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Saudi Blogger Won't Face Death on Apostasy Accusation January 23, 2013 A court in Saudi Arabia reportedly has declined to hear the case of Raif Badawi, a liberal blogger who was accused of apostasy. Apostasy,defined as the abandonment of one's faith, is a particularly grievous charge in Islam. Had it been so inclined, the court that turned down the case could have sentenced Badawi to death. As it stands, Badawi's charge was referred to a lower court.

Dotcom Fights the Law With New Mega Site January 21, 2013 Kim Dotcom on Sunday opened the doors to the new file-sharing website Mega. The site is making a splash in the file-sharing world with its promise of exceptional privacy and security. That is not the only reason Mega's debut is notable, though: Dotcom is the founder of Megaupload, which was shut down by U.S. authorities following indictments for piracy against Dotcom and others.

Google's Schmidt Pitches Android to Chinese Devs January 15, 2013 Fresh off his trip to North Korea -- and right behind Apple CEO Tim Cook's trip to China -- Google chairman Eric Schmidt joined a panel discussion at the "Geek Park" conference in Beijing. Schmidt reportedly reminded the developers in attendance that despite Apple's popularity in China -- the iPhone 5 sold more than 2 million units in one weekend -- Android is still the top dog in the Middle Kingdom.

The UK's Tangled Antipiracy Web January 12, 2013 In the battle against online piracy, industry and government officials tend to cast a wide net in blocking suspected piracy-enabling websites. Sometimes this process results in the removal of sites that have nothing to do with piracy. Last April, the UK ordered Internet service providers to block file-sharing site The Pirate Bay.

US Officials Pin Bank Hack Attack on Iran January 09, 2013 U.S. government officials and security experts are convinced that a recent cyberattack on American banks was executed by Iran. The U.S. has not yet divulged any evidence to corroborate their accusations, but security experts reportedly say the attack displayed a level of sophistication not possible for an amateur.

France Thwarts ISP's Ad-Blocking Swipe at Google January 07, 2013 France reportedly has stymied an Internet service provider's attempt to let users block ads. Free, a French telecommunications company with more than 5 million users, had said it would allow its customers to block online advertising. Google, the world leader in online advertising, was mum about Free's move, which "raised alarm among companies" that subsist off of paid advertisements.

Mr. Schmidt Goes to North Korea January 03, 2013 Don't expect google.nk anytime soon, but hey, it's a start. Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google, will travel to North Korea for a private, humanitarian mission. The trip, to be led by former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, will mark the first time a top exec from Google has gone to North Korea, which is among the world leaders in backwards Internet policies.

USC Report Links Ad Networks to Piracy Sites January 03, 2013 Kim Dotcom didn't make his millions from the illegal downloads that took place on Megaupload, the now-defunct site he ran. Rather, he mostly made his money from ads that ran on the illegal download site, which highlights a need for ad networks to do a better job policing their stable of publishers.

Thieves Knock Off Apple Store in Paris January 02, 2013 On New Year's Eve, armed burglars lifted thousands of dollars -- and potentially more than $1 million -- worth of merchandise from an Apple store in central Paris. The hit targeted a flagship Apple store, which carried a full array of products including iPhones, iPads and Macs. Police declined to comment on reports that put the damage at $1.32 million. The thieves were reportedly masked and escaped in a van.

Man Bites Dog: China Fines Apple for Copyright Infringement December 28, 2012 A Chinese court fined Apple 1 million yuan, or roughly $160,000, because its App Store hosted third-party applications that were peddling pirated e-books. The ruling stems from a suit brought by a group of Chinese authors earlier this year. The group originally was seeking 10 million yuan.

Google in Talks to Resolve Antitrust Issues in Europe December 18, 2012 While Google is poised to agree to changes in the way it displays search results and skirt an antitrust investigation in the U.S., things are still unresolved with the European Commission. Google is reportedly still negotiating with European Commission antitrust chief Joaquin Almunia.

Brit Music Industry to Haul Pirate Party to Court December 11, 2012 Britain's music industry body is preparing to take the Pirate Party UK to court for offering access to The Pirate Bay, which has been blocked in the UK. The British Pirate Party has set up a proxy service that allows users to circumvent the UK's ban on The Pirate Bay,

Report: Iran Uses Huawei Gear to Snoop on Citizens December 06, 2012 Foreign telecommunications companies, including China-based Huawei, have helped Iran collect incredibly detailed data on its citizens' telephone and Internet use, Reuters reported. According to an investigative report, a partner of Huawei offered to sell the Huawei-developed "Lawful Interception Solution" to MobinNet, Iran's first wireless broadband provider.

File-Sharing's Cloudy Future November 20, 2012 Last month Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom, who is facing charges in the United States for engaging in digital piracy, announced that he would relocate a new version of his site, Me.ga, outside the United States. The belief was that this would free him from coming under fire by U.S. law enforcement, but Gabon -- which controls the ".ga" domain -- has already suspended it.

Israel Bombarded by Millions of Hack Attempts November 19, 2012 More than 44 million hacking attempts have been made on Israel's government websites since last week, when it unleashed 20 air strikes and killed Hamas' top military commander, the Israeli government announced Sunday. Israel's finance minister, Yuval Steinitz, said only one hack was successful, although the affected site was reportedly back online after 10 minutes.

China's Piracy Hotbed Image Is Western Illusion, Says Official November 12, 2012 Western media's reporting distorts China's image, making it appear less willing to fight copyright piracy than it actually is, China's top intellectual property official said Sunday during the country's Communist Party Congress. China has for years been regarded as a hotbed for intellectual property theft. In April, for instance, the U.S. put China atop its annual list of piracy offenders.

The Cult of Kim Dotcom November 10, 2012 Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom has been in the news on and off -- mostly on -- since his January arrest in New Zealand. He is fighting extradition to the U.S., where he is wanted on charges ranging from copyright infringement to money laundering. The German-born Dotcom has led a life filled with twists and turns, commercial successes and criminal convictions. His flamboyant ways have earned him some sympathy among his adopted countrymen.

Slippery Statistics Suggest Online Piracy Is on the Wane November 08, 2012 Sandvine has released a new report on global Internet traffic that points to the growth of online data consumption and implies that the increasing use of legitimate content services such as Netflix may be softening the impact of illegal P2P file-sharing. At face value, that seems difficult to believe. "Online piracy is booming by any measure," said industry analyst Jeff Kagan.

Dotcom Loses Dominion Over Me.ga Domain November 08, 2012 Kim Dotcom, founder of the now-defunct file-sharing site Megaupload, has long been in hot water with the big, huge United States. Now he's irked the tiny, little nation of Gabon. Gabon has reportedly blocked the Megaupload successor, which Dotcom announced last week, and which is supposed to launch on Jan. 20. The URL that Dotcom had tabbed for his new site, Me.ga, seemed a logical one.

Google Maps Loses Its Way in China November 06, 2012 Google Maps' mobile app reportedly is losing market share to local competition in China. Statistics from the third quarter show that Google Maps has lost almost half its market share since the second quarter -- from 17.5 percent to 9.5 percent -- and fell to No. 6 from No. 2 among mobile map apps.