The non-profit Quad9 Foundation is disappointed with the outcome but isn't giving up the legal battle just yet, noting that various Internet services are at risk if the order isn't successfully challenged.
In both cases, the phones couldn't be factory reset before being sent to Google. [...] [A secure screen lock is] still not something you can add to your phone before sending it in for service if, for example, the screen doesn't work, and certainly no reason to excuse a criminal invasion of their accounts and property.
Switzerland's National Council has passed amendments aimed at modernizing the country's copyright law to make it more fit for the digital age. While services that host pirate sites or distribute content can expect a tougher ride moving forward, users will still be able to download pirate content for personal use. Furthermore, Swiss Internet service providers will not be required to prevent their customers accessing pirate sites.
A judge says Daily Stormer owner Andrew Anglin should pay $14 million for urging followers to terrorize a Jewish woman in Montana. US Magistrate Judge Jeremiah Lynch made the recommendation yesterday, and as The New York Times notes, it’s now awaiting approval from US District Court Judge Dana Christensen. In addition to monetary damages, the ruling recommends requiring the Daily Stormer to take down articles about Anglin’s target Tanya Gersh — who’s still suffering “atrocious conduct” from harassers because of the posts.
U.S. senator Josh Hawley has announced the outline for a bill that could apply new consumer protections to video games played by minors. Specifically, it targets games played by those younger than eighteen years of age and aims to prohibit several forms of abusive monetization practices, such as loot boxes and pay-to-win elements. The goal is to have the Federal Trade Commission enforce the bill's proposed rules by treating the distribution of any offending games as unfair trade practices.
The European Parliament has adopted the new Copyright Directive. This includes the widely contested Article 13, which was renumbered to Article 17 in the final text. Pirate Party MEP Julia Reda sees it as a "dark day for Internet freedom," but many copyright holders are happy with the result.
The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland has rejected an application to have one of the country's largest ISPs block pirate sites. The Court recognized that the overseas 'pirate' platforms were breaking the law but said that Swisscom, one of the country's largest ISPs, was not involved in that infringement.
More than 80 academics, researchers, lawyers, and other experts have issued an 'emergency statement' urging the government to reconsider the scope of new proposals that would criminalize downloading of any 'pirate' content from the Internet, screenshots included.
The European Parliament and Council agreed on the final text of the EU Copyright Directive. This includes the controversial Article 13, which opponents fear will lead to broad upload filters. The full package will now go to the European Parliament for a final vote, which is expected to take place in March or April.
A group of prominent representatives of the audiovisual and sports sectors, including the MPA and the Premier League, are calling for a suspension of the current Article 13 negotiations. The companies suggest that a case currently before the EU Court of Justice may give them a 'better deal' than the copyright reform proposal.
Unlike countries in Europe where legislation has already been tested, there is no legal basis in Japan to block 'pirate' websites and the country's constitution forbids censorship. Now, however, the Japanese government has presented a draft report which indicates that blocking websites on copyright grounds should be considered as a policy option.