// June 30th, 2009 // No Comments » // p2p
Blind hacker gets 11 years The Inquirer A blind Boston teen has been sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for hacking into the telephone network and harassing the Verizon investigator. According to PCW, Matthew Weigman, 19, was part of a group of telephone hackers that met up on telephone party lines. The court heard how Weigman was known as “Little Hacker”. He started breaking into phone networks aged 14. Rights commission threatens our liberty CanWest The Canadian Human Rights Commission appears to have learned little from its adventures of the last few years. In its latest report to Parliament it stubbornly defends its authority to police the Internet - or any other electronic medium - for opinions that are “likely to” expose people to hatred or contempt. This is, as we have said previously in this space, an unacceptable assault on free speech. With frightening eagerness to rein in Canadians’ free expression, the commission finds the authority to restrict honest opinion in Section 13 of the Human Rights Act, a notoriously vague bit of legal writing that forbids transmissions “likely to expose a person or persons to hatred or contempt.” The subjective power of that “likely to” makes everyone vulnerable to bureaucratic whim, malice, or distemper. Iran can monitor calls with our technology: Nokia Globe and Mail Finnish-German telecom equipment maker Nokia Siemens Networks said yesterday that technology it sold to Iran in 2008 could be used to monitor calls, but denied claims it can be used for Web censorship. A petition calling for a boycott against Nokia Siemens, a joint venture of Finland’s Nokia Corp. and Germany’s Siemens AG, is circulating over the Internet, claiming the technology had helped Iran to monitor mobile phones and read e-mails during the recent post-election protests. US senators demand boycott of Iran ’snoop’ firms The Register Two US senators are calling for a boycott of European firms they say are helping the Iranian government snoop on its citizens. That will be Nokia Siemens Networks, we assume, which has already confessed it sold technology to Iran conforming to 3GPP and ETSI standards which require mobile networks have a lawful intercept capability. Mobile networks in the US, and everywhere else, are required to provide a way for police and others to listen to phone calls. The situation is not different in Iran. [Comment: Double standard? Rhetoric? Pot calling the kettle black?] Consumer Group Wants ACTA Discussions Stopped Until Consumer Rights Are Represented In Negotiations TechDirt Now, a group called the Trans Atlantic Consumer Dialogue has demanded ACTA negotiations be put on hold until consumer groups have a real seat at the table, or at least are given access to documents being negotiated. TACD raises a number of important issues, such as respecting privacy rights and the rights of developing nations, who are often trampled over when it comes to IP protectionism from developed countries. But best of all, it points out one of the most annoying things in all efforts by copyright holders to extend copyright protection: they never, ever present any evidence for why it’s necessary. It’s an evidence-free zone. TACD specifically requests that real evidence be used: … YouTube to launch citizen reporter channel Silicon Republic The YouTube Reporters’ Center will feature some of the top journalists in the US sharing instructional videos featuring tips and advice for better reporting. These include learning how to prepare for an interview, or how to be an investigative reporter from the legendary Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward, or how to report on a global humanitarian crisis from Nick Kristof of the New York Times. All of the videos are available on the YouTube Reporters’ Center channel. FCC cracks down on “gamesmanship” of line-sharing rules Ars Technica Competitive telcos are hailing an FCC decision that makes it harder for incumbents to “game” the process which permits them to charge higher wholesale access prices. The move is Michael Copps’ last hurrah as the agency’s interim chair… The order comes ten days after the FCC lost a big forbearance case in court—the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the agency got it wrong when it refused to let Verizon raise wholesale rates in six east coast markets. China postpones controversial Web filter Canoe China postponed a plan to require personal computer makers to supply Internet-filtering software Tuesday, retreating in the face of protests by Washington and Chinese Web surfers just hours before it was due to take effect. Microsoft, Yahoo And Real Sued For Failing To Get All Necessary Licenses For Music Stores TechDirt Want to know just how incredibly confusing and impossible copyright law has become? Just take a look at this lawsuit, filed yesterday by some music publishing companies against Microsoft, Yahoo and Real Networks, claiming that the online music stores each of them runs (the Zune store, Yahoo Music and Rhapsody) infringe on trademarks (thanks Eric Goldman for sending this over). How can that be, you ask? Surely these companies properly licensed the music they offer in their streaming/download offerings, right? Well, the lawsuit doesn’t provide that much in the way of detail (and I’ve spoken to a few copyright lawyers — none of whom seem to agree with each other!), it sure looks like the claim is that Microsoft, Yahoo and Real may have licensed the copyrights on the recordings, but did not license the copyright on the compositions. It sounds like (though, again, the details are fuzzy) that the record labels did licensing deals with these music services, but publishers and labels are separate entities (even if the labels own many publishers), and the rights are separate. Text and ringtone scammers to be fined up to €250,000 Silicon Republic The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan TD, has sent a resoundingly clear message to fraudsters who scam mobile phone owners using premium rate content including ringtones, horoscopes and sports results. Minister Ryan has presented a Bill to Government that will see individuals or companies found guilty of such activities hit with fines of up to €250,000, as well as having their licences revoked. The Bill is expected to be published in the coming days. MPs to investigate UK net speeds BBC The committee will look at whether the promise to hook all homes up to a minimum 2Mbps (megabits per second) speed is “ambitious enough”. It will also discuss whether the proposed broadband tax is fair. The so-called broadband tax will mean anyone in the UK with a fixed line telephone will have to pay an extra 50p a month on their telephone bill. The money raised will fund next-generation broadband rollout to areas that traditionally have been bypassed by broadband providers. Bait and Switch: Online Electronics Stores Caught In Fraud CNetnews Seven online merchants operating more than 40 Web sites have agreed to pay a $765,000 settlement following an investigation by the New York State Attorney General’s office. All of the companies were based in Brooklyn, and while their names invoke digital photography, many also sell gear ranging from projectors to HDTVs and computers. Marc - p2pnet - . More First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi June, 2009 - - | | rss feed: http://-/p2p.rss | | Mobile - http://-/index-wml.php -? -
