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News

• Skype still operating in China despite reports of ban

  Skype and other Internet phone services continue to operate in China days after media reports said the country's government was cracking down on them.

• Net neutrality plan has the votes at FCC

  Michael Copps, the swing vote at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission for a set of network neutrality rules, said Monday he will vote for the proposal.

• ICANN delays TLD expansion approval

  Internet regulatory body ICANN postponed approval of a mechanism to let groups apply for and manage new Internet domain extensions called generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs), such as the existing .com and .net.

• Feds charge two EMC employees with stealing more than $1M in equipment

  Federal prosecutors Tuesday charged two men with stealing more than $1 million in high-tech equipment from EMC facilities in Massachusetts and North Carolina and trying to sell it over the Internet.

• Google: China will help lead the Internet revolution

  Google may have shutdown its China-based search engine months ago, but the U.S. company is still keen on providing new web services for users in the country.

• WikiLeaks: China pressured Google on Internet censorship

  Google's struggles to operate its search engine in China worsened after a high-ranking Chinese official Googled himself only to find "results critical of him," according to a new cable> released by WikiLeaks on Saturday.

• WikiLeaks: Intel threatened to move Russian jobs to India

  Intel engaged in high-level talks with Russian officials and ultimately said it would pull research and development work from the country unless it could get around Russia's tough encryption import laws, according to a U.S. Department of State cable published by WikiLeaks.

• China blocks access to WikiLeaks

  China has blocked Internet access to WikiLeaks' release of more than 250,000 U.S. Department of State cables, with its Foreign Ministry saying that it does not wish to see any disturbance in China-U.S. relations.

• Trade agency to investigate Apple's patent complaint

  The U.S. International Trade Commission has voted to investigate a smartphone patent complaint brought by Apple against Motorola, the latest action in a recent patent dispute between the two companies.

• HP to pay $16M to settle E-Rate fraud charges

  Hewlett-Packard will pay $16.25 million to settle a case that resulted in jail time for a school district's former chief technology officer and computer reseller of HP equipment, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday.

• Oracle fails in bid to dismiss DOJ fraud suit

  Oracle has managed to get some but not all aspects of the U.S. government's fraud case against it dismissed, according to documents filed last week in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

• 'Net pioneers: Open Internet should be separate

  The U.S. Federal Communications Commission should allow for an open Internet separate from specialized services that may prioritize IP traffic, a group of Internet and technology pioneers have recommended.

• Italy to remove public Wi-Fi restrictions

  Italy will remove existing restrictions on public Wi-Fi access to the Internet starting in January, Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni announced Friday.

• Microsoft: Cloud services hampered by unclear data rules

  The patchwork of rules across Europe regarding the handling of data poses a hurdle for Microsoft's efforts to provide cloud-based services, a senior Microsoft attorney said on Thursday.

• Third jury fines Minnesota woman $1.5M for pirating 24 songs

  A federal jury this week ordered Minnesota native Jammie Thomas-Rasset to pay $1.5 million to six music companies for pirating 24 of their copyrighted songs. The decision came in the third trial on the same issue.