Facebook justifies its support for CISPA, a bad cyber security bill

After lots of public outcry, Facebook has published a letter today explaining its support for controversial cyber-security legislation, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, or CISPA (PDF).

CISPA intends to grant companies more leeway when it comes to collecting …

Pirates are now the third most popular political party in Germany

The Pirate Party began in Sweden back in 2006 as an offshoot of the BitTorrent site The Pirate Bay, with a focus on issues of copyright and technology. Now it has become a serious force in German politics, pulling ahead …

League for Gamers takes stand against warning-labels on games (exclusive)

In response to the Electronic Software Association's support of SOPA, Red 5 Studios CEO Mark Kern formed the League for Gamers. Now, the LFG is looking to expand its membership and educate gamers and non-gamers alike about the "warning-label law" H.R. 4204.

Universal Music exec: music & tech are still friends after SOPA

At South By Southwest, we got a chance to talk with Jon Vanhala, Universal Music Group’s senior vice president of digital.

While some of us on the technology side see post-SOPA relations between our industry and the entertainment industry as …

SOPA author strikes back with Internet surveillance bill; no one is safe

SOPA author Lamar Smith is sponsoring a bill named the “Protecting Children From Internet Pornographers Act of 2011″ (H.R. 1981). The bill is not brand new, mind you, but with so many other oppressive attempts by the government to invade …

Google confirms Internet users in Iran are blocked (updated)

Updated with charts from Google.

Google confirmed today that its users in Iran are being blocked by a new regulation against access to secure browsing, or HTTPS websites. The block has been in action since February 10.

In celebration of …

Web companies beg Congress to “step back” from IP legislation

Hoping to amplify the voice of the Internet, web companies including Mozilla, Reddit, and WordPress have banded together with public interest and human rights groups to urge Congress to stop its work on intellectual property laws.

Monday, more than 70 …

What is ACTA and why are thousands of Europeans protesting it?

Has Europe gone mad? A trade agreement most Americans have never heard of has sparked outrage and protests across the pond.

Twenty-two of the European Union’s 27 member states signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in Tokyo on January 26. …

ESA calls for post-SOPA balance of “creative and technology interests”

Trade associations are weighing in on the delay of the vote on the Stop Online Privacy Act — a delay that may have effectively killed the anti-piracy legislation.

The video game industry trade group, the Entertainment Software Association, (headed by …