MediaPost | Daily Online Examiner

Aereokiller Agrees To Change Name

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:38:03 -0400

Aereokiller, embroiled in litigation with the TV networks, is putting at least one legal dispute behind it. Founder Alki David agreed to stop calling his online video company Aereokiller, in order to settle a trademark infringement lawsuit brought by its Barry-Diller backed rival, Aereo.

Appeals Court Turns Away Twitter's Challenge To Subpoena

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:55:02 -0400

An appellate court in New York has dismissed Twitter's appeal of a ruling requiring it to turn over the records of Occupy Wall Street protester Malcolm Harris, who was arrested for disorderly conduct during a protest in 2011.

Apple: No 'Direct Evidence' Of Ebook Price-Fixing

Thu, 16 May 2013 17:10:03 -0400

Did Apple conspire with book publishers to end Amazon's $9.99-per-ebook price? That's the question at the center of the government's antitrust lawsuit against the company. Not surprisingly, Apple and the Department of Justice disagree about what the evidence shows. Both sides have now outlined their positions in papers filed with U.S. District Court Judge Denise Cote, who has presided over the government's price-fixing case against Apple and five publishers since it was filed last April.

AT&T Stirs Controversy With Data-Cap Plans

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:00:05 -0400

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson reportedly confirmed today that the carrier plans to let content companies pay to exclude their material from data caps imposed on wireless subscribers.

Pandora User Seeks To Revive Privacy Lawsuit

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:48:03 -0400

In 2010, music service Pandora was one of the first companies to partner with Facebook for its earliest iteration of the "instant personalization" program -- which automatically shared logged-in Facebook users' names and photos with outside companies.

New Bill Legalizes Cell-Phone Unlocking, DVD Ripping

Mon, 13 May 2013 17:05:03 -0400

Consumers could once again have the right to unlock their cell phones, if a new law goes through. The "Unlocking Technology Act of 2013," proposed by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), provides that people can tinker with digital locks on software -- the digital rights management technology that prevents people from copying programs -- as long as they aren't doing so in order to infringe copyright.

Data-Cap Exemption For ESPN Raises Neutrality Concerns

Fri, 10 May 2013 18:40:06 -0400

The sports network ESPN reportedly is talking with a major wireless carrier about a deal to exclude the networks' programs from the monthly data caps, according to The Wall Street Journal. If a deal to that effect goes through, consumers would be able to watch as much ESPN as they want without worrying about whether they're going to be throttled or hit with extra fees for exceeding their monthly data allotment.

Righthaven Loses Bid To Revive Lawsuits

Thu, 09 May 2013 18:20:14 -0400

Several years ago, attorney Steven Gibson and the publisher of the Las Vegas Review-Journal cooked up a plan to raise money by suing Web users who reposted news articles on their blogs. To accomplish this, Gibson founded the copyright enforcement outfit Righthaven, with backing from Sherman Frederick, former Review-Journal publisher. The company proceeded to file 300 lawsuits against nonprofits, news outlets and niche bloggers -- like a woman who blogged about cats.

Appellate Judge Says Google Books Offers 'Enormous' Benefits

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:59:55 -0400

The Authors Guild's odds of winning its long-running lawsuit against Google appear to be dwindling, at least judging by comments made this morning by judges at the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.

FTC Tells Data Brokers To Follow Consumer Protection Laws

Tue, 07 May 2013 18:30:34 -0400

In its latest move against data brokers, the Federal Trade Commission has warned 10 companies that they potentially violate federal consumer protection laws.

FTC Rejects Request To Delay New Children's Privacy Rules

Mon, 06 May 2013 19:43:28 -0400

The Federal Trade Commission has unanimously turned down a request by industry groups to push back the start date of new children's privacy regulations.

Calif. Lawmaker Withdraws Controversial Privacy Bill -- For Now

Fri, 03 May 2013 18:21:20 -0400

California state assembly member Bonnie Lowenthal is temporarily shelving her proposed privacy bill, the Right to Know Act (AB 1291), which would have granted state residents the ability to access data held about them by marketers.

Verizon Shareholders Vote Down Neutrality Proposal -- Again

Thu, 02 May 2013 18:20:53 -0400

Last year, Verizon shareholders overwhelmingly voted against a net neutrality proposal. Today, Verizon shareholders again nixed a neutrality proposal, also by a landslide, but a smaller one.

West Omaha Residents To Get Ultra-Fast Broadband

Wed, 01 May 2013 18:25:21 -0400

Omaha, Neb. will soon be among the handful of U.S. cities where residents can surf the Web at speeds of up to 1 Gigabit per second, assuming things go according to plan. The Internet service provider CenturyLink said today it will roll out a 1 Gbps fiber-to-the-home network to 48,000 residents of West Omaha.

Report: Obama Taps Wireless Lobbyist To Head FCC

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:53:15 -0400

President Barack Obama plans to name longtime industry lobbyist Tom Wheeler to helm the Federal Communications Commission, according to reports in The Wall Street Journal and Politico.

Hulk Hogan Sex Tape Sparks Latest Battle Over Online Speech

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:41:05 -0400

Last October, after Gawker posted a one-minute excerpt of a sex tape of Hulk Hogan and a friend's wife, Hogan quickly went to federal court. Hogan sought an order directing Gawker to remove the clip on the ground that it violated his privacy. But U.S. District Court Judge James Whittemore in Florida refused, noting that prior restraints -- or orders censoring content before trial -- are almost always unconstitutional. At that point, Hogan decided to sue Gawker in state court. There, things went very differently.

Digital Privacy Overhaul Advances In Senate

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:08:46 -0400

A bill to update digital privacy laws took a major step forward this week when the Senate Judiciary Committee cleared the measure. The proposed bill would revise the 27-year-old federal wiretap law by requiring authorities to obtain search warrants before accessing people's emails, texts, documents stored in the cloud and social media posts.

California Considers Law Giving Consumers Access To Their Marketing Profiles

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:27:51 -0400

When Austrian law student Max Schrems wanted to know what information Facebook had about him, all he had to do was ask. In turn, the social networking service gave him a 1,200-page report of friend lists, photos, records of chats, "likes," "pokes," people he unfriended, material he "deleted," and event invitations. As a resident of Europe, Schrems was entitled to that information because the EU's broad privacy laws give people the right to demand data about themselves that's held by companies. Now, a lawmaker in California has proposed a bill that would give state residents that same right.

Ad Industry Blames Microsoft, Mozilla For Do-Not-Track Gridlock

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:18:08 -0400

Although 4 trillion do-not-track signals are sent by Firefox each month, almost all are ignored. That's because the signals themselves don't block tracking -- they communicate users' preferences, but ad networks and publishers are free to treat that information as they see fit. Although a few companies -- including Twitter, Jumptap and The Associated Press -- have said they will honor those signals, the vast majority appear to be ignoring them. Why aren't publishers and ad networks more receptive?

Business Groups Back IAB's Request To Delay Children's Privacy Rules

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:28:23 -0400

Business and ad groups are stepping up their efforts to persuade the Federal Trade Commission to push back the effective date of new children's privacy rules, currently slated to take effect on July 1.

Senate Appears Poised To Pass Online Tax Bill

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 19:21:35 -0400

The Senate today moved forward with a bill that could impose new tax-collection obligations on e-commerce companies. While the Senate hasn't t yet voted on the Marketplace Fairness Act itself, lawmakers did vote 74 to 20 to close debate on the bill, which could come to a full vote this week.

Broadband Advocates Seek FCC Scrutiny Of Data Caps

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 18:51:00 -0400

The outgoing Federal Communications Commission chair, Julius Genachowski, frustrated many consumer advocates by refusing to condemn broadband pricing models that tie fees to the amount of data consumed. On the contrary, Genachowski said more than once that he supported the concept of pay-per-byte pricing. Last year at an industry event he reportedly said that tiered pricing "could be healthy and beneficial."

FTC's Ramirez: Do-Not-Track 'Long Overdue'

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 18:01:23 -0400

A do-not-track system that allows consumers to easily stop online data collection is "long overdue," Federal Trade Commission head Edith Ramirez said this week.

The 'Love Tips' You Didn't Know You Bought: FTC Alleges Text Services Scam

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:43:09 -0400

For years, shady online companies lured mobile users -- often young teens -- into singing up for paid subscription services by promising "free" ringtones. Those practices led to crackdowns by law enforcement, but at least companies engaged in that kind of practice made a token effort to get people to opt in -- even if people were tricked into doing so. Now some companies are going even further and actually signing people up for services that cost around $10 a month without first obtaining any kind of consent. Wise Media, based in Grayson, Ga., is one of those companies, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

White House Says CISPA Needs Privacy Safeguards

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:26:08 -0400

The White House today threatened to veto the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Privacy Act, unless the measure is amended to give people more privacy protections.

Groups Ask FTC To Delay New COPPA Rules

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 18:08:27 -0400

The Federal Trade Commission's new children's privacy rules are so complicated that companies need more time to figure out how to comply with the regulations, two trade organizations said today.

Actress Loses Privacy Lawsuit Against IMDb.com

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:45:03 -0400

An actress who sued Amazon's IMDb.com for revealing her true age lost her case this week, when a jury rejected her contention that the Web company violated its privacy policy by posting her year of birth.

Google Tool Lets People Control Data From Beyond The Grave

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 18:25:34 -0400

Consider it estate planning for the digital age: Google today rolled out a new feature that enables users to plan how their data will be disposed of after they die. The "Inactive Account Manager" -- which Google acknowledges is "not a great name" -- allows people to tell the search giant how to dispose of their emails, photos and other data associated with accounts no longer in use.

Pro-Aereo Ruling Boosts Aereokiller

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 18:46:24 -0400

In case its name left any doubt, online video startup Aereokiller hopes to offer a service to rival Barry Diller's Aereo. So it's somewhat ironic that Aereo is shaping up as Aereokiller's biggest unwitting booster in court. But whether Aereo is happy about this or not, the company's recent win in a federal appellate court in New York is providing fodder to Aereokiller in its battle to resume operations in California.

Microsoft: How Can You Trust Google For Anything?

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 18:32:33 -0400

Google's decision to share app purchasers' data with developers hasn't just sparked a congressional inquiry and a wave of bad publicity. It's also given Microsoft fodder to continue its attacks on Google.