Archive for the ‘New Business Models’ Category

Internet service providers in the UK have today begun blocking one of the world’s largest streaming movie portals

Posted: 2013/05/20 in Blocking, Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, File Sharing, Filtering, Illegal File Sharing, Jurisprudence, Litigation, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

In a follow up to similar actions, the MPAA obtained a High Court order which compels all major ISPs to begin blocking Movie2K, a massive site with millions of visitors each month.

(…)

TorrentFreak can confirm that in the last week of April several of the UK’s leading ISPs including BT, Virgin Media and TalkTalk, and almost certainly O2, EE and Sky, received a copy of a High Court order compelling them to block the sites.

BT have already begun blocking the site in the UK and Virgin Media inform us that they too will initiate a blockade today.

“Virgin Media has received an order from the Courts requiring it to prevent access to Download4All and Movie2K in order to help protect against copyright infringement,” a spokesperson told TorrentFreak.

“As a responsible ISP, Virgin Media complies with court orders addressed to the company, but strongly believes that changing consumer behaviour to tackle copyright infringement also needs compelling legal alternatives to give consumers access to great content at the right price.”

More:
http://torrentfreak.com/uk-isps-block-huge-movie-site-movie2k-proxy-immediately-unblocks-130520/

Streaming music works for us, say US and UK indie labels. Not clear it does for the musician, however

Posted: 2013/05/20 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/20/merlin_streaming_music_survey/

Dutch Banks To Block Accounts Of Cyber Criminals (But Probably Not The Ones They Are Allegedly Profiting From Or Have Invested In)

Posted: 2013/05/19 in Blocking, Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, New Business Models, Organized Crime, Public Policy, Stats / reports

Dutch language news article:
http://webwereld.nl/beveiliging/77804-banken-gaan-rekeningen-internetcriminelen-sneller-blokkeren

Previously:

Dutch Judge: ING Bank Cannot Be Forced To Hand Over Personal Details Of Pirate Site Operator To BREIN
http://vrritti.com/2013/05/17/dutch-judge-ing-bank-cannot-be-forced-to-hand-over-personal-details-of-pirate-site-operator-to-brein/

BREIN Threat Of Criminal Prosecution Meaningless Because Dutch Government Issued Guideline Never To Criminally Prosecute Online Piracy
http://vrritti.com/2012/06/28/brein-threat-of-criminal-prosecution-meaningless-because-dutch-government-issued-guideline-never-to-criminally-prosecute-online-piracy/

Dutch ING Bank has agreed to pay a $619 million penalty for moving billions of dollars through the U.S. financial system at the behest of Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, Libya and Sudan, falsifying the records of New York financial institutions
http://vrritti.com/2012/06/13/dutch-ing-bank-has-agreed-to-pay-a-619-million-penalty-for-moving-billions-of-dollars-through-the-u-s-financial-system-at-the-behest-of-cuba-iran-myanmar-libya-and-sudan-falsifying-the-records-o/

Sociologist, philosopher, computer industry pioneer and inventor of the term “hypertext” Ted Nelson is claiming that he knows the identity of Bitcoin inventor “Satoshi Nakamoto”

Posted: 2013/05/19 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

In a rambling – and, let’s face it, odd – 12-minute post on YouTube, Nelson spins out the suspense, throws in a dialogue with himself as Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, and finally ends with the statement that the mystery developer of the cryptocurrency is Japanese mathematician Shinichi Mochizuki, research professor of mathematics at Kyoto University.

Bitcoin was proposed in 2008 in a paper by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, with the first client released in 2009 (a point Nelson scrambles at around 9:15 of his video, giving the date as 2011).

His identification stands on three legs:

  • Mochizuki can rightfully be identified as being smart enough to have conceived of Bitcoin;
  • Mochizuki doesn’t use the conventional scientific peer review process. Rather, his habit is to publish, and leave it to other mathematicians to sort their way through his reasoning; and
  • Bitcoin would fit Mochizuki’s work-rate.

More:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/19/ted_nelson_thinks_hes_outed_bitcoins_nakamoto/

Dear Ad Brokers, If You’re Going To Distribute Ads, Please Take Into Account The Security Of Consumers…Or Else

Posted: 2013/05/19 in Blocking, Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Online advertising, Privacy / Data Protection, Public Policy, Stats / reports

The German government will still recommend people to install ad-blocking applications…

Dutch language news article:
https://www.security.nl/artikel/46292/1/Duitse_overheid_adviseert_advertentie-blocker.html

German language news article:
http://blog.botfrei.de/2013/05/liebe-online-medien-wenn-schon-werbung-dann-bitte-sicher/

Amnesty International Will Probably Be Focusing More And More On Countries Deemed “Civilized” In The Recent Past

Posted: 2013/05/19 in Education / Awareness, Future Developments?, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports

Human rights group Amnesty International has questioned Sweden’s pension fund over its investment in companies that produce drugs used for executions
http://blueandgreentomorrow.com/2013/05/01/amnesty-international-challenges-pension-fund-over-investment-in-lethal-drug/

Amnesty International: Canada blocking efforts to compensate three men tortured in Syria
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/05/15/amnesty_international_canada_blocking_efforts_to_compensate_three_men_tortured_in_syria.html

David Cameron should challenge the deteriorating human rights record of the United Arab Emirates during a state visit by the country’s president to Britain next week, a coalition of seven international human rights organisations said 
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=20749

Forcibly returning people to a volatile security situation in Somalia would violate international law, Amnesty International said as the Danish Refugee Board is due to consider returning five Somali asylum seekers
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/denmark-no-forced-returns-volatile-situation-somalia-2013-05-15

Amnesty International Participates in Vigil at White House to Mark 100th Day of Hunger Strike at Guantanamo
http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/press-releases/amnesty-international-participates-in-vigil-at-white-house-to-mark-100th-day-of-hunger-strike-at-gua

The execution of two death row inmates in Japan shows that a “chilling” escalation of death penalty use under the new Liberal Democratic government is intensifying, Amnesty International said
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/japan-executions-show-chilling-escalation-death-penalty-use-2013-04-26

Catholic church review not showing extent of child abuse says Amnesty International
http://womennewsnetwork.net/2013/04/24/catholic-church-review-child-abuse/

Court decided that the Alien Tort Statute does not allow tort cases to be brought in U.S. federal courts when the actors and territories involved are outside the U.S. The New York Times editorial board and Amnesty International have decried the decision as an assault on human rights.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddavenport/2013/04/25/the-supreme-court-blocks-the-politicization-of-international-law/

Asylum Seekers Who Are Imprisoned In The Netherlands Face Isolation, Sleep Deprivation And Abuse, Possibly By G4S Staff, Dutch Physician Claims

Posted: 2013/05/19 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports

She is unable to get access to medical dossiers or asylum seekers themselves. Physician also suggests that asylum seekers are facing physical abuse when they choose to cooperate with news media to expose the situation in Dutch detention centers.

In The Netherlands asylum seekers are being imprisoned not because they committed a crime, but because they are seeking asylum. A lot of the enforcement related activities have been outsourced to the private sector.

Dutch language news article:
http://www.joop.nl/leven/detail/artikel/21108_hongerstakende_asielzoekers_slecht_behandeld/

Previously:

Another Ghost Is Back In Europe: Dutch Government To Label And Treat Fugitives As Criminals
http://vrritti.com/2013/04/26/another-ghost-is-back-in-europe-dutch-government-to-label-and-treat-fugitives-as-criminals/

Goldman Sachs Just Predicted Your Future: “It would be extremely bad for Europe and the rest of the world if the European experiment were to fail”

Posted: 2013/05/19 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports

Or was the bank issuing a threat?

Banks & Bankers: +
Politicians: +
European citizens: -

But at least we know now that Europe is still being regarded an “experiment”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-19/blankfein-tells-welt-euro-breakup-risk-is-lower-than-a-year-ago.html

Google isn’t just the backbone of the Internet anymore. It’s rapidly becoming the backbone of your entire life

Posted: 2013/05/19 in Education / Awareness, Google, New Business Models, Privacy / Data Protection, Public Policy, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

Google to become yet another unstoppable, all-knowing force governments will have to reckon with…

Thanks to data you’re voluntarily giving up to a private company based on your Web searches, photos, Gmail messages, and more.

After spending three days at I/O this week, it became more apparent than ever that unless millions (billions?) of people suddenly change their mind and start using alternative tech tools, or unless the government steps in waving the anti-trust banner, our lives, our history, and our personal wealth could be managed by one company –– Google.

(…)

Google Now scans your email and knows when your Amazon package is arriving. It knows what sports scores to show you based on the teams you’ve searched for. It knows what stock prices to show you based on the companies you search for. It scans your calendar and reminds you when to leave to make your appointment on time. And all that data is delivered to you without you having to ask.

(…)

The question to ask now is, are we OK with this? Does the benefit of faster search, better transportation, and automated news updates outweigh giving up so much of our lives to a computer run by a private company that mines our data?

They’re issues we’d have to tackle gradually, but hopefully not before Google advances faster than we can adapt.

More:
http://www.infowars.com/googles-plan-to-take-over-the-world/

What does the illegal manipulation of markets by the Federal Reserve tell us?

Posted: 2013/05/19 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports

It tells us that the Federal Reserve sees no way out of printing money in order to support the federal deficit and the insolvent banks. If the dollar came under attack and the Federal Reserve had to stop printing dollars, interest rates would rise. The bond and stock markets would collapse. The dollar would be abandoned as reserve currency. Washington would no longer be able to pay its bills and would lose its hegemony. The world of hubristic Washington would collapse.

More:
http://www.infowars.com/washington-signals-dollar-deep-concerns/

Endemic gagging: Over 300 UK police silenced with taxpayer millions

Posted: 2013/05/19 in Education / Awareness, Enforcement, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports

Greater Manchester Police confirmed to the paper that 14 agreements had been signed in the past three years, with a further 17 being signed by Nothumbria Police.

London’s Metropolitan Police is also implicated, having gagged 230 of its police officers over a seven year  period, with its former head of human resources, Martin Tiplady, being handed 259,462 pounds after he put his name to one of the agreements. The former commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson received 176,838 pounds in a single payment: more than 1.8 times his annual salary.

James Patrick, a constable in the Metropolitan Police, was investigated for gross misconduct and told not to use Twitter or his blog last December, after he expressed concerns over the impact of the cuts on the force.

“This is someone who has tried to raise his concerns through the legitimate channels, but was not able to do so,” his lawyer Karen Todner told the Guardian at the point of investigation.

“They are gagged in the NHS, arrested in our police forces and blacklisted in many industries,” Cathy James, chief executive of the charity Public Concern at Work told the Guardian earlier this week, prompting calls for a review of legislation.

In the case of the NHS, potential whistleblowers have been gagged, threatened and stopped from raising concerns pertaining to patient safety.

More:
http://rt.com/news/gagging-uk-police-payout-470/

Latvian authorities ‘try to silence’ journalist with criminal charges over controversial law report

Posted: 2013/05/19 in Education / Awareness, Enforcement, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports

http://rt.com/news/latvia-journalist-charges-law-480/

Former marine, radio host and political activist Adam Kokesh was arrested

Posted: 2013/05/19 in Education / Awareness, Enforcement, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports

http://www.infowars.com/dc-armed-march-organizer-adam-kokesh-arrested-at-philly-pot-rally/

If someone has their cell phone turned on, their location data does not deserve protection under the Fourth Amendment

Posted: 2013/05/19 in Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Jurisprudence, New Business Models, Privacy / Data Protection, Public Policy, Stats / reports

http://www.infowars.com/cell-phone-users-have-no-legitimate-expectation-of-privacy-judge/

Former Google Executive Feels It’s Time For The Company To NOT Be Evil. Blows The Whistle. Others To Follow?

Posted: 2013/05/19 in Education / Awareness, Google, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports

A FORMER Google executive has blown the whistle on a massive and “immoral” tax avoidance scheme that has “cheated” British taxpayers out of hundreds of millions of pounds over the past decade.

Barney Jones, 34, who worked for the internet search giant between 2002 and 2006, has lifted the lid on an elaborate structure which diverts British profits through Ireland to the Bermuda tax haven.

Although Google’s London sales staff would negotiate and sign contracts with British customers, and cash was paid into a UK bank account, deals were technically booked through its Dublin office to minimise its liabilities here. Jones, a devout Christian and father of four, is ready to hand over a cache of more than 100,000 emails and documents to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), detailing the “concocted scheme.”

More:
http://www.infowars.com/google-insider-exposes-immoral-tax-scam/

Is an all-out battle against Internet piracy coming to Canada?

Posted: 2013/05/18 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, File Sharing, Illegal File Sharing, Litigation, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/right-click/battle-against-internet-piracy-coming-canada-172625021.html

and

http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2013/05/13/canadian-online-piracy-in-legal-crosshairs/

IP Infringement Index assesses and scores websites by reference to their relative degree of IP infringement

Posted: 2013/05/18 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

whiteBULLET:

  1. GATHERS a broad range of website infrastructure and infringement information, including legal, technical, operational, revenue, commercial data
  2. ANALYSES data by reference to an objective and consistent methodology
  3. CLASSIFIES websites to create the IP Infringement Index

http://white-bullet.com/about-the-ipi-index

http://white-bullet.com/demovideo/

Audio watermark blocks playback of pirated movies and sends viewers to digital retailers to access titles legally

Posted: 2013/05/18 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, File Sharing, Illegal File Sharing, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

http://variety.com/2013/biz/news/new-ant-piracy-software-uses-power-of-suggestion-1200481389/

and

Anti-Piracy Technology Links Consumers With Legitimate Services
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/anti-piracy-technology-links-consumers-523387

Mass Layoffs At Rapidshare. Signs Of Demise, Or Just Cashing The Chips?

Posted: 2013/05/18 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, File Sharing, Illegal File Sharing, Litigation, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

Rapidshare, once one of the world’s premier file hosting and sharing websites has just laid off 45 of the company’s 60 employees according to the Swiss news portal 20min. The company, once the epitome of file hosting on the Web is facing hard times after it changed its business model dramatically in the past year.

More:
http://www.ghacks.net/2013/05/17/mass-layoffs-are-signs-of-rapidshares-demise/

“Unfortunately, we have to part with a number of employees,” Sidler told the paper, adding: “But RapidShare will continue to operate, and we have concrete plans for our future.”

That future likely won’t look at all like RapidShare’s past: The company used to run the world’s most popular one-click file hoster, and was frequented by millions of file sharers looking for safer alternatives when music labels and others started to go after P2P users. However, Rapidshare quickly found itself in court, and fought long legal battles with rights holders in Germany and elsewhere.

More:
http://gigaom.com/2013/05/17/rapidshare-mass-layoffs/

Previously:

Rapidshare Boss And Internet Millionaire Christian Alexander Schmid Buys Himself A New Lair, Possibly With Use Of Middle Man
http://vrritti.com/2013/05/02/rapidshare-boss-and-internet-millionaire-christian-alexander-schmid-buys-himself-a-new-lair-possibly-with-use-of-middle-man/

Grooveshark’s Future in Doubt After Settlements With Big Music

Posted: 2013/05/18 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, File Sharing, Illegal File Sharing, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

http://torrentfreak.com/groovesharks-future-in-doubt-after-settlements-with-big-music-130517/

Hacker serving 5-year sentence invents ATM add-on to prevent theft

Posted: 2013/05/18 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/05/hacker-serving-5-year-sentence-invents-atm-add-on-to-prevent-theft/

IsoHunt Will Take DMCA Safe Harbor Fight to the Supreme Court

Posted: 2013/05/17 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, File Sharing, Illegal File Sharing, Litigation, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

http://torrentfreak.com/isohunt-will-take-dmca-safe-harbor-fight-to-the-supreme-court-130516/

‘I think you DO do evil, using smoke and mirrors to avoid tax’

Posted: 2013/05/17 in Education / Awareness, Google, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/17/quotw_ending_may_17/

Governments are going broke. Mega corporations are filling the gap

Posted: 2013/05/17 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports

http://www.infowars.com/google-berg-merger-ushers-in-planned-opolis-future-in-the-hybrid-age/

Couples who lose a child could pay for the creation of a ‘duplicate’

Posted: 2013/05/17 in Education / Awareness, Future Developments?, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

http://www.infowars.com/scientists-create-embryos-in-lab-that-could-grow-to-full-term/

Google Now: Next phase of technology giant’s takeover of your entire life

Posted: 2013/05/17 in Education / Awareness, Google, New Business Models, Privacy / Data Protection, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

http://www.infowars.com/google-knows-when-youre-home/

Pay.me: Get All the Money You Deserve When Selling Online

Posted: 2013/05/17 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

http://gizmodo.com/pay-me-get-all-the-money-you-deserve-when-selling-onli-507698757

New German copyright law enters into force on August 1st

Posted: 2013/05/17 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Legislation, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

http://www.futureofcopyright.com/home/blog-post/2013/05/16/new-german-copyright-law-enters-into-force-on-august-1st.html

Al Gore and Bono invest in Biz Stone’s mystery startup “Jelly”

Posted: 2013/05/17 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57584962-93/al-gore-and-bono-invest-in-biz-stones-mystery-startup/ 

Nintendo kicks “Let’s Play” videos off YouTube then slaps ads on them

Posted: 2013/05/17 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Online advertising, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/05/nintendo-kicks-lets-play-videos-off-youtube-then-slaps-ads-on-them/

And There You Have It. When An Ecosystem Equals An Oppressive Regime. Apple Censors Book Of Dutch Author Heleen Van Royen. No Court Order Needed

Posted: 2013/05/17 in Blocking, Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Stats / reports

The book will not be accepted in Apple’s App Store. Reasons?

  1. De book contains (two) links to adult websites;
  2. Apple wants the author to remove a section of text from page 282;

The author is furious and has contacted a law firm.

Dutch language news articles:
http://www.telegraaf.nl/prive/21571780/__Boek_Heleen_te_pikant_voor_Apple__.html

http://www.powned.tv/nieuws/media/2013/05/apple_weigert_porno_heleen_van.html

See also:
http://vrritti.com/?s=ecosystem

Apple Hits 50 Billion Apps Served

Posted: 2013/05/16 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/05/apple-hits-50-billion-served/

Britain’s biggest businesses are draughting up cyber-security apprenticeships to train the online samurais of the future

Posted: 2013/05/16 in Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Network Security, New Business Models, Privacy / Data Protection, Stats / reports

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/16/apprenticeship_cyber_security/

Facebook and Opposition Websites Blocked Ahead of African Country’s Elections

Posted: 2013/05/16 in Blocking, Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

http://www.infowars.com/facebook-and-opposition-websites-blocked-ahead-of-african-countrys-elections/

You can now upload your own ebooks – up to 1,000 EPUB or PDF files – for free to Google Play Books

Posted: 2013/05/16 in Education / Awareness, Google, New Business Models, Stats / reports

http://gizmodo.com/you-can-now-upload-your-own-ebooks-up-to-1-000-epub-or-507289644

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