Sign up for a new account or log in here:
TechSpot News
government articles
Comcast investigated over net neutrality, denies Xfinity favoritism
-
Comcast network and operations VP, Tony Werner, has responded to Minnesota senator Al Franken's request to investigate the company for questionable net neutrality practices. According to Werner, Comcast is not prioritizing Xfinity traffic -- the company's IP television service...
Iran bans select industries from using foreign e-mail providers
- Over the weekend, Iran's telecommunications minster warned that in-country financial institutions, insurance firms and communications companies will be limited exclusively to .ir domains for hosting and email purposes. For better or worse, the national mandate will prevent applicable organizations from…
Congress aims to outlaw employers from requiring Facebook passwords
- In response to a recent (and dubious) phenomenon where employers require employees to fork over the proverbial keys to their online accounts, U.S. House Democrats are working to pass legislation which will prohibit this practice all together.
Nevada embraces driverless cars, issues autonomous vehicle licenses
- Nevada -- a gambler's paradise where shotgun weddings run rampant and brothels are legal in half the state -- has added yet another unique attraction under its belt: autonomous vehicles. Nevada is the first state to issue driverless vehicle licenses on public…
UK government considers Internet porn filter, requires users to opt-out
- UK Prime Minster David Cameron will be consulting with major ISPs about devising a scheme which will block adult content for UK customers. If such a content filter does materialize from the talks, it is expected to be an optional…
Amazon to collect Texas sales tax in July, Nevada in 2014
- Amazon has reached an agreement with the state of Texas which will allow them to continue doing business there but at a cost -- Amazon will begin collecting sales tax from Texas residents starting July 1, 2012. Texas is the seventh…
House approves CISPA cybersecurity bill, Microsoft backpedals support
- Despite the administration's threat to veto the bill, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the controverisal cyber-survellience legislation late last week by a vote of 248 to 168. CISPA, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, encourages companies to freely share…
US Government denies Megaupload fair legal representation for a fourth time
- It quickly became obvious with the raids on Megaupload and its founder Kim Dotcom in January that US authorities were taking a no-nonsense approach to the file-sharing service, in what they aptly called the biggest criminal copyright case ever brought…
SOPA is dead, but CISPA may give Internet citizens a new cause
- Although the demise of SOPA is behind us, citizens of the Internet may have new cause for concern. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) has been gaining momentum and while it is distinctly different than SOPA, some argue…
Violating a terms of service agreement is not criminal, federal court says
- On Tuesday, the federal Ninth Court of Appeals ruled that violating a "terms of service" agreement is not a criminal offense. At the heart of the debate were concerns that violating a terms of service agreement, despite being a set…
US government reaffirms commitment to BlackBerry smartphones
- It has been a troubling couple of years for smartphone maker Research in Motion, whose BlackBerry line of smartphones has been suffering with continually declining sales, executives leaving en-mass, and the recent loss of their number one position as the…
Arizona legislation will make cyberbullies, Internet trolls criminals
- Upon the Arizona governor's desk sits a revised house bill (pdf) which is ready to be signed into law. The changes in H.B 2549s aim to curb and even criminalize cyberbullying, however, it may also make nearly every chat room and…
FTC fines RockYou $250,000 for exposing identities of 32 million gamers
- Online social gaming outfit, RockYou, has settled with the FTC after an embarrassing security snafu in 2009 allowed hackers to reveal the accounts and passwords of more than 32 million users. The company has been fined $250,000 and is required…
FTC praises 'Do Not Track' initiatives, refreshes privacy framework
- In a new report published by the FTC (pdf), the commission attempts to lay a new framework to protect the privacy of citizens and refreshes its own views on how to accomplish those goals. Some of the ideas outlined include Do…
Samsung, RIM sued over emoticon display patent :-(
- Described as "pictorial representations of an expression or a person's mood", emoticons are widely used amongst habitual texters. Unfortunately for Samsung, Research In Motion and possibly others, Varia Holdings claims they own a patent which would prevent companies from providing a…
Wikileaks goes political, Julian Assange runs for Australian Senate
- According to ABC News Australia, controversial Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has decided to run for a seat in Australia's Upper House. Not only does Assange aspire to become a political figure himself, but Wikileaks also claims to have its own…
Lax photo permissions on iOS, Android may lead to FTC investigation
- Just last week, the New York Times discovered that iOS apps can silently access and copy photos from a user's photo library to a remote server with little to stand in the way. As it turns out though, it's not…
iOS allows contacts to be uploaded without consent, Apple promises fix
- Apple has finally responded to privacy concerns following a recent discovery which shows some iOS apps have been silently uploading contact lists to remote servers. Apple intends to change this behavior though by prohibiting unfettered access to contacts from any app…
Iran blocks websites in anticipation of Green Revolution anniversary
- On Friday, Cnet sources confirmed that Iran has begun preemptively blocking websites in anticipation of civil unrest this weekend. Tomorrow is significant because it marks the third anniversary of the Green Revolution, a movement where outraged citizens took to the…
Google's privacy policy cornered by European Commission and Congress
- Continuing the story we posted earlier this week, the European Commission has asked Google to hold off on rolling out their new privacy policy. The EC is assigning French data protection authority, CNIL, to work with Google and explore the…
EFF helps Megaupload users retrieve their non-infringing files
-
Last week, cyberlocker service Megaupload was shut down and its executives were arrested. Consequently, the now defunct site is poised to have its hosted files forcibly erased. However, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has come to the aid of "innocent" Megaupload users...
Mobile phone users to be punished as "war criminals" in North Korea
- According to the country's government, North Koreans caught using a mobile phone will be deemed as war criminals and punished accordingly, The Telegraph reports. The same punishment also extends to those attempting to flee the country's borders, an offense that…
Google revises privacy policy, responds to critics with the 'real story'
- Eliciting such overly-sensational headlines as "Google’s Broken Promise: The End of Don’t Be Evil", a preview of Google's new privacy policy has generated quite a stir across the web. Facing criticism from both the public and Congress (PDF), Google is now responding to…
Symantec recommends disabling pcAnywhere after source code leak
- In a PDF outlining the impact of its proprietary source code being stolen, Symantec recommends disabling pcAnywhere until the next update is issued. This warning includes users who are running pcAnywhere 12.0, 12.1 and 12.5, which is the latest version.…
Most Popular
| Trending | Featured |
Subscribe to TechSpot
Get free exclusive content, learn about new features and breaking tech news.
TechSpot on: