Courts

The 'Think Secret' website, which published insider scoops about Apple products, is to close down as part of a legal settlement. The deal means the site's owners will not have to expose their confidential sources. It marks the end of a lawsuit ... launched by Apple in January 2005 after the site leaked details of the Mac Mini computer two weeks before its official announcement. The case surrounded laws designed to protect journalistic sources. Apple sued the site's boss, Nick Ciarelli, claiming he had unlawfully revealed trade secrets. The Cupertino-based tech company also demanded Ciarelli's ... (view more)

Now that Facebook has secured Microsoft with a lucrative advertising agreement, there's reason to believe the social networking site is ready to do some serious business. One pesky Canadian company hoping to hack the page recently found out just how ... serious that business really is. According to reports, Facebook recently filed a lawsuit against a Canadian company that attempted to hack Facebook's servers. Given the content of the company's page -- it displays explicit adult images -- there's reason to believe the Canadians hoped to splash the social site with a plethora of nudies. It's a case ... (view more)

File-sharing networks have found an unlikely ally in the form of rapper 50 Cent, who disclosed in a recent interview that it is up to the music industry to learn to adapt to the changing nature of music marketing. (Source: dslreports.com ) Cent's ... position is in stark contrast with that of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which has intensified its prosecution of individuals it claims to be illegally sharing songs. The interview conducted by journalist Pål Nordseth (translated by TorrentFreak.com) reveals the lack of consensus amongst mainstream musicians as to the degree ...<a href="/news/2954/cost-file-sharing-50-cent" class="more-link">view more

Although separated by just a small strip of water known as the English Channel, Britain and France have often shared very different political opinions. Though today the two are firm allies, culturally it appears that they each have very unique ... attitudes towards one major facet of modern technology and web use: illegal downloading. In a recent move, the French government announced it would be creating a specialized anti-piracy body with greater-than-average powers to weed out those suspected of illegally downloading music and movies. In a bold statement on the new policy, French President ... (view more)

Given the influx of phishing scams on the web these days, it seems identity theft is on just about everyone's mind. That's why the story of runaway suspect Alicia O'Hara seems particularly interesting, given that her pursuit has now moved through ... three international locales. A warrant for O'Hara charges her with an organized scheme to defraud, and was issued last week. According to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office of Florida, O'Hara is strongly linked to an identity-theft scam that had elements in the United States, England and Canada. What was the crime? Authorities want to speak with O' ... (view more)

It's been another happy week for Microsoft, as the company celebrates the fifth anniversary of Xbox Live, the online service that connects millions of consoles around the world. Unfortunately, not everyone is so ecstatic for Redmond; in fact, a ... class action lawsuit has now been revealed, slamming Microsoft and Live for renewing subscriptions without permission. The lawsuit is being led by Georgia resident Francisco Garcia, father of an underage gamer who first purchased a subscription with his debit card. That initial charge was $49.99 in October of 2005, enough to provide the kid with ... (view more)

Microsoft's blog site dedicated to Internet Explorer (IE) indicates that the company is planning to ditch the 'Click to Activate' control setting on future versions of IE. This concludes a long standing patent dispute between Microsoft Corporation ... and Eolas Technologies Inc, which has caused a lot of disruption for website developers over the past 4 years. (Source: msdn.com ) An undisclosed licensing agreement will allow Microsoft to remove a go-around measure it implemented in IE 7.0 which prompted users to select the 'Click to Activate' function rather than automatically loading up ActiveX ... (view more)

"Privacy no longer can mean anonymity. Instead, it should mean that government and businesses properly safeguard people's private communications and financial information." That was Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Donald Kerr, who ... recently called for a new perspective on privacy as Congress scrambles to address complaints concerning the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for a second time. Last summer, lawmakers hurriedly loosened the restraints on the bill, allowing government officials to tap into phone calls without a court order on the grounds that there ... (view more)

Just weeks after Microsoft made a big score by buying up part of rising web titan Facebook, the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has now stated that it will be clamping down on Internet advertising. It's a measure the group hopes will ... reduce the amount of user tracking associated with the practice. According to John Leibowitz, the FTC's commissioner, the initiative is meant to keep children safe while they're clicking around online. If Mom or Dad views a not-so-appropriate site, there's a chance that marketing tools custom-designed for the individual and his or her tastes will pop ... (view more)

Microsoft has withdrawn the last two challenges to a European Union (EU) antitrust order, closing the books on its past legal fights and instead focusing on avoiding future trouble with European regulators. The lengthy, brutal war between Microsoft ... and the European Commission has cost hundreds of millions of dollars in fines. Exhausted, Microsoft has reportedly yielded and pledged to comply with key parts of a 2004 antitrust decision upheld by an appeals court last month. Microsoft dropped a challenge to the 280.5 million euros ($357 million) fine imposed by regulators in July 2006 for not ... (view more)