Regulation

A judge who favored Samsung in a recent court case is now working for the company. But apparently that's perfectly OK in the U.K.

U.K. Judge Robin Jacob served on the bench last year in a case that forced Apple to publish an apology notice asserting that Samsung did not infringe on the design of the iPad for its own tablet.

Though Jacob had retired a year earlier, U.K. law allows for ex-judges to still sit on the bench.

The case itself was notable for going several rounds.

First, Samsung objected to the notice that Apple … Read more

NASHUA, N.H. -- Zach Harvey has an ambitious plan to accelerate adoption of the Internet's favorite alternative currency: installing in thousands of bars, restaurants, and grocery stores ATMs that will let you buy Bitcoins anonymously.

It's the opposite of a traditional automated teller that dispenses currency. Instead, these Bitcoin ATMs will accept dollar bills -- using the same validation mechanism as vending machines -- and instantly convert the amount to Bitcoins and deposit the result in your account.

"It's even easier than just using a regular ATM," says Harvey, 33, who demonstrated the device … Read more

The Federal Trade Commission said today that it will convene a one-day event on security-related "threats to mobile devices."

The event, to be held on June 4 in the agency's Washington, D.C., conference center, will be the latest in a series of similar events that have focused on topics including online data collection and advertising. It's open to the public.

An announcement posted on the FTC's Web site says the event will likely include discussions of "emerging mobile security threats and trends, security challenges in the mobile environment and infrastructure, potential solutions to … Read more

A Homeland Security office says it plans to review the privacy implications of using drones to monitor U.S. citizens.

The department's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties has created a working group that will "clarify any misunderstandings that exist" about DHS's drone program, as well as make an effort to "mitigate and address any outstanding" privacy concerns.

Tamara Kessler from DHS's civil rights office and Jonathan Cantor, DHS acting chief privacy officer, sent the memo (PDF) describing the review to Secretary Janet Napolitano last September. It was released this week.

It … Read more

A petition asking President Obama to oppose a new rule restricting cell phone owners from unlocking their devices has passed the 100,000 mark, meaning the White House is now obliged to respond.

The petition, which passed the threshold last night and now stands at more than 102,000 signatures, protests a regulation from the Library of Congress that prohibits unlocking phones without the carrier's permission -- even when a customer's contract with the carrier has expired.

"I think it's terrific," said Derek Khanna, a Yale visiting fellow who was previously a Republican Hill staffer … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission took the first steps today toward freeing up more wireless spectrum to boost Wi-Fi data speeds and ease congestion on Wi-Fi networks in hotels, airports, and homes.

During its meeting today, the five-member commission approved a proposal that will allow 195 megahertz of additional wireless spectrum in the 5GHz band to be used for unlicensed Wi-Fi use. This will increase the amount of available unlicensed spectrum by 35 percent. This is the largest block of wireless spectrum the FCC has freed up for unlicensed use in 10 years.

The commission also agreed to create rules that … Read more

The most remarkable aspect of a new and deeply troubling report about network intrusions originating in China is how commonplace they've become. They're no longer a rare occurrence: A single Shanghai-based hacking organization has reportedly compromised at least 141 companies across 20 industries.

Those figures come from a new report from security firm Mandiant, which revealed the global accomplishments of a group of professional hackers dubbed APT1. Mandiant has assembled convincing evidence that APT1 is actually part of People's Liberation Army Unit 61398, an organization so far uninterested in defacing or deleting data from U.S.-based … Read more

A group of Republicans and Democrats yesterday reintroduced a federal bill that could cost online retailers and customers more money.

The Marketplace Fairness Act would allow states to require online vendors to collect sales and use tax on certain out-of-state purchases. Only businesses with less than $1 million dollars in annual U.S. sales would be exempt.

The bill was debated by the Senate last year but went nowhere. Now a group of 35 House members and 18 senators are trying again. And they're optimistic the bill will pass this time, according to The Hill.

The bill's top … Read more

It looks like development of Do Not Track, an effort to create a standard that'll let people tell Web sites not to track their online behavior, has resumed after a months-long logjam.

Peter Swire, the newly appointed leader of the World Wide Web Consortium's work on Do Not Track, has been attempting to find common ground among very different constituencies including privacy advocates and advertisers. But there's been progress, he said in a blog post.

"Over the past two days, the group has successfully managed to identify a path toward fulfilling our W3C charter: we now … Read more