Grant Gross

More than 60 technology companies, consumer advocates and trade groups are urging a U.S. House of Representatives committee to seriously consider legislation designed to prohibit broadband providers from discriminating against competing services transmitted over their networks.n

More than 60 technology companies, consumer advocates and trade groups are urging a U.S. House of Representatives committee to seriously consider legislation designed to prohibit broadband providers from discriminating against competing services transmitted over their networks.

America Online Inc. (AOL) has filed three civil lawsuits against major phishing "gangs," seeking US$18 million from the groups, the company said Tuesday. AOL, using a Virginia antiphishing law adopted in July 2005, filed the lawsuits against several phishing groups in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, in Alexandria. The lawsuits also cite federal law focusing on trademark and antispam rules.

After half a day of arguments, Judge James Spencer didn't rule on the injunction requested by patent holder NTP Inc., but at the same time the hearing was happening in Richmond, Virginia, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) ruled that an NTP wireless e-mail central in the case is invalid.

A group of technology chief executives are calling on the U.S. Congress and President George Bush's administration to create a "21st century" radio spectrum policy that would transfer poorly used government spectrum to private companies.n

Scott Levine, formerly principal owner of e-mail marketing firm Snipermail Inc., was sentenced to eight years in prison on charges related to theft of more than 1 billion data records, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said.

U.S. laws haven't kept up with the government's ability to use technology to spy on people, according to a report issued Wednesday by the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT).n

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives ripped into four U.S. technology companies, calling them a "disgrace" for allowing the Chinese government to censor some Web content.