More Gov't Legislation/Regulation News

FCC ruling on 800MHz band a boon for Sprint

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission approved a rule change for part of the 800MHz band at a meeting on Thursday, opening the door for Sprint Nextel to use the band for its 4G LTE network.

Google report sheds light on copyright takedown requests

Google this week received a somewhat rare accolade from a privacy rights group for publishing a detailed report on all the copyright related content removal requests it has received over the past year

FAQ: The new push in Congress to increase STEM visas

There is a bipartisan push to automatically give green cards to foreign students pursing master's degrees and above in science, technology, engineering and math. The H-1B visa hasn't disappeared, and its use will be part of the green card debate. Here's a Q&A guide to what's going on.

Lawmakers call on DOJ to reopen investigation into Google Wi-Fi spying

Two U.S. lawmakers have called on the U.S. Department of Justice to reopen its investigation into Google's snooping on Wi-Fi networks in 2010 after recent questions about the company's level of cooperation with federal inquiries.

European privacy regulators want more detail on Google's policy changes

European privacy regulators want better answers from Google about its privacy policy and the way it informs its users about changes to it.

Google to offer mapping and other software in Syria

Google is now allowed under U.S. export control rules to offer downloads in Syria of its mapping software Google Earth, photo sharing software Picasa, and its Chrome browser, it said Wednesday.

Study: Patriot Act doesn't give feds special access to cloud data

An often-repeated concern that the U.S. Patriot Act gives the U.S. government unequaled access to personal data stored on cloud services is incorrect, with several other nations enjoying similar access to cloud data, according to a study released Wednesday.

FTC taps privacy advocate Paul Ohm as adviser

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has hired Paul Ohm, a privacy advocate and critic of current online privacy practices, as a senior privacy adviser for consumer protection and competition issues affecting the Internet and mobile services.

EU offers Google a chance to avoid fines over four antitrust concerns

Google has "a matter of weeks" to address four antitrust issues identified by European Union antitrust regulators. If Google addresses these issues the case can be solved by a so-called "commitment decision" instead of formal antitrust proceedings resulting in a fine, said JoaquAn Almunia, Vice President of the European Commission responsible for Competition Policy.

Some HTC smartphones released to US carriers after passing customs

Taiwanese smartphone vendor High Tech Computer said on Sunday certain models of its newest smartphones have passed U.S. Customs and are being released to its carrier customers, after the company previously warned of a delay in product shipments because of an International Trade Commission (ITC) order.

Senate bill slots 55,000 tech green cards

There's a new push in the Senate to set aside as many as 55,000 green cards to science, technology, engineering and math graduates -- so-called STEM workers.

LightSquared's bankruptcy is a cautionary tale

After more than a year of active testing and debate over LightSquared's plan for a nationwide, wholesale 4G network, the now bankrupt company may end up as no more than a cautionary tale for mobile investors.

New coalition opposes Verizon and cable spectrum deals

A proposed sale of mobile spectrum from a group of cable providers to Verizon Wireless, along with accompanying marketing and research agreements, will lead to higher prices for broadband and mobile customers, a coalition of groups opposing the deal said Monday.

FTC shuts down website marketing business

A federal court in Arizona has shut down the operations of a company that allegedly promised it would build its customers websites that would generate income of up to $20,000 per month, after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint about its business practices.

Senator seeks DOJ cellphone tracking data

U.S. Senator Al Franken has in a letter asked the Department of Justice for information on its practices in requesting location information from wireless carriers.

California moves to stop employers demanding Facebook passwords

The California assembly passed a bill on Thursday that prevents employers from demanding job applicants' passwords for accounts on Facebook or other social networking sites.

Small cells could raise big problems

Amid growing interest in small cells, widely seen as an inevitable tool for carriers to deal with booming mobile data demand, there are now signs that it may be hard to derive the expected benefits from them in some cases.

Infosys' legal problems prompt analysts' concerns

The company that is a target in a federal probe on its use of visas, Infosys, says it is assuring customers that the government investigation -- despite its unknown outcome -- will not impact its business.

Android developers ignored Sun patents, Google exec testifies

Google's engineers never studied other companies' patents while developing Android for fear of allowing those patents to influence their design decisions, Google's Android chief Andy Rubin testified on the stand Wednesday.

FTC seeks to recover $52.6M in alleged phone cramming charges

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is seeking a civil court contempt ruling against the largest third-party billing vendor in the U.S., alleging that it placed more than US$70 million in unauthorized charges on telephone bills in violation of a previous court order.