Consumers File 2,000 FCC Complaints for Net Neutrality

In just the first month that net-neutrality regulations have been in effect, consumers have filed about 2,000 complaints to the Federal Communications Commission against Comcast, AT&T, and other Internet service providers, according to records obtained by National Journal. Many consumers complained about data caps—limits that providers place on customers' monthly Internet usage.

Judge Rules for Microsoft in Google Patent Licensing Case

In a setback for Google, a U.S. appeals court ruled that the low licensing rate Microsoft pays to use some of Google’s Motorola Mobility patents had been properly set. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said a lower court judge properly determined the patents’ value even though the royalty rate was only a fraction of what Motorola had asked for.

No Trial in Oracle-Google Case Until Mid-2016, Judge Says

Oracle Corp.'s long-running legal battle with Google Inc. over Google's Android operating system for smartphones and other devices probably will not proceed to another trial until the middle of 2016, a U.S. judge said. The closely watched case involves how much copyright protection should extend to the Java programming language, which Google used to design the operating system.

U.S. to Revise Regulations Restricting Software Exports

The U.S. Department of Commerce said it will revise regulations intended to restrict the export of software that can used to break into computers and smart phones. An initial draft of the regulations, published in May, attracted hundreds of comments, many of them complaints that the rules were so broad as to bar the easy sale of standard tools used to test electronic security.

Cybercriminals Get $1 Billion via 'Business E-mail Fraud'

Cybercriminals are exploiting publicly available information and weaknesses in corporate email systems to trick small businesses into transferring large sums of money into fraudulent bank accounts, in schemes known as “corporate account takeover” or “business email fraud.” Companies across the globe lost more than $1 billion from October 2013 through June 2015 as a result of such schemes, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Clinton Wants to Keep Islamic State Militants Off Internet

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for blocking Islamic State militants from using social media to spread their message, injecting herself into a controversial issue that has divided current government officials. Clinton, who is running for the White House in 2016, said “we have got to shut down their Internet presence, which is posing the principal threat to us” in response to a question while campaigning.

Russian Hackers Used Sophisticated Twitter Tactic, Report Says

Russian government-backed hackers who penetrated high-profile U.S. government and defense industry computers this year used a method combining Twitter with data hidden in seemingly benign photographs, according to experts studying the campaign. In a public report, researchers at security company FireEye Inc. said the group used the unusual tandem as a means of communicating with previously infected computers.

European Parliament Seeks Steep Fines for Data Violations

Europe’s privacy watchdog is backing severe penalties for companies that violate new rules governing how companies handle customer data. Some in the E.U., including member states, believe that the maximum penalty for violating the law should be two percent of global revenue or 1 million Euros. The European Parliament has proposed a more severe penalty of five percent of global revenue or 100 million Euros.

China Working to Gain Some Control Over Internet

China is pushing to rewrite the rules of the global Internet, aiming to draw the world’s largest group of Internet users away from an interconnected global commons and to increasingly run parts of the Internet on China’s terms. It envisions a future in which governments patrol online discourse like border-control agents, rather than let the U.S., long the world’s digital leader, dictate the rules.

Germany Requires Facebook to Allow Fake Names

Facebook may not prevent its users from using fake names, a German privacy watchdog said, in the latest privacy setback for the U.S. company in Europe. The Hamburg data protection authority, which is responsible for policing Facebook in Germany, said the social network firm could not unilaterally change users' chosen usernames to their real names, nor could it ask them for official ID.

Planned Parenthood Says 'Extremists' Hacked Its Systems

Hackers who say they oppose Planned Parenthood claim to have posted a database associated with the organization’s Web site as well as the names and e-mail addresses of employees online. Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, told The Washington Post in an e-mailed statement that the organization has notified the Justice Department and the FBI "that extremists who oppose Planned Parenthood's mission and services have launched an attack on our information systems, and have called on the world's most sophisticated hackers to assist them in breaching our systems and threatening the privacy and safety of our staff members."

Police in Beijing Bust Factory Producing Fake iPhones

Police in Beijing have busted a factory that produced more than 41,000 fake iPhones worth as much as 120 million yuan ($19 million), including some that reached the United States, and have arrested nine suspects in the counterfeiting operation. Apple is one of the most popular brands in China, where authorities have stepped up efforts in recent years to dispel the country's reputation for turning out counterfeit goods.

Secret Service Internet Threat Desk Checks Online Messages

When President Obama launched his Twitter account in May, people noticed his rapid accumulation of followers, a silly back-and-forth with President Clinton, but also something more serious: the number of hostile and threatening messages directed at the president. Sifting through those messages to determine which, if any, need to be taken seriously is the responsibility of the Secret Service Internet Threat Desk, a group of agents tasked with identifying and assessing online threats to the president and his family.