U.S. Department of Justice - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• Level 3 to acquire Global Crossing in stock deal

  Telecom infrastructure provider Level 3 Communications will acquire Global Crossing, which provides Internet Protocol-based networks and Ethernet services and runs data centers, in an all-stock deal.

• DOJ puts conditions on Google's ITA acquisition

  The U.S. Department of Justice will require Google to develop and license travel software to competitors as a condition of its US $700 million acquisition of travel software maker ITA Software.

• 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.

• Federal court to review $67,500 music piracy fine

  For the fist time, a federal appellate court has been asked to consider the appropriateness of the damages being sought by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) against individual copyright infringers.

• Sprint to fight AT&T's buyout of T-Mobile

  Sprint Nextel has vowed to fight AT&T's proposed US$39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA, calling the deal a bid to create a new telecommunications duopoly.

• Tech firm owner pleads guilty to E-Rate conspiracy

  The former owner of an Illinois technology firm has pleaded guilty to providing bribes and kickbacks to school districts in exchange for networking contracts that were part of a U.S. government program designed to bring Internet services to schools and libraries in poor areas.

• ID thief sentenced to more than 16 years in prison

  An identity thief who used a people search website to confirm stolen Social Security numbers has been sentenced to 16 years and seven months in prison, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

• T-Mobile deal will help US, AT&T says

  AT&T's planned acquisition of T-Mobile USA will advance U.S. leadership in mobile data and improve consumers' wireless experience, the company's top executives said on a conference call Monday morning.

• Antitrust subcommittee to investigate search, broadband

  A U.S. Senate subcommittee focused on antitrust and consumer-protection issues will investigate competition in the search-engine and broadband markets over the next two years, the subcommittee chairman announced.

• Defense contractor charged with stealing secrets on laptop

  A former engineer with U.S. military contractor L-3 Communications is facing as much as 20 years in prison on charges that he illegally exported military data to China.

• DOJ won't comment on reports of MPEG LA probe

  A U.S. Department of Justice spokeswoman would not comment Friday on reports that the agency is investigating patent management firm MPEG LA for allegedly trying to suppress an open-source video compression format supported by Google.

• FTC, DOJ crack down on money-making schemes

  A yearlong sweep targeting bogus employment and money-making schemes has resulted in more than 90 law enforcement and civil actions, including a restraining order against a company that made US$40 million by promising customers it would help them build Web-based businesses, U.S. agencies announced Wednesday.

• Man gets 7 years for forcing modems to call premium numbers

  A New Hampshire man who made US$8 million by installing unwanted dial-up software on computers and then forcing them to call expensive premium telephone numbers was handed down an 82-month sentence on Monday.

• Accused AT&T hacker makes bail

  One of the two men accused of hacking AT&T's website to grab personal information about thousands of iPad users has been released on bail.

• Belarus man pleads guilty to running identity theft site

  A 26-year-old Belarusian man has admitted to running an identity theft website designed to thwart the antifraud measures used by many banks.