Items tagged with 'law'
California Bans Smartphone Maps Checking While Driving
Thinking about punching in updated directions on your smartphone while cruising in California? Think again. Over the years, states have been marching towards a highway system that's devoid of any texting, phone holding, etc. And that's a good thing, given that distracted driving can (and does) lead to far too many accidents.... Read More
Bill for SHIELD Act Would Protect Companies from (Most) Patent Trolls
From the "About Time" files comes a new bill that's aimed at protecting companies from one of their biggest fears: patent trolls. Called the "SHIELD Act of 2013" (no, not this SHIELD, but rather "Saving High-Tech Innovators from Egregious Legal Disputes"), this bill would require those accusing of patent infringement to... Read More
Louisiana Law Forces Convicted Sex Offenders to Confess on Facebook
Listing likes and dislikes, favorite movies, and other similar traits is completely optional on Facebook. Disclaiming crimes of a sexual nature, however, is not for residents of Louisiana. A new law sponsored by Louisiana state rep. Jeff Thompson requires sex offenders and child predators to list their crimes on Facebook... Read More
Amazon Seeks To Let Voters Decide On California Tax Issue
A few weeks ago, Amazon.com dropped associates in California due to a new sales tax law. Needless to say, this action made many loyal Amazon users and sellers unhappy. Many people blamed the state of California while others placed blame on Amazon. Regardless of which party you chose to blame, the fact is, the accounts for... Read More
Lawmakers Pass Bill Making Netflix Sharing a Crime in Tennessee
Performing certain actions will get you sent to the 'Big House' no matter where you live. Taking another person's life, for example. Robbing a bank. Stampeding across town in a drunken stupor without your clothes on at three o'clock in the afternoon (trust us on this one). But in Tennessee, you could be locked up for logging... Read More
San Francisco Shoots Down Cell Phone Ordinance
San Francisco, home of the Giants and land of sometimes questionable mandates, like the one passed last year that would require cell phone retailers to slap a label on their devices indicating radiation levels. The measure created a bit of a firestorm on the Internet over whether such a label was really needed or simply... Read More
U.S. Bill May Force Pre-Paid Cell Phone Buyers To Give Personal Info
Did you know that you can purchase a cell phone in the United States without actually handing over any personal information at all? It's true. For years, consumers have been able to purchase pre-paid cell phones from stores such as Wal-Mart, and since they can be purchased with cash, there's little to no trace left behind.... Read More
Supreme Court to Weigh in on Violent Video Game Debate
You've heard all the arguments before: violent video games are corroding our youth, Grand Theft Auto makes kids want to beat up pedestrians, Doom and other first person shooters corrupt young minds into going on shooting sprees, and so forth and so on. The Supreme Court will hear these same arguments and decide whether... Read More
Apple Fesses Up to Underage Labor Violations
The Internet is abuzz this morning over Apple's "2010 Supplier Responsibility Progress Report." In it are some 24 pages detailing the results of Apple's self-imposed audit of all of its suppliers to ensure that each one meets the company's "Supplier Code of Conduct." What has the Internet swarming with activity is this... Read More
$1,000 App Hits The App Store, Again
You may recall "I Am Rich," the somewhat bogus $1,000 iPhone app that made it into the App Store in mid-2008, then was dropped when Apple realized how silly it was. Despite that, six people actually purchased it before it was booted out. Now we have another $1,000 app, and this one might be worth it. "I Am Rich"... Read More
California Demands TVs Suck Down Less Power
Love the Earth? Sure, we all do--after all, we live here. Love it enough to throw out your current TV and buy one that meets heightened energy requirements? Um....Just this week California regulators adopted the "nation's first energy-efficiency standards for televisions," with hopes of reducing energy drain during a period... Read More
FCC To Examine Google Voice Service
According to people familiar with the matter, the Federal Communications Commission plans to open an inquiry into Google's Voice service, looking into how the service works and whether or not the Internet giant is restricting calls. Earlier this week, a group of 20 Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives... Read More
Government Seeks Ban To Prevent Interstate Bus Drivers & Truckers From Texting
AAA recently declared a goal to ban texting while driving. The automobile club is not alone. Yesterday, the Obama administration said it would seek to ban text messaging by interstate bus drivers and truckers and would encourage states to pass their own laws against driving cars while distracted. According to Transportation... Read More
More data breach info to consumers in CA bill
With data theft seeming to be increasing in frequency (read this and this), a California legislator has introduced a bill that would make companies report more information to people affected by the breaches.State Sen. Joe Simitian's bill would require companies involved to report to the state attorney general any data breach... Read More
Windows Vista Kernel Flaw Found
When pimping Windows Vista prior to its release, Microsoft called it "the most secure OS ever." Of course, software is just software, and there are bugs in anything. And on Friday, security firm Phion AG announced they had discovered a TCP/IP stack buffer overflow. As researcher Thomas Unterleitner indicated: Since this... Read More
Spore's DRM = Class-Action Lawsuit for EA
Spore is a critically-acclaimed game, but (at least by users) its DRM has been universally panned. Many of those who know anything about the SecuROM copy protection used in the game don't want it near their computers, unless they absolutely have to. And while Electronic Arts (EA) has "loosened things up" slightly, the DRM... Read More
NVIDIA Slapped With Lawsuit Over Flawed GPUs
NVIDIA has been hit with a securities fraud class action lawsuit over the defective GPUs which it admitted to in July. The complaint was filed by New York-based law firm Shalov Stone Bonner & Rocco. It alleges that NVIDIA knew about the flawed GPUs as early as November 8th, 2007 though no public announcement was made... Read More
EU Considering Three Strikes Downloading Law
France and the UK have already begun considering such "three strikes" downloading laws, but with France taking over the EU presidency on 7/1, there is talk - and a vote upcoming - on a E.U. version.Now Sarkozy, who took over the European presidency this week, is trying to stretch the measure across Europe through amendments... Read More
Cyberbullying Outlawed in Missouri
The latest events in the Megan Meier MySpace suicide case took place Monday, when Missouri governor Matt Blunt signed into law a bill which revised the the state's already existing harassment law to include telephone and electronic communication.Those under 21 would face only a misdemeanor, but for adults, this is a felony,... Read More
"Mighty Mouse" Lawsuit Smells Like Limburger
Apple is certainly litigious over the use of the word "pod," and on Wednesday it received a taste of its own medicine, as it was sued over its "Mighty Mouse." No, it's not for the reason you might think, as its already licensed the name "Mighty Mouse" from CBS.Apple is facing a new lawsuit over its Mighty Mouse peripheral,... Read More
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