Monday, January 9, 2006

Independent Online Edition > Media - Get out of MySpace, bloggers rage at Murdoch The 38 million subscribers to MySpace, which News Corp bought for $629m (£355m) last July, discovered that when they wrote to each other about rival video-swapping site YouTube, the words were automatically deleted, and attempts to download video images from YouTube led to blank screens. The intervention by News Corp in the traditionally open-access world of the web - in particular the alteration of personal user profiles - provoked a storm of angry posts in online "blogs". "This is soooo like Fox and News Corp to try and secretly seal our mouths with duct tape," wrote "Alex" to Blog Herald. [...] However, MySpace managers promptly shut down the blog forum on which members had complained about the interference. An online notice said the problem was the result of "a simple misunderstanding". The explanation did not, however, calm the bloggers. "There was an outcry by some members after MySpace's acquisition by News Corp. People were afraid they might start monitoring or censoring MySpace," Ellis Yu wrote to the Blog Herald. "At the time, their CEO said nothing like that would happen. Well, now it has. MySpace was built on an open community and now they're trying to censor us, putting business interests above its members!" [...] A spokesman for MySpace said it would not explain how the blocking of YouTube came about, nor how it was resolved, nor whether in future it would continue to block links to rival websites or censor messages between MySpace customers. 4:03:55 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

MySpace Users Revolt Against Murdoch. MySpace Users Revolt Against Murdoch. arclightfire writes "Looks like Murdoch's News International have stired up a revolt within users of the MySpace file-sharing site they purchased for $629m (£355m) last July, reports the Independent; "Angry members of MySpace, the personal file-sharing website for young adults, are accusing Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation of censoring their postings and blocking their access to rival sites. The 38 million subscribers to MySpace...discovered that when they wrote to each other about rival video-swapping site YouTube, the words were automatically deleted, and attempts to download video images from YouTube led to blank screens. The intervention by News Corp in the traditionally open-access world of the web - in particular the alteration of personal user profiles - provoked a storm of angry posts...The protests gathered pace, and when 600 MySpace customers complained and a campaign began to boycott the site and relocate to rival sites such as Friendster, Linkedin, revver.com and Facebook.com, News Corp relented and restored the links."" [Slashdot] 3:58:26 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

GreenvilleOnline.com -What to do if you've become a victim of identity theft If you think you've become a victim of identity theft or fraud, act immediately to minimize the damage to your personal funds and financial accounts, as well as your reputation. Here's a list -- based in part on a checklist prepared by the California Public Interest Research Group (CalPIRG) and the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse -- of some actions that you should take right away: 3:46:30 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Pfizer to use RFID tags on Viagra to prevent fakes. Pfizer to use RFID tags on Viagra to prevent fakes. Pfizer has begun making bottles of Viagra that contain RFID chips in an effort to cut down on counterfeiting of the impotence drug.   [Computerworld Privacy News] 3:43:49 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Court gives first nod to Sony XCP settlement. Court gives first nod to Sony XCP settlement. A U.S. District Court has given preliminary approval to a settlement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment over two widely criticized copy-protection programs found on millions of music CDs.   [Computerworld Privacy News] 3:42:04 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Where Did the Data Go? Where Did the Data Go? Companies need to be aware of the regulations that various states are imposing that require them to notify consumers when their personal information has been compromised.   [Computerworld Privacy News] 3:40:27 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Create an e-annoyance, go to jail | Perspectives | CNET News.com Annoying someone via the Internet is now a federal crime. It's no joke. Last Thursday, President Bush signed into law a prohibition on posting annoying Web messages or sending annoying e-mail messages without disclosing your true identity. In other words, it's OK to flame someone on a mailing list or in a blog as long as you do it under your real name. Thank Congress for small favors, I guess. This ridiculous prohibition, which would likely imperil much of Usenet, is buried in the so-called Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act. Criminal penalties include stiff fines and two years in prison. "The use of the word 'annoy' is particularly problematic," says Marv Johnson, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. "What's annoying to one person may not be annoying to someone else." Buried deep in the new law is Sec. 113, an innocuously titled bit called "Preventing Cyberstalking." It rewrites existing telephone harassment law to prohibit anyone from using the Internet "without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy." To grease the rails for this idea, Sen. Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, and the section's other sponsors slipped it into an unrelated, must-pass bill to fund the Department of Justice. The plan: to make it politically infeasible for politicians to oppose the measure. The tactic worked. The bill cleared the House of Representatives by voice vote, and the Senate unanimously approved it Dec. 16. There's an interesting side note. An earlier version that the House approved in September had radically different wording. It was reasonable by comparison, and criminalized only using an "interactive computer service" to cause someone "substantial emotional harm." That kind of prohibition might make sense. But why should merely annoying someone be illegal? 3:36:05 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Crank Blogging, Like Phone Calling, Now Illegal. Crank Blogging, Like Phone Calling, Now Illegal.  On Thursday, President Bush signed into law a must-pass DoJ appropriations bill which contained a little gotcha for the internet. For decades, making anonymous abusive phone calls has been a federal crime, good for up to two years behind bars -- and the term "abusive" has included threats, harassment, and the much weaker "intent to annoy." Now, that telecommunications law has been extended to include the Internet, so when you post an anonymous troll to wind up your least-favorite blogger, you may break the law. This is silly: the law needs to start taking into account the qualitative differences between things like telephones, email inboxes, blogs, and IM accounts. A 3 AM phone call is different from a post to blogger.com calling me a jerk. I don't need federal protection from that Night Elf who keeps /chickening my Orc. [Slashdot: Your Rights Online] 3:31:10 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Is Google DRM crippling culture as great as it seems? Is Google DRM crippling culture as great as it seems?. We don't know CES Opinion Anyone the least bit concerned about DRM (digital rights management) technology would likely have been put off by Google co-founder Larry Page's ho-hum approach to revealing the company's new proprietary media locks. And with good reason. [The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs] 3:26:26 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

We can all be Big Brother now | The Register You've read the book and seen the film. Now you too can oppress the proletariat - and for only £3.50 per week! Yes, it's true. You can take part in this groundbreaking social engineering project without leaving the comfort and safety of your own ivory tower, which we will refurbish using the same interior architect who kitted out the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. If you are a resident of the famously groovy London borough of Shoreditch, you can further the area's gentrification by helping us cleanse your streets of the undesirable unemployed, foreign and other suspicious looking people - and not to mention people who don't wear the right trainers. Our scheme gives you access to our network of 500 CCTV cameras from your own home PC, so you can spy on your neighbours and snitch on anyone who looks like they may be doing something you don't like. No more giveaway twitching curtains! No more risk of being caught using your own home video camera to film shady looking people who are no doubt up to know good. All you need to take part is a PC, an Internet connection, a glass of Chablis and sneer. 3:21:42 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Privacy and Security Law Blog: Congressional Research Service Analysis Calls Into Question Legal Justification Behind NSA Monitoring of Communications On Thursday, January 5, 2006, the Congressional Research Service released a 44-page memorandum casting further doubt on the legality of the National Security Agency's monitoring of international communications of American citizens and residents. CRS, housed within the Library of Congress, is the "public policy research arm of the United States Congress." CRS is intended to give Congress "its own source of nonpartisan, objective analysis and research on all legislative issues." On December 22, 2005, in response to the New York Times article on the NSA's warrantless monitoring of international communications of American citizens and residents, the Department of Justice sent a five-page letter to lawmakers "to provide an additional brief summary of the legal authority supporting the NSA activities described by the President." 3:19:00 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

FTC Settles with Fake Anti-Spyware Companies. FTC Settles with Fake Anti-Spyware Companies. Two spyware detection firms, Spyware Assassin and Trustsoft, have reached a $2 million settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding charges that the firms' software pretended to detect non-existent spyware and didn't work as advertised. According to the FTC charges, both firms claimed on websites or through pop-up ads to have scanned users' computers and found non-existent spyware, but these scans were never actually performed. [Center for Democracy and Technology] 3:13:18 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []

Techworld.com - Apache (with mod_auth_pgsql)shot with security holes Companies running Apache and a PostgreSQL database are at risk from serious Internet intrusion. Red Hat warned of a flaw late last week in mod_auth_pgsql, an Apache module that allows authentication against information in popular open-source database PostgreSQL. iDefense discovered several format string flaws in the way mod_auth_pgsql logs information, which could allow unauthenticated attackers to execute malicious code with the privileges of the "apache" user, according to Red Hat. 3:11:29 PM  PermaLink   / trackback []