Courts

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)

Seems there is a punishment for all that nasty spam you accumulate over the course of the average workday. Two men have recently been convicted by the United States Department of Justice under the Can-Spam Act, and sentenced to more than five years ... in a penitentiary. The judgment came down last Friday, and sends Jeffrey A. Kilbride, 41, and James R. Schaffer, 41 to prison for 72 and 63 months, respectively. Kilbride hails from Venice, California, while Schaffer is a Paradise Valley, Arizona resident. Neither can expect much of a paradise in the slammer. If any of their cell mates are familiar ... (view more)

The Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) is currently embroiled in the first American trial of a person accused of illegally sharing music. According to the organization itself, it won't be the last. Although we've been hearing for a long ... time that there can be real trouble for those who skip the CD store to visit Torrents and, in the past, protocols like Kazaa, to some it has seemed an empty threat. While 26,000 lawsuits have been filed since 2003, only this most recent trial proves the RIAA is taking such matters very seriously. According to Cary Sherman, president of the RIAA, "We ... (view more)

In a ruling that's expected to have far-reaching implications, the European Union (EU) Court of First Instance upheld European Commission claims that Microsoft abused their dominant position in the operating system (OS) market, siding with ... regulators in an antitrust case. The law suit began in early 2004. (Source: CNET News ) "The court ruling is welcome for its confirmation of the Commission's decision and its underlying policy, but nevertheless, it is bittersweet, because the court has confirmed the Commission's view that consumers are suffering at the hands of Microsoft" said Neelie Kroes ... (view more)