• Most Consumers See Privacy Threats In Smart Devices, Study Says
    Most consumers appear concerned that the Internet of Things -- smart TVs, in-car navigation systems, energy smart meters, and other devices that are connected to the Web -- poses a potential privacy threat. That's according to a TRUSTe report published today.
  • GOP Lawmaker Wants To Block FCC From Reclassifying Broadband
    Net neutrality advocates, including some prominent lawmakers, are urging the Federal Communications Commission to classify broadband as a "telecommunications" service in order to craft strong open Internet rules. Officially categorizing broadband as a utility would empower the FCC to enact the same kinds of "common carrier" rules that have long prohibited telephone companies from discriminating when putting through calls. But not everyone is on board with the idea that the FCC should say that broadband service is a utility. One opponent, Republican lawmaker Bob Latta, just introduced a bill that would prohibit the FCC from moving forward with a "misguided …
  • Amazon And Hachette Battle Over Ebook Profits
    A dispute between Amazon and Hachette about ebook profits shows no signs of ending any time soon. Amazon is now telling customers that they can't pre-order Hachette titles -- a move that could prevent some Hachette authors from reaching the best-seller list.
  • 'Innocence of Muslims' Director Disputes Actress' Claims
    When a panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with actress Cindy Lee Garcia and ordered Google to remove the clip "Innocence of Muslims" from YouTube, the judges obviously believed that Garcia had been duped into appearing in the film. Now the director has come forward to dispute some of Garcia's allegations -- including her key claims that her dialogue was dubbed.
  • Yelp Helps NY Officials Find Dirty Restaurants
    Several years ago, Google began mining search data for health purposes when it began examining people's searches for flu-related keywords. The company then used that information to create its flu-trends feature, which reports on the cities that appear to be experiencing flu outbreaks. Now another Web company, Yelp, also is offering up data in order for a health-related purpose -- helping New York City figure out where to send its health inspectors.
  • Ad Groups Push For Data Breach Law
    A coalition of industry groups says it supports a national law requiring companies to notify consumers about data breaches -- but only when the breach "poses a significant risk" of identity theft or economic harm.
  • Airbnb To Give NY Attorney General 'Anonymized' Data About Hosts
    Airbnb has agreed to provide the New York State Attorney General with "anonymized" data about the service's 15,000 hosts who reside in the state. The home-sharing service says it won't turn over users' names, email addresses, social media account data, tax information or other potentially personally identifiable information. Instead, the company plans to replace its users' names with unique identifiers.
  • Appeals Court Won't Revive Class-Action Over Gmail Ads
    A federal appellate court has turned away consumers who say their privacy is violated by Gmail ads. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the consumers' attempt to immediately appeal U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh's recent decision denying them class-action status in the case. Koh's ruling theoretically still allows the consumers to move forward as individuals. But as a practical matter, the decision could make it prohibitively expensive for the consumers to go ahead with the lawsuit. The appellate court didn't give any reason for its decision, which was quietly issued last week.
  • Ransquawk Banned From Posting Dow Jones' 'Hot News'
    The British company Ransquawk can't distribute Dow Jones' "hot news" before the pieces appear on the Web sites Wsj .com, Barrons.com, or MarketWatch.com, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Court Judge Jesse Furman in New York issued an injunction that bans Ransquawk from distributing Dow Jones "headlines, ledes, partial articles, or full articles" -- or summaries of that material -- before Dow Jones itself publishes the stories on its online news properties.
  • Dem. Senators Urge Wheeler To Abandon Broadband Proposal
    A group of 11 senators today urged Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler to abandon a controversial plan to allow broadband providers to charge companies extra fees for faster delivery.
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