Via Michael Geist: “The federal court has released its much anticipated decision in Voltage Pictures v. Does, a case involving demands that TekSavvy, a leading independent ISP, disclose the identities of roughly 2,000 subscribers alleged to have downloaded movies without authorization. The case attracted significant attention for several reasons: it is the first major “copyright troll”… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: E-Commerce
EC Commission obtains from Google comparable display of specialised search rivals
“The European Commission has obtained an improved commitments proposal from Google in the context of the ongoing antitrust investigation on online search and search advertising. In its proposal, Google has now accepted to guarantee that whenever it promotes its own specialised search services on its web page (e.g. for products, hotels, restaurants, etc.), the services… Continue Reading
Commentary – FBI Issues Cyber Attack Warning To Retailers: Is Chip And PIN The Answer?
Eric A. Packel: “Point-of-sale (POS) systems are under attack. In the wake of breaches at Neiman Marcus, Target and other stores over the 2013 holiday season, the FBI is now warning retailers to expect similar cyber attacks in the coming months. The warning came in the form of a 3 page report distributed to numerous retailers… Continue Reading
CRS – Identity Theft: Trends and Issues
Identity Theft: Trends and Issues, Kristin Finklea, Specialist in Domestic Security. January 16, 2014. “Policymakers continue to be concerned with securing the economic health of the United States—including combating those crimes that threaten to undermine the nation’s financial stability. Identity theft, for one, poses both security and economic risks. By some estimates, identity fraud cost Americans nearly $21 billion in… Continue Reading
Dominant Wireless Broadband Providers Overcharge U.S. Consumers by $15 Billion Per Year
“The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) today released a report entitled Abuse of Market Power for Broadband Internet Access Service: Blind Theory and Bonehead Analysis Can’t Hide the Problem, demonstrating that the recent analyses of broadband prices and services from the Phoenix Center and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) are fundamentally flawed and purposefully misleading.… Continue Reading
Spy Agencies Scour Mobile Phone Apps for Personal Data
This ProPublic story was co-produced with The New York Times and The Guardian. “When a smartphone user opens Angry Birds, the popular game application, and starts slinging birds at chortling green pigs, spy agencies have plotted how to lurk in the background to snatch data revealing the player’s location, age, sex and other personal information, according to secret… Continue Reading
CRS – Internet Television Streaming and Copyright Law
Aereo and FilmOn X: Internet Television Streaming and Copyright Law. Emily M. Lanza, Legislative Attorney. January 13, 2014 “Companies such as Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon have changed how many people watch television programming by offering on-demand, online streaming to their computers, mobile devices, and gaming consoles. Aereo and FilmOn X also stream television programming over the Internet for a… Continue Reading
Learning about social learning in MOOCs: From statistical analysis to generative model
Learning about social learning in MOOCs: From statistical analysis to generative model. Christopher G. Brinton, Mung Chiang, Shaili Jain, Henry Lam, Zhenming Liu, Felix Ming Fai Wong (Submitted on 8 Dec 2013 (v1), last revised 19 Dec 2013 (this version, v2)). [The authors are researchers from the EDGE Lab at Princeton University, together with collaborators at Boston University and Microsoft Corporation] “We study user behavior… Continue Reading
UK – 10 Steps to Cyber Security
“The Government and intelligence agencies are directly targeting the most senior levels in the UK’s largest companies and providing them with advice on how to safeguard their most valuable assets, such as personal data, online services and intellectual property. The Cyber Security Guidance for Business, produced by CESG (the Information Security arm of GCHQ), the Department for… Continue Reading
Paper – PageRank: Standing on the shoulders of giants
PageRank: Standing on the shoulders of giants – Massimo Franceschet (Submitted on 15 Feb 2010 (v1), last revised 14 Aug 2010 (this version, v3)) “PageRank is a Web page ranking technique that has been a fundamental ingredient in the development and success of the Google search engine. The method is still one of the many signals that… Continue Reading
Gallup – Three in 10 in U.S. Own an Array of Consumer Electronics
“As electronics enthusiasts gather in Las Vegas for the International Consumer Electronics Show this week, a new Gallup analysis finds Americans falling into four groups according to their ownership levels of the electronic devices already available. At one end of the spectrum, 31% are “Super Tech Adopters,” who report broad ownership of the major computing… Continue Reading
Consumer Privacy Framework Needs to Reflect Changes in Technology and the Marketplace
INFORMATION RESELLERS: Consumer Privacy Framework Needs to Reflect Changes in Technology and the Marketplace, GAO-14-251T, Dec 18, 2013 “No overarching federal privacy law governs the collection and sale of personal information among private-sector companies, including information resellers. Instead, laws tailored to specific purposes, situations, or entities govern the use, sharing, and protection of personal information. For example,… Continue Reading
