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Senate bill would require a warrant for border phone searches
Did US border agents insist on searching the contents of your smartphone during your latest trip, privacy be damned? You're not alone -- Homeland Security has revealed that searches by Customs and Border Protection are surging, growing from under 5,000 in all of 2015 to 5,000 just this February. However, there might soon be legislation that keeps these searches in check. Oregon Senator Ron Wyden is preparing a bill that would not only require a warrant before border officials can search the devices of US citizens, but strictly forbid them from asking for passwords. They'd need a legitimate reason to believe your phone holds something shady, not just a hunch.
German draft law would limit your data privacy rights
Germany has generally been protective of privacy as of late, but it might take a step backward. The country's union for data protection has revealed that an interior ministry draft law would seriously curtail data privacy rights. You wouldn't have the right to know what data people are collecting about you if that disclosure "disadvantages the well-being" of Germany, or will "seriously endanger" business activities. It would also greenlight facial recognition software for video surveillance, and prevent data protection commissioners from either sanctioning security agencies for breaches or conducting follow-up checks when legal or medical information leaks.
Prince estate sues Roc Nation over Tidal streaming rights
Jay Z debuted his version of Tidal after buying the streaming service for $56 million last year. In the months since he took over, the company has struggled to compete with the likes of Spotify and Apple Music despite a list of high-profile exclusive releases. Now Tidal is locked in a legal battle with Prince's estate. The late artist's label and publishing businesses are suing Jay Z's Roc Nation over the music subscription service's streaming of Prince's entire catalog.
Bloomberg: Amazon wants live sports streaming rights
Bloomberg believes that Amazon is considering buying the rights to a variety of live sporting events as a way of bringing more people into Prime. According to the site's anonymous sources, the firm has made discreet enquiries about picking up licenses for global sports including tennis, golf, soccer and car racing. The company is believed to have a beady eye on domestic sports like baseball and basketball, although knows that traditional broadcasters have that sewn up for the next few years.
Geek Squad employee allegedly searched PCs for the FBI
An astute PC technician is supposed to report any illegal content they see while fixing a machine, but one employee of Best Buy's Geek Squad might have gone too far. The defense in a child pornography case alleges that the FBI paid Geek Squad agent Justin Meade to search customers' computers for illegal material, bypassing the warrant the FBI would need to conduct its own searches. A secret informant file supposedly shows that Meade was considered a source for child porn investigations between 2009 and 2012, leading to the bust in question. Attorneys for the accused, Dr. Mark Rettenmaier, want the evidence tossed out as a result.
Court claims Google lost right to pull site from search results
You'd think that Google's search results would be protected in the US by free speech rights. Google gets to say what what shows up on its own site, right? However, one Florida court thinks differently. It recently determined that Google wasn't protected by the Constitution's First Amendment when it pulled search engine optimization firm E-ventures' website from its index. Google supposedly crossed the line when it claimed E-ventures was violating its policies by posting "pure spam" -- this wasn't strictly true, the court argued, and was driven by "anti-competitive motives" rather than self-expression.
Porn site bans all North Carolina users over anti-LGBT law
Since Monday, porn site XHamster.com has refused access to any user with a North Carolina IP address. The site says the block will stay in place until the state repeals House Bill 2, which prevents cities and counties passing rules that protect LGBT rights. "We have spent the last 50 years fighting for equality for everyone and these laws are discriminatory which XHamster.com does not tolerate," said the company's spokesman in official statement sent to The Huffington Post.
Pandora ends its war with two major music publishers
If there's one thing that Pandora likes, it's a fight, but even the firm that bought an FM radio station to stick it to the man has limits. The outfit has decided to make peace with two of its most formidable adversaries: music licensing agencies ASCAP and BMI. Pandora has revealed that it's signed a new, multi-year deal with both entities that'll see it pay what'll probably be a higher fee every time one of their songs is played. Naturally, the terms of the agreements are being kept secret, but USA Today thinks that it'll be above the 2.5 / 1.75 percent that BMI and ASCAP, respectively, currently earn.
US prisons allegedly record more inmate calls than they should (update: response)
It might not just be everyday people who've been subject to illegal surveillance -- prisoners may be victims, too. An anonymous hacker has given The Intercept phone records showing that prisons have recorded "at least" 14,000 calls between inmates and lawyers through software from Securus. As you might imagine, that potentially represents huge violations of both the attorney-client privilege and Sixth Amendment protections against interference with your right to counsel. Prosecutors could use these recordings to cheat at trial by getting case details that they're not supposed to know. In fact, a recent Austin lawsuit accuses Securus of contributing to just that kind of trickery.
NFL returns to the BBC with Wembley matches and the Super Bowl
With a licence fee freeze weighing heavy on its back, the BBC has had to pick and choose what it spends public money on. It's meant that the Beeb has had to pass up exclusive TV rights to major sporting events like the Olympics, but that doesn't mean it isn't adding more coverage to its already strong lineup. The broadcaster announced today that it's struck a new deal with the NFL that will let it show all three International Series games from Wembley later this year, as well its banner event: the Super Bowl.
Those Netflix movies you lost just went to Hulu
Hulu is about to get a load of well-known movies like Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation, Interstellar and Wolf of Wall Street. The US company confirmed the rumor that it will now stream content from Epix, the service owned by Viacom and movie studios Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate. Netflix used to carry films produced by the group, but said earlier today that it wouldn't renew its Epix deal (that only affects content in the US, not the UK). The change means the content will be available to a much smaller streaming audience -- Hulu recently said it has 9 million subscribers, compared to the 65.6 million on Netflix.
Major indie labels are not happy with Apple Music
Smaller record labels are unhappy with Apple Music, so much so that some big-name artists may be unavailable when the company's new subscription music service launches on June 30th. Beggars Group says it's "very concerned, especially for artists releasing new albums in the next three months," about Apple's proposal to pay zero royalties out during the three-month free trial it's offering users. In a letter to its artists and managers, it explains that it struggles to see "why rights owners and artists should bear this aspect of Apple's customer acquisition costs."
Judges rule that UK spying doesn't violate human rights
British spies may be peeking into webcams and modifying internet traffic, but all that is above board -- if you ask the UK's Investigatory Powers Tribunal, anyway. Its judges have ruled that the Government Communications Headquarters' (GCHQ) intelligence gathering practices aren't violating the European Court of Human Rights' safeguards for free speech and privacy. The Tribunal agrees that unchecked mass data collection would be illegal, but contends that the ways GCHQ selects and preserves that data are reasonable. It doesn't have "carte blanche" to do what it likes, according to the ruling.
How to stop Yahoo from cashing in on your Flickr images
If you post Flickr images with a commercial-use creative commons license, Yahoo has a little surprise: it will soon be free to sell them and keep all the money. It recently decided to peddle canvas prints of selected photos for up to $50, taking 100 percent of the revenue from creative commons users who permit free use of their images. That contrasts with a recent decision it made to give select users with non-commercial-use licenses 51 percent of sales for the same "Wall Art" collections. The new policy has made many of the site's devotees upset -- especially pro account users -- who say that while they're fine with third-party companies using their photos, they're not fine at all with Flickr itself selling them for profit.
Brazil passes an internet bill of rights enshrining net neutrality and privacy
While the world has been deciding who governs the internet, Brazil has been busy establishing internet rules of its own -- and they may just set an example for everyone else. The country has passed a bill of rights that goes some length towards protecting net neutrality and privacy. To start, the law promises equal access to the internet; carriers can't charge more for bandwidth-heavy services like streaming video.
Court rules that the EU's data retention law violates privacy rights
The European Union has argued that telecom companies must hold on to internet and phone records for long periods to help track down evildoers, but the European Court of Justice disagrees -- vehemently. It just ruled that the EU's Data Retention Directive, which preserves metadata for up to two years, is a "wide-ranging and particularly serious" violation of the EU's privacy rights. It collects more information than necessary, doesn't establish firm limits and lets companies send data outside of the EU, according to the ruling. While the Directive doesn't scoop up actual content, the court believes that the unrestricted collection allows too much insight into people's daily activities and social connections. Sound familiar? It should. The ruling acknowledges the privacy concerns that prompted the US' proposed metadata reforms, but goes one step further -- the court is contending that bulk data retention by itself is dangerous without serious restrictions.
The inventor of the web wants you to help create an internet bill of rights
The web has changed a lot in the 25 years since Tim Berners-Lee first proposed its underlying technology, and not entirely for the better -- censorship, reduced net neutrality and surveillance are very real concerns. Berners-Lee and a host of partners are fighting these threats by launching Web We Want, a campaign pushing for an internet bill of rights in every country. The initiative asks you to start a discussion about the web you'd like to see, and to draft a matching set of rights. It's also fostering education efforts, offering small support grants and rallying groups at critical moments. There's no certainty that Web We Want will make a tangible impact, but it should provide a stronger voice to advocates of a free and open internet.
Supreme Court to determine if police need warrants to search cellphones
It's now clear that police don't need a warrant to track your cellphone, but searching that phone is another matter; there's no obvious guiding policy. Any murkiness may be settled soon, as the Supreme Court has agreed to rule on two cases where the accused have objected to cops obtaining evidence from their phones without warrants. Decisions in either case could set precedents for searches across the US; if judges determine that warrants are necessary, they could challenge guidelines in California and other places that allow warrantless searches after arrests. The court hasn't scheduled the relevant hearings, though, so it may be a while before there are any definitive answers. [Image credit: Erin Nekervis, Flickr]
Tiger Woods 'in negotiations' with another publisher for video game rights
Since pro golfer Tiger Woods' name and likeness are no longer attached to EA's Tiger Woods PGA Tour golf series, he is free to explore deals with another publisher. That is exactly what Woods' agent Mark Steinberg is doing, as he is currently "in negotiations with another company regarding Woods' video game rights," ESPN reported. EA announced earlier this week that it was parting ways with Woods following a report in April that Tiger Woods PGA Tour 15 wasn't happening. The publisher will maintain a licensing partnership with the PGA Tour for future golf games.
Outcast creators purchase IP from Atari
The founders of Appeal, the development studio responsible for 1999's sci-fi action game, Outcast, have purchased the intellectual property rights for that brand from holding company Atari, formerly known as Infogrames Entertainment. The original Appeal employees involved, Yann Robert, Franck Sauer and Yves Grolet, are starting a "revival of the franchise" according to the announcement of the rights acquisition – specifics as to what that means were not given. Outcast designer Bruno Bonnell's name was also not mentioned in the press release. Outcast concerns one Cutter Slade, an ex-Navy SEAL operative tasked with escorting a team of scientists into an alternate dimension, so that they may locate and recover a US government probe that is in danger of causing a black hole. All of this takes place in the distant future year of 2007, but here in 2013 the game itself can be purchased on GOG for $3.
