Sweden has adopted legislation that will give military intelligence sweeping powers to eavesdrop on all crossborder e-mail and telephone communications. After heated debate and last-minute changes late Wednesday, lawmakers approved the bill, which has outraged some lawmakers and prompted protesters to hand out copies of George Orwell’s novel 1984
outside Parliament. Lawmakers approved the bill in a 143-to-138 vote Wednesday. One lawmaker abstained. The bill will become law in January
Anyone who persists in illicit downloading of music or films will be barred from broadband access under a controversial new law that makes France a pioneer in combating internet piracy. Under a cross-industry agreement, ISPs must cut off access for up to a year for third-time offenders
An appeals court has overturned a lower court ruling and has now said that mod chips do not violate copyright laws. The case involved a mod chip seller, who imported mod chips for the XBox from Hong Kong and would sell the chips or mod the Xbox’s himself. He was charged with copyright infringement and found guilty by a lower court. The appeals court has dismissed all charges, however — via Slashdot
Canada, one of the shining lights in the copyright and intellectual property world, has a shadow approaching that may dim that for all. The name of that shadow? Bill c-61, which was formally introduced by Industry minister Jim Prentice an hour or two ago. One of the highlights
is the abolition of court’s flexibility in statutory damages, fixing it at CA$500
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has narrowly won a House of Commons vote on extending the maximum time police can hold terror suspects to 42 days. Thirty-six Labour MPs joined forces with Conservatives and Lib Dems to vote against the proposals. But that was not enough to defeat them — although the government still faces a battle in the House of Lords
The Pentagon’s non-lethal weapons division is looking for technologies that could disable
aircraft, before they can take off from a runway — or block the planes from flying over a given city or stretch of land. The Directorate’s program managers don’t mention how engineers might pull off such a kill switch. But, however it’s done, they’d like to have a similar system for boats, as well. They’re looking for a device that can, from 100 metres away, safely stop or significantly impede the movement
of vessels up to 40 feet long, with minimal collateral damage
— via Slashdot
This Sunday, the Swedish Left Party voted in favour of a motion calling for the legalisation of sharing copyrighted files for personal use. The party, which currently holds 22 seats in the Swedish parliament, sees piracy as something positive, much like public libraries
A massive UK government database holding details of every phone call, e-mail and time spent on the internet by the public is being planned as part of the fight against crime and terrorism. Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecoms companies would hand over the records to the Home Office under plans put forward by officials. The information would be held for at least 12 months and the police and security services would be able to access it if given permission from the courts
California’s top court has ruled that a state law banning marriage between same-sex couples is unconstitutional. The state’s Supreme Court said the right to form a family relationship
applied to all Californians regardless of sexuality. The ban was approved by voters in 2000 but challenged by gay rights activists and the city of San Francisco. The state legislature twice passed laws to legalise gay marriage, but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed them. He said California’s court system should rule on the matter
The United States has listed the polar bear as a threatened species, because its Arctic sea ice habitat is melting due to climate change. US government scientists predict that two-thirds of the polar bear population of 25,000 could disappear by 2050. However, the government stressed the listing would not lead to measures to prevent global warming
ISPs will be granted a one-off Government subsidy towards the cost of installing filtering technology, as part of the Rudd Government’s AU$125.8 million Cyber-safety plan. The plan, as pitched during the Rudd Government’s Election campaign, will move the emphasis from parents onto Internet Service Providers to filter inappropriate content
from the Web surfing experience of Australians. The Government is yet to provide details on how much of the $125.8 million will be used for the subsidies — but with $47.6 million of that sum going to the Australian Federal Police, $11.3 million to the Director of Public Prosecutions and $14.1 million to ACMA to expand its regulatory role— ISPs shouldn’t be expecting a huge windfall
The Federal Government has moved to establish a centralised database to host and manage all Australian citizens’ personal details, so this information can be easily shared and accessed by any department. The Australian Taxation Office, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Customs, Centrelink and other departments, are discussing the possibility of establishing a common registration process to improve information sharing
Amazon.com has filed a lawsuit challenging New York state’s new law forcing online retailers to collect sales tax on shipments to state residents. On Friday, Amazon filed a complaint in the trial-level state Supreme Court in Manhattan objecting to the law, which was approved as part of the $122 billion state budget that Governor David Paterson signed last week. The law is expected to raise about $50 million
The FBI has called for new legislation that would allow federal police to monitor the Internet for illegal activity
. The suggestion from FBI Director Robert Mueller, which came during a House of Representatives Judiciary Committee hearing, appears to go beyond a current plan to monitor traffic on federal-government networks. Mueller seemed to suggest that the bureau should have a broad omnibus
authority to conduct monitoring and surveillance of private-sector networks as well
The Federal Trade Commission has proposed self-regulatory guidelines for companies that do behavioural targeting. That’s good, but self-regulation is not enough. One idea starting to gain traction in Congress is a do-not-track list, similar to the federal do-not-call list, which would allow Internet users to opt out of being spied on
Chinese authorities appear to have lifted a block on the English-language version of online encyclopedia Wikipedia, but politically sensitive topics such as Tibet and Tiananmen Square are still off limits. Internet users in Beijing and Shanghai confirmed on Saturday that they could access the English-language version of one of the world’s most popular websites, but the Chinese language version was still restricted
The federal government has cancelled the contract for Optus and Elders to build a WiMAX broadband network
Whilst one site may have closed its doors thanks to the MPAA, after continuous legal pressure, another has prevailed today in court. Torrent.is has won in court over the Association of film rights-holder in Iceland (SMÁÍS)
There’s unrest on the streets of Tibet — clashes between Tibetians and the Chinese military. However, there’s unrest also on the net. Groups supporting freedom of Tibet have been attacked with highly targeted and technically advanced attacks. Quoting an Asia Free Press news report: AFP received an email Tuesday from someone claiming to be in Denmark, who had attached a file they said were pictures of Tibetans shot by the Chinese army. When AFP tried to open the attachment, a virus warning appeared
China has blocked access to Google News and YouTube in an apparent attempt to stop the spread of video footage related the rioting going on in several cities in Tibet, including the capital Lhasa. Demonstrations in the city started on March 10, a day commemorating the anniversary of a 1959 uprising against Chinese rule after which the spiritual leader of the country, the Dalai Lama, fled to India
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