Fears grow over EU data retention law

Experts fear that new EU rules on data retention could be "gold-plated" by the UK government. The EU Data Retention Directive came into effect on May 2006. The directive obligates all ISPs and network operators of mobile, fixed and internet telephony, email services, messaging and Internet access to retain traffic and location data for between six months and two years. ...more

Record labels keep up the heat on file sharers

Riding high after their somewhat unexpected court victory against P2P software makers, US record labels and movie studios are turning their thoughts to BitTorrent. The software, developed by Bram Cohen, is particularly popular for swapping movies, as it splits larger files into smaller sections that download more quickly as the separate parts can be simultaneously uploaded by multiple users. However its legal position may be stronger than the more established P2P operators. ...more

IBM adds its voice to talk of IT recovery

Following in the wake of Intel's positive results yesterday - which some analysts believe signposted the end of the long-running IT slump - IBM has reported its quarterly results and made positive noises about the economic outlook. 'We are beginning to see signs that the economy has stabilised,' said IBM chairman and CEO, Samuel Palmisano. 'As we look to 2004, more customers are expected to increase their investments in information technology. ...more

French competition body rejects 'open iPod' claim

The French Competition Council has rejected Virgin France's claim that Apple's FairPlay technology should be licensed to other companies' online music stores. FairPlay is the digital rights management (DRM) technology that enables paid-for downloads from Apple's iTunes Music Store to be played on an iPod and no other portable device, but more significantly prevents other stores's downloads from being played on iPods. News. ...more

UK clamps down on personal information sites

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has ordered the website b4usearch.com, which offers a free 'people search' facility, to stop using personal information from electoral registers published before 2002, after finding the site in breach of the Data Protection Act. This is thought to be the first time that the ICO has issued such an order regarding a web site. ...more