDT: Consider Privacy When Designing Watermarks
    Companies developing digital watermarking should put people's privacy interests front and center when designing applications, the Center for Democracy & Technology is urging today.
  • NAI-Google Tiff Clouds Real Privacy Issues
    There are many reasons to be concerned by Google's privacy policy. But the fact that the company doesn't link to it on its home page isn't one of them.
  • Google: Viacom Suit Threatens Online Ecosystem
    Google has already said it's willing to go to the U.S. Supreme Court to defend itself from a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by Viacom. Now, the search giant is publicly arguing that the stakes are far higher than whether it will owe Viacom damages for copyright violations.
  • Traffic-Throttling Bell Canada Opens Video Store
    This news should convince even the most ardent opponents of government regulation that Internet service providers can't be trusted to protect net neutrality. Bell Canada, currently on the defensive for slowing down traffic to peer-to-peer sites, has just officially debuted its own video site that offers download sales and rentals of movies and TV shows.
  • ABC Blesses Blogs, Endorses Embedding
    Today ABC announced its first significant revision to its Web TV plans since 2006. In an effort to distribute programs across the Web, the TV network will start letting Web users embed clips of its shows on blogs and other sites.
  • The Slightly Desperate Google Killer?
    Shortly after Microsoft launched its own search engine, the company promoted it with a sweepstakes contest that promised users the chance to win prizes by searching. The idea was rightly mocked, with observers questioning why a search company would need to give people extra incentives -- beyond relevant results -- to use its search engine.
  • More DRM-Free Music, This Time From Napster
    In what could well be the final nail in the coffin for DRM-protected music, Napster today launched an online music store with 6 million tracks. They cost 99 cents each, the same as iTunes charges, but are free of the software restrictions that make it difficult for users to transfer tracks to portable players and other devices.
  • Suicide Case Stretches Definition Of 'Computer Fraud'
    It's understandable that people are looking for someone to blame for the suicide of 13-year-old Megan Meier. But federal authorities in Los Angeles have clearly stretched the law in the indictment filed against Lori Drew, charging her with computer fraud.
  • Microhoo Saga Drags On, Proxy Fight Looms
    Microsoft's Steve Ballmer might have walked away from Yahoo two weeks ago, but the drama is far from over. Today, Yahoo head Jerry Yang asked staff to carry on as usual despite an upcoming proxy battle. "I ask all of you to put aside the rumors and speculation, and stay focused on the business at hand and what we do best--transforming the online experiences of our users, advertisers, publishers, and developers," he wrote in a letter.
« Previous Entries