Politics and Law

White House: You have a right to unlock your cell phone

The White House today backed an Internet petition asking the Library of Congress to change its stance on the legality of smartphone unlocking.

In a post on the We The People blog, R. David Edelman, the White House senior adviser for Internet, innovation and privacy, said the administration agrees with those who signed the petition, and aims to support any legislation that would remedy the issue.

"The White House agrees with the 114,000 plus of you who believe that consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties," Edelman wrote. "… Read more

DHS built domestic surveillance tech into Predator drones

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has customized its Predator drones, originally built for overseas military operations, to carry out at-home surveillance tasks that have civil libertarians worried: identifying civilians carrying guns and tracking their cell phones, government documents show.

The documents provide more details about the surveillance capabilities of the department's unmanned Predator B drones, which are primarily used to patrol the United States' northern and southern borders but have been pressed into service on behalf of a growing number of law enforcement agencies including the FBI, the Secret Service, the Texas Rangers, and local police. … Read more

Google's European conundrum: When does privacy mean censorship?

How Google and other American Internet companies operate in Europe could come down to a link that, depending on what side of the Atlantic Ocean you're on, should or should not be deleted.

A case heard Tuesday before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) hinges on a complaint submitted by a Spanish citizen who searched Google for his name and found a news article from several years earlier, saying his property would be auctioned because of failed payments to his social security contributions.

Spanish authorities argued that Google, other search engines, and other Web companies operating in Spain should … Read more

Manning confesses: I leaked to WikiLeaks to 'spark a debate'

For the first time today, U.S. Army soldier Bradley Manning explained publicly why he handed hundreds of thousands of classified files to WikiLeaks, telling a crowded military courtroom in Ft. Meade, Md., that he had hoped to "spark a debate on the military and our foreign policy."

Manning said that his decision to leak the files stemmed from increasing concern about the U.S. military's actions in the Middle East, and that his conscience led him to conclude the documents must be made public. After approaching The New York Times and The Washington Post, but finding … Read more

Samsung hires judge who ruled against Apple as legal expert

A judge who favored Samsung in a recent court case is now working for the company. But apparently that's perfectly OK in the U.K.

U.K. Judge Robin Jacob served on the bench last year in a case that forced Apple to publish an apology notice asserting that Samsung did not infringe on the design of the iPad for its own tablet.

Though Jacob had retired a year earlier, U.K. law allows for ex-judges to still sit on the bench.

The case itself was notable for going several rounds.

First, Samsung objected to the notice that Apple … Read more

Bradley Manning enters guilty pleas -- on some counts

Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army soldier accused of providing WikiLeaks with hundreds of thousands of classified documents, has pleaded guilty to some of the lesser charges against him and has begun reading a statement explaining his actions in military court today.

The 25-year-old soldier entered guilty pleas to 10 of 22 charges that he is facing, acknowledging that he was the source of the files that WikiLeaks divulged, according to the Los Angeles Times and other press accounts. The lesser charges carry a maximum upper limit of 20 years in prison.

But Manning has pleaded not guilty to the … Read more

Apple scores patent win against Samsung in Japan

Samsung is on the losing end of yet another legal decision in its ongoing patent war with Apple.

The Tokyo District Court today rejected Samsung's request for a ban on Apple devices in a dispute over data transmission patents.

The court found that Samsung hadn't "sincerely" negotiated with Apple over the patents in question and therefore had no right to seek damages, according to BusinessWeek.

A Samsung spokesman told CNET that the company is "disappointed by today's court decision, and following a thorough review of the ruling, it will take the measures necessary to … Read more

Second push in Congress to force patent trolls to pay up

A couple of congressmen today reintroduced a bill that will likely command a standing ovation throughout Silicon Valley. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) are taking aim at so-called patent trolls with a proposal that would force them to pick up the tab for a defendant's legal costs if their patent lawsuit fails to prevail.

This is the second time around for the Saving High-tech Innovators from Egregious Legal Disputes, or SHIELD Act. The co-sponsors first submitted the bill last August, but the provision withered on the political vine for a couple of reasons. The bill faced strong … Read more

Whatever happened to Bradley Manning? Soon we'll know

O ut of sight, out of mind -- that's the way it might seem when considering the plight of Bradley Manning, who has been held for more than 1,000 days without a trial. But the jailed Army private is getting close to having his day in court. On Tuesday, a military judge refused to dismiss charges against Manning, a former intelligence analyst, who could face a maximum life sentence in connection with charges that he aided the enemy.

Suspected of being the source for WikiLeaks' massive document release of military and State Department files, Manning is being held … Read more