technology

Internet sites targeted by British MPs for first time ‘in chilling threat to free speech’

"The internet will be targeted for the first time as the 'chilling' Royal Charter attempts to curb free speech on the majority of websites and blogs, experts warned today. The draft version of the document suggests that foreign-based or owned websites such as Twitter, Huffington Post, Facebook, Holy Moly, the Guido Fawkes political site and even The New York Times will be subject to the stifling controls if their articles are aimed at 'an audience in the UK'. But as confusion mounted about exactly who would be covered, the government said it would leave it entirely up to the new regulator to decide whether major foreign sites should be made to sign up." Continue reading →

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Stossel: No Regulation? No Problem

"Private companies found they could 'crowd-source' enforcement against fraud and low-quality products, in much the same way that Wikipedia discovered an encyclopedia could be created without a central organizer. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales tells me that method 'works far better than the top-down system that it replaced.' We almost always assume that top-down government regulation is necessary, even though history says otherwise." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStossel: No Regulation? No Problem

Criminalizing Criticism of the Police

"Dominic Ray Aguilar, a 37-year-old cab driver from Roseville, California, has been charged with making 'terroristic threats' against Police Officer John Moody, who shot 35-year-old Ernesto Duenez 11 times in the driveway of his home in June 2011. Duenez, who was suspected of violating his parole, was unarmed and exiting his pickup truck when Moody shot him. He tried to comply with Moody’s order to get down on the ground, but his foot was caught in a seat belt. On the Facebook page memorializing Duenez, Aguilar wrote: '50 rounds to your dome Moody.'" Continue reading →

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Saudi rights activists given heavy jail terms

"A Saudi court on Saturday dissolved a human rights group and handed down heavy jail terms to two of its members. He also upheld a six-year prison term for one the group’s members, Abdullah al-Hamed, by a court of first instance, while also handing him a new five-year sentence and an 11-year travel ban to come into force when he leaves jail. Another rights activist with the ACPRA, Mohammed Gahtani, was jailed for 10 years and banned from travelling for 10 years. The defendants were convicted of violating a law on cybercriminality by using Twitter to denounce various aspects of political and social life in the ultra-conservative kingdom." Continue reading →

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Texas proposes one of nation’s “most sweeping” mobile privacy laws

"Privacy experts say that a pair of new mobile privacy bills recently introduced in Texas are among the 'most sweeping' ever seen. If passed, the new bills would establish a well-defined, probable-cause-driven warrant requirement for all location information. That's not just data from GPS, but potentially pen register, tap and trace, and tower location data as well. Such data would be disclosed to law enforcement 'if there is probable cause to believe the records disclosing location information will provide evidence in a criminal investigation.' Further, the bills would require an annual transparency report from mobile carriers to the public and to the state government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTexas proposes one of nation’s “most sweeping” mobile privacy laws

Boycott Bitcoin!

"Well, Fellow Reckoner, it’s been something of a sad week for proponents of Bitcoin… Would-be buyers of the fringy cyber experiment have had to watch as the price of their beloved currency shot to within (as of this writing) a few cents shy of $35 per coin. No buyer wants to see that kind of action…unless they are also an 'already boughter.'" Continue reading →

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Bitcoin Ready To Go Mainstream With First U.S. Exchange

"Recently armed with $500,000 in seed funding and a partnership with Silicon Valley Bank, Coinlab, a startup based out of Seattle, is bringing its innovative Bitcoin project closer to the U.S. market. The deal brings over the North America-based book of Mt. Gox, one of the largest and most widely used bitcoin to currency exchanges. According to Coinlab CEO, Peter Vessenes, the book is worth nearly $500 million in annualized trade volumes, which he expects to grow nearly ten times over the next year. Silicon Valley Bank, a company that provides financial services to emerging growth companies, will be holding deposits of bitcoin and dollars for Coinlab." Continue reading →

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Google Says the FBI Is Secretly Spying on Some of Its Customers

"It is unlawful for any record-keeper to disclose it has received a so-called National Security Letter. But under a deal brokered with the President Barack Obama administration, Google on Tuesday published a 'range' of times it received National Security Letters demanding it divulge account information to the authorities without warrants. It was the first time a company has ever released data chronicling the volume of National Security Letter requests. National Security Letters allow the government to get detailed information on Americans’ finances and communications without oversight from a judge. The FBI has issued hundreds of thousands of NSLs." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoogle Says the FBI Is Secretly Spying on Some of Its Customers

NYPD lied under oath to prosecute Occupy activist

"An Occupy Wall Street activist was acquitted Thursday after jurors were presented with video evidence that directly contradicted the NYPD’s story. Prosecutors working on behalf of the NYPD have insisted that Premo tackled an NYPD officer and broke a bone during a protest. This week, Premo’s attorney presented a video that showed officers charging into the defendant unprovoked. The video shows a NYPD officer was filming the arrest as well, but prosecutors told Premo’s attorney that no such footage existed. The Manhattan District Attorney's office had presented Premo with a deal that would have let him off the hook by pleading guilty to lesser charges." Continue reading →

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Need Bitcoins? This ATM takes dollars and funds your account

"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." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNeed Bitcoins? This ATM takes dollars and funds your account