ISPs could be forced to police user behavior in Europe: The EU is moving closer to adoption of a new law that makes many forms of intellectual property infringement criminal rather than civil offenses. The first version of the new IP law, IPRED, did not contain criminal penalties, but those penalties show up again in a new version of the legislation, commonly called IPRED2. Consumer advocates worry that vague wording will make ISPs responsible for pirated files passing through their networks.
In a vote today, the European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee adopted a set of amendments to the proposed legislation rather than discarding it, as some MEPs wanted.
AT&T, Verizon: We Obeyed FBI "Emergency" Requests - 739 of Them: As information about the FBI's national security letter snooping program continues to surface, one of the more troubling details has been the bureau's cozy relationship with AT&T and Verizon, both of which companies entered into contracts with the government that made it disturbingly easy for the FBI to obtain call records on any citizen it wanted.
Privacy for Internet Names Moves Forward: Many owners of Internet addresses face this quandary: Provide your real contact information when you register a domain name and subject yourself to junk or harassment. Or enter fake data and risk losing it outright.
Help may be on the way as a key task force last week endorsed a proposal that would give more privacy options to small businesses, individuals with personal Web sites and other domain name owners.
