Lori Drew, the woman convicted of using a hoax MySpace profile to harass a teenage girl to the point of suicide, was acquitted by a Los Angeles judge on Thursday, Wired reported.
Judge George Wu overturned Drew's guilty verdict, which was issued in November, saying that if Drew had been convicted of a felony in the case, she would already have been sentenced. But because she was convicted of three misdemeanors--a significantly lighter offense than prosecutors originally sought--the constitutionality of the guilty verdict was less clear.
Drew, a Missouri resident, had been convicted of three misdemeanor counts of "accessing protected computers without authorization to obtain information to inflict emotional distress," each of which could have resulted in a year of jail and a $100,000 fine. But she hadn't been convicted of conspiracy, a felony that could've led to up to 20 years in prison.
The tragic situation unfolded in 2006, when Drew, her teenage daughter, and an 18-year-old employee of the family created a fake MySpace profile for a fictitious teenage boy that they used to harass one of Drew's daughter's classmates, 13-year-old Megan Meier. Meier hanged herself.
This was a situation in which traditional law did not align smoothly with the realities of the digital world: the prosecutors' argument was rooted in a terms of service violation, since MySpace officially outlaws impersonation and fictitious accounts.
Last year, the Electronic Frontier Foundation urged the courts to dismiss the case because of the precedent it could set. "Criminal charges for a 'terms of service' violation is a dramatic misapplication of the CFAA (Computer Fraud and Abuse Act), with far-ranging consequences for American computer users," the EFF said at the time, and argued that it could result in criminal charges for something as innocuous as a minor using the Google search engine.
Drew's lawyers had argued that the law being used against the defendant was vague and flawed, which the judge upheld Thursday when he threw out the guilty verdict. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is typically used against malicious hackers.
According to Wired, the judge argued for nearly 45 minutes with U.S. Attorney Mark Krause over the specifics of the CFAA.
Social-networking sites and other Web services can't be held liable in a sexual assault on a minor that stemmed from a meeting online, according to a ruling in a California appeals court that consolidated a number of complaints against MySpace on behalf of teenage girls and their parents.
Reuters reported late on Wednesday that the Second District Court of Appeals in Los Angeles cited the Communications Decency Act in coming to the conclusion. Claiming negligence and product liability, the plaintiffs had alleged that MySpace had failed to put in place age verification software or to keep profiles on a "private" setting.
Other federal courts have come to similar rulings. Last year, a Texas court ruled that the family of a 14-year-old girl who was assaulted by a man she met on MySpace could not hold the social network responsible. The girl in question had lied about her age when she created a profile, claiming to be a legal adult, and the court ruled that it was her parents' job, not MySpace's, to keep her safe.
This week's ruling in Los Angeles received a thumbs-up from MySpace and parent company News Corp. It could also have repercussions across other social networks and community-based Web sites, which have been subject to scrutiny from authorities over both safety and decency standards. Craigslist, for example, has faced a crackdown on sex-related ads after both allegations of rampant prostitution and a high-profile case in which a Craigslist encounter allegedly ended in murder.
The situation can be different, if there is actual harassment conducted through the social network, rather than an offline assault. In that case, if it appears that a Web service isn't doing enough to keep members safe while using the site, it can, in some cases, be held responsible.
Facebook and MySpace are working with state attorneys general to keep registered sex offenders out of their user bases, following allegations from lawmakers that they weren't doing enough to maintain a safe environment for minors.
On Thursday, the sentencing is expected in another Los Angeles court for Lori Drew, who has been convicted of three misdemeanors after impersonating a teenage boy on MySpace and harassing a 13-year-old girl allegedly to the point of suicide.
Drew could be sentenced to up to three years in prison and forced to pay a fine of $300,000, a far lesser sentence than she originally faced.
It's the age-old question. Where do our tax dollars go? Washington is using the Web to try to provide an answer, at least as it relates to information technology.
The IT Dashboard, a new tool from the USASpending.gov site, promises a behind-the-scenes look at how our tax dollars are spent on government IT. The site was unveiled Tuesday at the Personal Democracy Forum conference in New York by federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra and White House Director of New Media Macon Phillips.
(Credit: USASpending.gov)A promising idea. But the site, which is still in beta, appears to have a few kinks that need working out. When I tried to access the dashboard late Tuesday morning, I received frequent HTTP error messages telling me it was unable to contact the server. This happened both at the dashboard's home page and at its subpages.
I called the department in Washington responsible for the site. A representative told me the errors were being caused by high traffic on the site but that people were working on the problem. I'll follow up with more details on the site as soon as it's accessible.
Update at 12 p.m. PDT: The Dashboard appeared to be running smoothly after earlier hiccups due to heavy traffic, so I had the opportunity to check it out.
A YouTube video on the home page explains how the site works, which was quite helpful since I wasn't sure where to look at first.
Filled with news, statistics, and charts, the dashboard reveals IT spending across all the major federal agencies. Select any agency, and you can see its budget and spending pattern. For example, according to the site, the Department of Defense chews up the most tax dollars, with a 2009 IT budget of $33 billion.
An interactive data feed page lets you filter specific types of data by IT project, category, and department to see a spending snapshot. As an example, I retrieved a list of all 37 projects and cost centers for NASA, with descriptions and budgets for each one. An analysis page offers an interactive chart where you can track the rise in IT spending by agency and by year.
Certain facts are especially revealing. I discovered how much money was estimated for a given IT project vs. how much has actually been spent, providing an education in cost overruns.
Certainly, the dashboard is promising more transparency and accountability by publishing the facts and figures behind government IT spending. The site says it receives its data from agency reports on IT spending submitted to the Office of Management and Budget.
The dashboard does lapse into government-speak at times--it refers to IT project spending by agencies as "investments" and the overall amount of money spent as a "portfolio." The data feed page lists Exhibit 53 and Exhibit 300 as data sources, though most people outside the government would have no idea what those mean. (The site's FAQ does explain both terms.)
Also, the information takes a while to gather up and assimilate. I'm not sure how much time the average person would actually spend plowing through a site like this. But given the site's traffic congestion earlier on Tuesday, the dashboard may already be proving more popular than expected.
China has indefinitely delayed enforcement of a requirement that PC makers preinstall Green Dam-Youth Escort software that experts believe would have screened not just Internet pornography but also some online political content.
Green Dam allows users to specify categories of sites to block.
(Credit: University of Michigan)The reprieve, announced by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, according to reports in The New York Times and the Associated Press, came just one day before the preinstallation rule was to go into effect.
But thus far the reprieve appears temporary: the ministry said the delay will give computer makers more time to comply with the rule, and the government also will continue to equip school and cybercafe computers with the software, according to the New York Times report.
Experts have warned that the Green Dam software poses security risks, and last week, the U.S. Trade Representative protested that Green Dam violates World Trade Organization rules
PC makers had been cagey about their plans to comply with the rule to install the software. Technical and other objections must be weighed against business concerns, and China is a large and growing market. Companies that deal directly with Internet content have been in the hot seat for years, and Google has had to wrestle with new Chinese censorship requirements this month.
This was originally posted at Between the Lines. It was updated at 3:25 p.m. PDT with Amazon adding Hawaii to the list of states where it's pulled its Associates program.
Amazon.com is in a high-profile tax showdown with states over its Associates referral program and is likely to come out a winner either way.
Amazon has pulled its Associates program, which allows Web site operators to drive sales to the e-tailer in exchange for commissions of up to 15 percent, in North Carolina and Rhode Island. And on Tuesday, Amazon also added Hawaii to its hitlist, according to The Wall Street Journal.
States are hurting for revenue and are trying to force Amazon to collect sales taxes on its associates. Simply put, states are trying to treat associate Web sites as if they are physical assets of Amazon.
Amazon's response: Cut out associates in the states where tax bills are proceeding.
Providence Business News reported that Amazon cut its ties with business affiliates in Rhode Island over a bill that would force it to collect sales tax on referrals via authors or businesses in the state. Amazon had the same reaction to a similar tax-happy move by North Carolina. These battles will be fought state by state, depending on the return on Amazon's marketing dollars.
Bernstein Research analyst Jeffrey Lindsay summarizes the situation:
The issue is collection of sales taxes--several states are trying tactics developed by then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer in New York to try to force Amazon to collect sales taxes on online sales made in their states. In 2008, Spitzer argued (and the courts upheld his view) that if Amazon has affiliates in the state where sales were made, that counted as "in-state" presence, and sales taxes must be collected.
Amazon's response to the latest move by cash-strapped states hoping to follow New York's lead has been to terminate relationships with in-state affiliates in a rapidly escalating game of chicken. It is not clear where this game may end, but clearly, Amazon is prepared to tolerate some pain to maintain its sales tax collection exemption for the majority of states.
While loss of affiliates in some smaller states may not be an insurmountable problem, it now looks as if California may be next to impose the "affiliate rule," and this may be more difficult to circumvent. Even if the states prevail, however, we do not believe the impact upon Amazon will be large.
Given Amazon's response and states' desperation for tax revenue, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure this showdown will escalate. What would happen if Amazon just shut down its Associates program in all states?
Amazon could win. Think about it: If Amazon was really dependent on the Associates program for a huge portion of sales would it really just pull it that quickly? Amazon in its SEC filings doesn't break out revenue garnered from its referral program or its total expense.
However, Amazon does drop a few hints. In a blog post, Amazon says, "We pay out hundreds of millions of dollars per year to Web sites that advertise our products."
In other words, these commissions can add up:
Amazon.com commissions, or referral fees, can indeed add up.
(Credit: Amazon.com)In Amazon's SEC filings, it explains that the Associates program falls under its marketing spending line. According to Amazon's annual report:
We direct customers to our Web sites primarily through a number of targeted online-marketing channels, such as our Associates program, sponsored search, portal advertising, e-mail campaigns, and other initiatives. Our marketing expenses are largely variable, based on growth in sales and changes in rates.
To the extent there is increased or decreased competition for these traffic sources, or to the extent our mix of these channels shifts, we would expect to see a corresponding change in our marketing expense or its effect.
Marketing costs increased in absolute dollars in 2008, compared to 2007 and 2006, due to increased spending in variable online-marketing channels, such as our Associates program and sponsored-search programs.
While costs associated with free shipping are not included in marketing expense, we view free-shipping offers and Amazon Prime as effective worldwide marketing tools, and intend to continue offering them indefinitely.
The big question is whether Amazon's referral program accounts for the bulk of the company's marketing expense. For the year ended December 31, 2008, Amazon reported marketing expenses of $482 million, up from $344 million in 2007 and $263 million in 2006.
It's hard to quantify the connection between referrals and Amazon's sales, but chances are good that the company has word of mouth, habits, and low prices at its back these days. Simply put, if Amazon cuts its Associates program in every state, its marketing expenses would fall dramatically and ultimately boost earnings. And Amazon would likely land the sale, anyway. Meanwhile, these small businesses that like Amazon's commissions will be screaming at their state legislators.
JPMorgan analyst Imran Khan writes in a research note:
Although the affiliate network changes could result in some lost sales, Amazon will have the ability to shift marketing spend into other arenas. We think the company can continue to focus its marketing on the areas that deliver the best (return on investment), mitigating the impact of losing some affiliates.
The state tax flap is an interesting showdown, but Amazon has done the math internally. The e-tailer appears confident that it can win a game of chicken.
NEW YORK--The state senate in Albany was in a bit of a shambles Monday. So instead of speaking in-person at the Personal Democracy Forum as planned, NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg used Skype to make his keynote address.
"Through the miracles of modern communication, we're essentially together," Bloomberg commented to the audience at the Frederick P. Rose auditorium here in midtown Manhattan. He then spoke about how New York is using the assets of the digital age to make more information available to the city's residents--something that Bloomberg can pitch well, considering he made a fortune as the founder of the business news and information company that bears his name.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
(Credit: NYC.gov)Bloomberg's new initiatives include Skype and Twitter accounts for NYC 311, the city's information hotline that Bloomberg launched several years ago; a partnership with Google to get more detailed information about exactly what people are searching for on municipal government sites (and what they can and can't find); and "Big Apps," a new contest for developers to crunch and remix city data into Web or mobile applications for the masses.
The economy, however, may get in the way. Any ambitious new city projects are taken with a grain of salt these days, and with good reason.
I, for one, was scrambling to get to Bloomberg's talk on time because cutbacks and delays on the B-D-F-V subway line had added literally an extra half-hour to my commute from downtown to the conference venue at Columbus Circle. Griping about the city budget is pretty commonplace around here these days, and Bloomberg himself is no exception.
"If any of you from around the world wants to move here," Bloomberg quipped over the Skype connection when conference organizer Andrew Rasiej commented that a thousand people were on hand, "we would love to have you. We need taxpayers."
The official information available on the Web to New York residents includes public school progress data and citywide performance reporting. Beyond that, Bloomberg's administration has chosen to support new and more efficient ways of doing business: it has given the thumbs-up to collaborative workspaces and launched a venture fund for tech and finance start-ups, among other things. These are all part of a way to combat the fact that the Wall Street meltdown has left scores of the city's professionals out of work.
With "Big Apps," Bloomberg is encouraging developers to participate in a contest that "will challenge all of you, and the whole tech world, really, to come up with new applications using city data."
"We'll be releasing a huge volume of data from a number of agencies," Bloomberg said before the Skype connection briefly cut off. Rasiej re-dialed in, and Bloomberg continued that he hopes the fruits of Big Apps contests will "create the connectedness that will benefit the city economically, civically, and socially."
If developers aren't willing to act solely out of a desire to help the city, Bloomberg said that Big Apps will indeed have cash prizes, as well as an even bigger incentive.
"I'll up the ante by taking the grand-prize winners out to dinner," he said.
Good to hear that's still in the budget.
The Environmental Protection Agency may have suppressed an internal report that was skeptical of claims about global warming, including whether carbon dioxide must be strictly regulated by the federal government, according to a series of newly disclosed e-mail messages.
Less than two weeks before the agency formally submitted its pro-regulation recommendation to the White House, an EPA center director quashed a 98-page report that warned against making hasty "decisions based on a scientific hypothesis that does not appear to explain most of the available data."
The EPA official, Al McGartland, said in an e-mail message (PDF) to a staff researcher on March 17: "The administrator and the administration has decided to move forward...and your comments do not help the legal or policy case for this decision."
The e-mail correspondence raises questions about political interference in what was supposed to be an independent review process inside a federal agency--and echoes criticisms of the EPA under the Bush administration, which was accused of suppressing a pro-climate change document.
Alan Carlin, the primary author of the 98-page EPA report, said in a telephone interview on Friday that his boss, McGartland, was being pressured himself. "It was his view that he either lost his job or he got me working on something else," Carlin said. "That was obviously coming from higher levels."
E-mail messages released this week show that Carlin was ordered not to "have any direct communication" with anyone outside his small group at EPA on the topic of climate change, and was informed that his report would not be shared with the agency group working on the topic.
"I was told for probably the first time in I don't know how many years exactly what I was to work on," said Carlin, a 38-year veteran of the EPA. "And it was not to work on climate change." One e-mail orders him to update a grants database instead.
For its part, the EPA sent an e-mailed statement saying: "Claims that this individual's opinions were not considered or studied are entirely false. This Administration and this EPA Administrator are fully committed to openness, transparency, and science-based decision making. These principles were reflected throughout the development of the proposed endangerment finding, a process in which a broad array of voices were heard and an inter-agency review was conducted." (The endangerment finding is the EPA's decision that carbon dioxide endangers the public health and welfare.)
Carlin has an undergraduate degree in physics from CalTech and a PhD in economics from MIT. His Web site lists papers about the environment and public policy dating back to 1964, spanning topics from pollution control to environmentally-responsible energy pricing.
After reviewing the scientific literature that the EPA is relying on, Carlin said, he concluded that it was at least three years out of date and did not reflect the latest research. "My personal view is that there is not currently any reason to regulate (carbon dioxide)," he said. "There may be in the future. But global temperatures are roughly where they were in the mid-20th century. They're not going up, and if anything they're going down."
Carlin's report listed a number of recent developments he said the EPA did not consider, including that global temperatures have declined for 11 years; that new research predicts Atlantic hurricanes will be unaffected; that there's "little evidence" that Greenland is shedding ice at expected levels; and that solar radiation has the largest single effect on the earth's temperature.
If there is a need for the government to lower planetary temperatures, Carlin believes, other mechanisms would be cheaper and more effective than regulation of carbon dioxide. One paper he wrote says managing sea level rise or reducing solar radiation reaching the earth would be more cost-effective alternatives.
The EPA's possible suppression of Carlin's report, which lists the EPA's John Davidson as a co-author, could endanger any carbon dioxide regulations if they are eventually challenged in court.
"The big question is: there is this general rule that when an agency puts something out for public evidence and comment, it's supposed to have the evidence supporting it and the evidence the other way," said Sam Kazman, general counsel of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C., that has been skeptical of new laws or regulations relating to global warming.
Kazman's group obtained the documents--both CEI and Carlin say he was not the source--and released the e-mails on Tuesday and the report on Friday. As a result of the disclosure, CEI has asked the EPA to reopen the comment period on the greenhouse gas regulatory proceeding, which ended on Tuesday.
The EPA also said in its statement: "The individual in question is not a scientist and was not part of the working group dealing with this issue. Nevertheless, the document he submitted was reviewed by his peers and agency scientists, and information from that report was submitted by his manager to those responsible for developing the proposed endangerment finding. In fact, some ideas from that document are included and addressed in the endangerment finding."
That appears to conflict with an e-mail from McGartland in March, who said to Carlin: "I decided not to forward your comments... I can see only one impact of your comments given where we are in the process, and that would be a very negative impact on our office." He also wrote to Carlin: "Please do not have any direct communication with anyone outside of (our group) on endangerment. There should be no meetings, e-mails, written statements, phone calls, etc."
One reason why the process might have been highly charged politically is the unusual speed of the regulatory process. Lisa Jackson, the new EPA administrator, had said that she wanted her agency to reach a decision about regulating carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act by April 2--the second anniversary of a related U.S. Supreme Court decision.
"All this goes back to a decision at a higher level that this was very urgent to get out, if possible, yesterday," Carlin said. "In the case of an ordinary regulation, these things normally take a year or two. In this case, it was a few weeks to get it out for public comment." (Carlin said that he and other EPA staff members who were asked to respond to a draft only had four and a half days to do so.)
In the last few days, Republicans have begun to raise questions about the report and e-mail messages, but it was insufficient to derail the so-called cap and trade bill from being approved by the U.S. House of Representatives.
Rep. Joe Barton, the senior Republican on the Energy and Commerce committee, invoked Carlin's report in a floor speech during the debate on Friday. "The science is not there to back it up," Barton said. "An EPA report that has been suppressed...raises grave doubts about the endangerment finding. If you don't have an endangerment finding, you don't need this bill. We don't need this bill. And for some reason, the EPA saw fit not to include that in its decision."
"I'm sure it was very inconvenient for the EPA to consider a study that contradicted the findings it wanted to reach," Rep. James Sensenbrenner, the senior Republican on the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, said in a statement. "But the EPA is supposed to reach its findings based on evidence, not on political goals. The repression of this important study casts doubts on the EPA's finding, and frankly, on other analysis the EPA has conducted on climate issues."
The revelations could prove embarrassing to Jackson, the EPA administrator, who said in January: "I will ensure the EPA's efforts to address the environmental crises of today are rooted in three fundamental values: science-based policies and programs, adherence to the rule of law, and overwhelming transparency." Similarly, President Barack Obama claimed that "the days of science taking a back seat to ideology are over... To undermine scientific integrity is to undermine our democracy. It is contrary to our way of life."
"All this talk from the president and (EPA administrator) Lisa Jackson about integrity, transparency, and increased EPA protection for whistleblowers--you've got a bouquet of ironies here," said Kazman, the CEI attorney.
The judge in the Pirate Bay case, Tomas Norström, was not biased. That's the decision of the Swedish High Court of Justice, which investigated accusations made by the four defendants in the high-profile file-sharing case.
The accusations were based on Norström's membership in organizations such as the Swedish Copyright Association, which counts among its members lawyers who represented the plaintiffs during The Pirate Bay trial.
The court ascertained that such memberships do demonstrate a commitment to intellectual property issues, which could be considered by some to be in the interest of the plaintiffs. But it also pointed out that rights-holders' rights are protected by the Constitution, and so cannot be considered a conflict of interest if a judge endorses the principles behind copyright laws.
The court did say it would have been appropriate for the judge to disclose these memberships, which could have led to an investigation of potential conflicts of interest at an earlier stage in the process.
But as a whole, none of these circumstances are enough for sending the case back to the district court, according to the High Court, which now will look at the main appeal of the verdict.
On April 17, the four defendants were found guilty of having made 33 copyright-protected files accessible for illegal file-sharing via the Piratebay.org Web site and were sentenced to one year in jail.
They were also ordered to pay a total of 30 million Swedish kronor ($3.8 million) in damages to copyright holders, among them a number of American media giants.
Former U.S. cybersecurity official Rod Beckstrom has been named the new CEO and president of ICANN.
His appointment was announced at the annual meeting Friday in Australia of ICANN, which stands for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.
A global nonprofit, ICANN is responsible for assigning and managing Internet domain names and IP addresses, among other tasks.
"Rod Beckstrom has exactly the sort of strong personal and technical background that ICANN needs," ICANN Chairman Peter Dengate Thrush said in announcing the decision.
Beckstrom, who received his MBA from Stanford University, has served on the boards of several nonprofit groups and written four books. But it was his role as director of the U.S. National Cybersecurity Center (NCSC) where he made an impression. As head of the federal center, he oversaw a large, disparate agency spanning civilian, military and intelligence communities.
However, Beckstrom resigned his government role in March after complaining of interference from the National Security Agency.
In a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, he said the NSA dominated most of his agency's efforts and that he was "unwilling to subjugate the NCSC underneath the NSA." Beckstrom defended the achievements of the NCSC and said he favored a decentralized approach so that security is not handled by any single organization.
Beckstrom's ICANN appointment triggered favorable statements from many sides.
"Rod Beckstrom is strikingly well-prepared to undertake a new role as CEO of ICANN," Vint Cert, who is considered to be the "father" of the Internet, said in a statement. "His experience in industry and government equip him for this global and very challenging job."
Beckstrom is an "outstanding choice to head ICANN. He understands people, institutions, and technology," Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), said in a statement. "He recognizes both the potential and the challenges for ICANN. And has stood up for the civil liberties of Internet users with courage and foresight."
ICANN has been criticized over the years for a host of reasons, including internal squabbles, the fees it levies, and the perceived shroud of secrecy under which it operates.
Last year, ICANN proposed new rules for Internet names that would expand suffixes beyond the familiar .com, .net, and .org domains. The proposal worried many who thought it would lead to confusion on the Internet.
But Beckstrom's comments upon his appointment reflect faith in the organization.
"The Internet has changed the way the world communicates and conducts commerce," Beckstrom said at a press conference. "And in no small way, this multi-stakeholder, bottom-up organization has been and will continue to be at the core of the Internet's ongoing evolution. Quite simply, the proof that ICANN works, is that the Internet works."
Updated at 2:20 p.m. PDT with comments from HP and Lenovo.
The U.S. Trade Representative has written a letter to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce asking that the country drop its requirement that all new PCs sold in China have special filtering software installed.
The letter was sent Tuesday by Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, and expressed concern that the Green Dam-Youth Escort software required to be in all new PCs by July 1 violates World Trade Organization rules.
The Green Dam software is intended to keep children from accessing pornography online, according to the Chinese government, but the U.S., along with some technology companies perceive the requirement as further attempts at censorship as well as a trade barrier.
"China is putting companies in an untenable position by requiring them, with virtually no public notice, to pre-install software that appears to have broad-based censorship implications and network security issues," Locke said in a statement.
In the same statement, Kirk said, "Protecting children from inappropriate content is a legitimate objective, but this is an inappropriate means and is likely to have a broader scope. Mandating technically flawed Green Dam software and denying manufacturers and consumers freedom to select filtering software is an unnecessary and unjustified means to achieve that objective, and poses a serious barrier to trade."
U.S.-based trade associations representing the personal computer industry have already voiced their objections to the Green Dam policy. Dell, which has been ramping up its business in China over the last year, says it has made no decision yet about whether it will comply.
"Along with the rest of the industry, and relevant trade associations, we are reviewing the policy initiative and are working with government officials and others to understand its application," said company spokesperson Jess Blackburn.
Hewlett-Packard, the world's largest manufacturer of PCs, is also taking a wait-and-see approach. "HP is working closely with the trade industry association, ITI, to seek additional information, clarify open questions, and monitor developments on this matter," said a company representative.
Lenovo, the world's fourth-largest PC maker, which is based in China, also said it is still figuring out a plan, but hinted it might be prepared to comply with the Chinese policy.
"We are closely monitoring developments," a company representative said in an e-mail. "Lenovo sells in over 160 countries and in so doing we obey the law and abide by local regulations wherever we do business, and we will continue to do so."
