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News

• California's Do Not Track law takes a step forward

  California is a step closer to getting the first Do Not Track legislation in the U.S., aimed at protecting Internet users from invasive advertising.

• ACTA text hurts startups, goes beyond EU law, says FFII

  A controversial anti-counterfeiting agreement between the European Union, the U.S. and other countries has come in for fresh criticism after the European Commission failed to address concerns about the treaty's legality.

• European legislators consider net filter for Europe

  European Union plans to "create a single secure cyberspace" have come under fire from civil liberties groups, with many saying that they only serve to highlight how far the bloc still has to go in understanding the modern online world.

• German lawmakers say Data Retention Directive may be illegal

  The German Parliament said Tuesday that the European Commission's controversial Data Retention Directive may be illegal.

• India proposes restrictions on tapping telephone calls

  An Indian government report has recommended that interception of telephone calls by government agencies should be limited to situations when there is a "public emergency" or "public safety" is at stake.

• Twitter to stay in San Francisco

  Twitter will remain in San Francisco when it moves to new offices next year, granting the wishes of city leaders who wanted to keep the high-profile company in the city and revitalize a depressed neighborhood.

• EU data retention law blasted on privacy issues

  The European Union's data retention law has come under scrutiny, with a new report saying that it poses significant risks to individuals' right to privacy.

• Kerry, McCain introduced online privacy bill

  Two high-profile U.S. senators have introduced legislation designed to give consumers more control over what information about them is collected online, but privacy advocates said the bill will do little to curb wide-spread data-collection practices now in place.

• Lawmakers target 'wasteful' IT spending in gov't

  The U.S. government needs to provide more transparency about its IT projects, and agency CIOs must be held accountable for failed projects, a U.S. senator said.

• US needs cyber-emergency response, lawmaker says

  The U.S. needs a cybersecurity emergency response capability to help businesses under major attacks, a U.S. senator said Monday.

• House votes to strike down FCC net neutrality rules

  The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday voted to kill network neutrality rules approved by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in December, with majority Republicans arguing the regulations amounted to a government takeover of the Internet.

• Lawmakers question if search engines contribute to piracy

  Search engines should stop showing results for websites that infringe copyright and sell counterfeit products, or be held accountable, some U.S. lawmakers and witnesses said Wednesday during a hearing on digital piracy.

• Senators: E-surveillance law needs to be updated

  The U.S. Congress needs to rewrite a law governing law enforcement access to mobile-phone data, e-mail messages and other electronic communications to reflect changes in technology, including a growing reliance on cloud computing, several senators said Wednesday.

• California lawmaker touts do-not-track bill

  A state senator in California has introduced a bill that would allow Web surfers to opt out of online tracking efforts by websites and advertising networks.

• Group protests proposed cuts in e-gov't transparency efforts

  A U.S. government budget for 2011 being considered in Congress would make huge cuts to the budget for President Barack Obama's transparency programs, including websites where residents can track government spending and examine data from federal agencies.