Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
Piracy

Submission + - ACTA referred to Europe's top court for analysis (zdnet.co.uk)

Submitted by
superglaze
superglaze writes: "The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is to get an extra level of scrutiny in the EU after the European Commission said it would refer it to the European Court of Justice, to check it really does comply with fundamental freedoms in the union. This obviously follows mass protests over ACTA, and it seems justice commissioner Viviane Reding was the one who pushed for ECJ scrutiny. It's not currently clear if this will delay the European Parliament ratification process, but it is hard to imagine the parliament voting on ACTA (scheduled for June at the moment) before the ECJ has had its say — and no-one can say right now how long that will take to happen."
Security

Submission + - Are UK police hacking file-sharers' computers? (zdnet.co.uk)

Submitted by
superglaze
superglaze writes: "Following its takedown earlier this week of the music blog RnBXclusive, the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) has claimed that "a number of site users have deleted their download histories" in response. Given that the site didn't host copyright-infringing files itself, how do they know? We've asked, but SOCA refuses to discuss its methods. A security expert has pointed out that, if they were hacking using Trojans, the police would themselves have been breaking the law. Added fun fact: SOCA readily admits that the scare message it showed visitors to the taken-down site was written "with input from industry"."
EU

Submission + - ACTA's EU future in doubt as Poland suspends ratification (zdnet.co.uk)

Submitted by
superglaze
superglaze writes: "Poland has suspended its ratification process for ACTA, throwing the copyright crackdown into doubt for the whole European Union. ACTA is being handled as a 'mixed agreement' in the EU due to its criminalisation clauses, so if a single EU member state (such as Poland) fails to ratify it, it is null and void across the entire union. If that were to happen, at least six of the remaining international signatories would have to ratify ACTA for it to apply anywhere in the world. Outside the EU, only eight countries — including the US — have signed."
Privacy

Submission + - EU moves to end surveillance tech sales to repress (zdnet.co.uk)

Submitted by
superglaze
superglaze writes: "The European Union is asking companies that sell surveillance and law enforcement tech to repressive regimes to stop doing so. The EU is not taking concrete action yet, but has warned that sanctions may be applicable. All this comes little more than a week after Wikileaks published the Spy Files, a name-and-shame list of the companies offering tools for mass surveillance and interception to despotic regimes, but also to Western governments."
Your Rights Online

Submission + - Copyright isn't working, says Europe's digital chi (zdnet.co.uk)

Submitted by superglaze
superglaze writes: Against the backdrop of governments and courts around the world ordering ISPs to block file-sharing sites, European commissioner Neelie Kroes has said people have started to see copyright as "a tool to punish and withhold, not a tool to recognise and reward". "Citizens increasingly hear the word copyright and hate what is behind it," the EU's digital chief said, adding that the copyright system also wasn't rewarding the vast majority of artists.
Censorship

Submission + - Film studios seek file-sharing site block from all (zdnet.co.uk)

Submitted by
superglaze
superglaze writes: "Having got BT, one of the biggest ISPs in the UK, to block the Newzbin2 Usenet site, the Motion Picture Association is now trying to get the same result from all the other major service providers in the country. As this is likely to go through, it won't be long before most people in the UK will be unable to visit file-sharing sites at all, without using a proxy, VPN or special client."
The Internet

Submission + - Why FM needn't be killed for broadband (zdnet.co.uk)

Submitted by
superglaze
superglaze writes: "Alarmed by rumours of the UK telecoms regulator Ofcom considering a shut-down of FM radio in order to give more spectrum over to broadband, ZDNet UK's Rupert Goodwins has proposed another idea: the reuse of the mostly disused 'Band I' and the creation of a new, national open mesh network — a plan that could bring internet connectivity to everyone at very low cost."
EU

Submission + - Google loses autocomplete defamation case (zdnet.co.uk) 2

Submitted by superglaze
superglaze writes: Google has been found liable in an Italian court for defamatory comments made against an anonymous plaintiff — the complainant's name, when googled, elicited autocomplete suggestions that translate as "con man" and "fraud". Google was found not to qualify for EU 'safe harbour' protection because the autocomplete suggestions were deemed to be Google's own creation, and not something merely passing through its systems.
Microsoft

Submission + - Lobbyists attack UK open standards policy (zdnet.co.uk)

Submitted by
superglaze
superglaze writes: "The Business Software Alliance, a lobbying organisation representing the likes of Microsoft, Adobe and Apple, has laid into the UK's recently-adopted policy of mandating the use of open standards wherever possible in government IT systems.The policy describes open standards as being "publicly available at zero or low cost" and having "intellectual property made irrevocably available on a royalty-free basis" The BSA said this would "inadvertently reduce choice [and] hinder innovation", and even went so far as to claim open standards would lead to higher e-government costs, but open-source advocates say the policy reflects how much the European Interoperability Framework is weighted in favour of the proprietary software companies."

Submission + - Europe to block ACTA disconnection provisions (zdnet.co.uk)

Submitted by superglaze
superglaze writes: The European Commission is "not supporting and will not accept" any attempt to have Acta (the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) force countries to disconnect people for downloading copyrighted material, a spokesman for the new EU trade commissioner has said.

All the signs are that the new commission, which took office earlier this month, intends to take a hardline stance against US proposals for a filesharing-related disconnection system. 'Three strikes' is allowed in EU countries, but not mandated by the European government itself, and it looks like the new administration wants to keep it that way. From trade commssion spokesman John Clancy, quoted in ZDNet UK's article:

"[Acta] has never been about pursuing infringements by an individual who has a couple of pirated songs on their music player. For several years, the debate has been about what is 'commercial scale' [piracy]. EU legislation has left it to each country to define what a commercial scale is and this flexibility should be kept in Acta."

Submission + - UK pub owner 'fined' £8k for open Wi-Fi down (zdnet.co.uk)

Submitted by superglaze
superglaze writes: A pub owner in the UK has been fined £8,000 because someone downloaded copyrighted content over their free Wi-Fi hotspot, according to a Wi-Fi firm chief quoted in ZDNet UK. The details of the case are still hazy because the quoted source is not yet ready to specify the pub in question, and because legal experts are of the opinion that he or she shouldn't have been held liable anyway. Still, the story provides something to worry about for any business running open Wi-Fi in the current, crackdown-happy copyright environment. As internet law professor Lilian Edwards warns in a follow-up story, such hotspot operators should "watch out for the pile of copyright infringement warnings" their way.

Slashdot Top Deals

The intelligence of any discussion diminishes with the square of the number of participants. -- Adam Walinsky

Close