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Submission + - Zof Lofgren Wants To Slow Down Domain Seizures By ICE & DOJ (rollcall.com)

Submitted by GovTechGuy on Monday December 17, 2012 @11:59PM

GovTechGuy writes: Rep. Zoe Lofgren sat down with Roll Call to discuss her proposal to slow down the seizure of domain names accused of piracy by the federal government. Lofgren turned to Reddit for help formulating the bill, and also discussed whether her colleagues in Congress know enough about technology to make informed decisions on tech policy.

Submission + - Newspaper report on newton killing: "he apparently had no Facebook page" (lexpress.fr)

Submitted by manu0601 on Monday December 17, 2012 @11:10PM

manu0601 writes: French newspaper l'Express reports on Newton killings (Original, in french):

Unlike most of his generation, he apparently had no Facebook page. "It was a strange child socially,"

Here we are, not being on Facebook makes you an asocial and a potential killer

Submission + - Facebook's Real Name Policy Breaks German Law (itworld.com)

Submitted by

itwbennett

on Monday December 17, 2012 @10:58PM

itwbennett writes: "The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ULD) for the German state of Schleswig-Holstein issed a decree that would force Facebook to abandon its real name policy, saying the right to use nicknames online is required by the German Telemedia Act. For its part, Facebook plans to 'fight [the orders] vigorously.'"

Submission + - Rep. Issa says backlash has killed SOPA

Submitted by GovTechGuy on Friday November 18, 2011 @11:41PM

GovTechGuy writes: House Oversight Chairman and former CEA chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) told Hillicon Valley on Friday that the massive online backlash to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) has stopped the bill dead in the tracks. Issa said the Judiciary Committee's attempts to ram the bill through have been halted after the Internet erupted in opposition to the legislation this week.

Submission + - Bill would require a warrant for digital tracking (thehill.com)

Submitted by GovTechGuy on Tuesday October 18, 2011 @02:38PM

GovTechGuy writes: Sens. Mark Kirk and Ron Wyden used the 25th anniversary of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to stump for a bill that would require police to obtain a warrant before using an individual's cell phone, laptop or other digital device to track their location. Under current law the government can access that data without a judge's approval, or even access a user's email account without first getting a warrant.

Submission + - Flash exploit lets websites activate your webcam (geek.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 18, 2011 @10:18AM

An anonymous reader writes: A new Adobe Flash exploit has been discovered that allows any website you visit to activate your webcam and microphone giving whoever owns the website the opportunty to watch and record you sat at your machine. The exploit involves the use of a hidden iFrame and the Flash Player Settings Manager. With just four clicks of the mouse the camera can be activated silently and the user has no idea. The example given is a simple game that pops-up the webcam output once you've done the appropriate number of clicks.

Adobe has been told about the problem several weeks ago, but has yet to respond. So the exploit has been made public to try and speed things along.

Submission + - Verizon challenges FCC's net neutrality rules (thehill.com)

Submitted by GovTechGuy on Friday September 30, 2011 @04:38PM

GovTechGuy writes: Verizon filed an appea on Friday asking a federal court to strike down the FCC's net neutrality rules, which are scheduled to take effect on November 20. A federal judge tossed the FCC's previous attempt at enforcing net neutrality against Comcast last May and more legal challenges are expected in the coming days.

Submission + - Senators slam firm for online background check (thehill.com)

Submitted by GovTechGuy on Monday September 19, 2011 @01:41PM

GovTechGuy writes: Social Intelligence Corp's online employment screening service, which preserves users' social media profiles and other data for use by potential employers, infringes on consumers' privacy and could be a violation of the law according to Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Al Franken. The Senators wrote to Social Intelligence Corp on Monday demanding answers to a host of questions about the service and how it collects data.

Submission + - FCC to test opening white spaces up to public (thehill.com)

Submitted by GovTechGuy on Wednesday September 14, 2011 @03:31PM

GovTechGuy writes: The FCC will begin a test on Monday that will give the public access to "white spaces," the unused spectrum between TV and radio stations. The Commission is in the process of opening up the airwaves for public use; the last release of unlicensed airwaves eventually spawned a number of innovations such as WiFi, cordless phones and baby monitors. Officials hope this move will lead to better WiFi technology that can cover up to 50 miles.

Submission + - Feds say cyber threat to banks is growing (thehill.com)

Submitted by GovTechGuy on Wednesday September 14, 2011 @03:14PM

GovTechGuy writes: Federal officials told lawmakers that attacks against the U.S. financial industry are growing increasingly sophisticated and damaging, increasing the need for new security laws that will enable firms and the government to share information on attacks.

Submission + - Congress puts the brakes on AT&T/T-Mobile merg (thehill.com)

Submitted by GovTechGuy on Friday July 22, 2011 @11:19AM

GovTechGuy writes: Once thought to be a foregone conclusion, AT&T's proposed $39 billion acquisition ran into a stumbling block this week as the first real resistance emerged on the Hill in the form of Senate antitrust subpanel chairman Herb Kohl, who came out vehemently against the deal. Kohl's resistance has given heart to the opposition, also buoyed by a letter from a trio of prominent House Democrats who termed the deal a troubling step back towards the Ma Bell phone monopoly disbanded in the 1980s.

Submission + - Survey shows support for new privacy laws (thehill.com)

Submitted by GovTechGuy on Tuesday June 28, 2011 @08:07PM

GovTechGuy writes: Two-thirds of consumers want the government to safeguard their privacy online and 81 percent want to add their names to a Do Not Track list, according to a May poll released Tuesday by Consumers Union. In addition, over 80 percent of respondents were concerned that companies may be sharing their personal information with third parties without their permission. The survey's release comes just one day before a Senate Commerce Committee hearing where lawmakers will hear testimony on three data privacy bills currently in front of the Senate.

Submission + - FCC ups penalties for caller ID "spoofing" (thehill.com)

Submitted by GovTechGuy on Thursday June 23, 2011 @01:05PM

GovTechGuy writes: The FCC adopted new rules on Thursday that would significantly increase the penalties for individuals or organizations that alter their caller ID information to commit fraud or with other harmful intent. The new rules allow the FCC to fine violators $10,000 per violation plus more for every day it continues. Users can still change their caller ID info as long as it's not for fraud or harmful purposes.

Submission + - FCC plans to stop cell phone bill mystery fees (thehill.com)

Submitted by GovTechGuy on Monday June 20, 2011 @04:02PM

GovTechGuy writes: FCC chairman Julius Genachowski said Monday that his agency is going to make it harder for mobile carriers to hit customers with mystery fees on their monthly bills. The practice, known as "cramming," typically involves charging customers between $1.99 and $19.99 per month for services they either didn't use or didn't request. The FCC last week announced fines totaling nearly $12 million against four carriers for cramming last week.

Submission + - Universal Goes To War Against Hip Hop Blogs (techdirt.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 20, 2011 @03:29PM

An anonymous reader writes: It's not clear why, but it appears that Universal Music has decided that the hip hop blogs it regularly uses to promote its music are now evil pirate sites that must be banned. Many of the top websites in the hip hop world, including the famed Vibe Magazine website have been put on a list of domains that advertising giant GroupM is no longer allowed to show ads on. GroupM asked its "content creating clients" to help put together the list, and Universal Music is a big client, who apparently supplied a bit list of popular hip hop sites. The sites are responding by saying they'll stop promoting Universal Music artists, but they're at a loss as to why Universal has suddenly decided to go to war with them.

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