Tech Law

Facebook has agreed to improve privacy protections in Europe over the next six months, after a three-month audit by Ireland's data protection agency found the social network lacking in some areas. Users will be given more information about how Facebook and third-party app providers handle their info...

SPOTLIGHT ON SECURITY

Security Legislation: A Rat’s Nest of Agendas

The United States government launched initiatives this past week to enhance cybersecurity, but these efforts may add to the confusion around the issue in federal government circles. One development involves the unveiling of the Promoting and Enhancing Cybersecurity and Information Sharing Effectiven...

Christmas is coming in a few days, and many of you are kicking back with some eggnog for a well-deserved rest before the day arrives, and you are looking forward to the annual family who-is-the-biggest-ass competition. Yes, this is the time of year when relatives feel the need to overimbibe and tell...

A federal judge has dismissed a criminal case against a man accused of using Twitter to conduct a threatening campaign against a religious leader. William Lawrence Cassidy had been jailed for predicting that violence would befall Alyce Zeoli, a Buddhist religious leader, and for urging her to kill h...

Speculation regarding the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's ties with troubled cellphone software firm Carrier IQ was sparked recently by the bureau's rejection of a request made under the Freedom of Information Act. The request aimed to uncover what records and information the bureau has on Ca...

A regional court in Mannheim, Germany, has ruled in favor of Motorola Mobility in one of several patent infringement lawsuits the company has brought against Apple in the country. This relates to European Patent 1010336, which covers a technology that's essential to wireless communications. The cou...

There is good news and bad news for driver safety in the U.S.: The good news is that highway deaths fell to 32,885 in 2010, the lowest level since 1949, according to the NHTSA. The bad news, however, is delivered in the same report. The NHTSA unveiled a new measure of fatalities related to distracte...

What a week it's been in the cybersecurity business! On Monday, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology released a report that called for the establishment of a body with nationwide authority to oversee the securing of the United States' national power grid. Last week, Congress began working to pu...

The European Union may begin an overhaul of its 1995 Data Protection Directive next year to provide one single unified body of legislation on this issue. EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding will propose the reform in January, according to spokesperson Matthew Newman. The legislation will be table...

SPOTLIGHT ON SECURITY

Bad Security Moon Rising

All things considered, this past week has been hell on security professionals. On Monday, AT&T Wireless announced that hackers used automatic scripts to target some subscribers in a bid to steal information stored in their online accounts. They apparently didn't succeed. Hackers have breached se...

OPINION

The Technology Scandals of 2012

Next year is an election year, and there is no doubt we will have plenty of examples of politicians who should have had their hormones either surgically removed or had someone wiser make their decisions for them. On the other hand, the technology market has certainly had its fill of scandals over th...

Something as simple and common as using an online pseudonym could technically be a violation of the law if the United States Department of Justice gets what it wants. The DoJ on Tuesday asked Congress to impose harsher penalties on various types of cyberactivities, including cybercrime. The goal, Do...

Nearly two years after consumer advocacy groups filed a complaint with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over Facebook's privacy policies, the social network and the FTC are close to an agreement, according to a recent report. The deal between the company and the commission will reportedly require F...

Questions posed by U.S. Supreme Court Justices to attorneys making oral arguments in United States v. Jones suggest the case could have significant implications for search-and-seizure law and police practices. The justices grilled both the U.S. attorney general and the defense attorney for Antoine...

SPOTLIGHT ON SECURITY

White House Pushes Cyberlaw as Online Crooks Frolic

The Obama administration is urging the U.S. Congress to pass cybersecurity legislation that the White House first proposed in May. That proposal incorporates many of the ideas of Senate and House leaders, White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt pointed out. Since then, there have been s...

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