protect

The songwriter behind the 2007 Internet hit "I Got a Crush on Obama" is now taking aim at the Stop Online Piracy Act.

Leah Kauffman, a Philadelphia-based singer and songwriter, has released "Firewall" to protest the Hollywood-backed copyright bill, which a House of Representatives committee had been scheduled to debate tomorrow. Earlier today, the committee debate was postponed until 2012.

In addition, Dan Bull, a U.K. singer, has released "SOPA Cabana," a none-too-flattering rap taking aim against SOPA. (SOPA can "ban" you--get it?)

Opposition from the two musicians is notable because … Read more

Lock My Photos offers more functionality than most apps in the category, letting you passcode-protect your images, and also adds several more-unusual things you can do from within the app. To get started, you'll need to create a four-digit passcode using the app's number pad. Once you're in the default folder, you'll be able to add photos from your iPhone library, or snap new pictures you want to keep private.

Lock My Photos offers a few more features than just a locked folder. You also can view your images as a slideshow, and even add transitions, … Read more

The U.S. Senate will debate a controversial Hollywood-backed copyright bill as soon as senators return in January.

A vote on the Protect IP Act, a close cousin of the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, will be held January 24, thanks to a last-minute push by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) over the weekend.

"This is a bipartisan piece of legislation which is extremely important," Reid said Saturday. "I repeat, it is bipartisan. I hope we can have a productive couple of days, pass this bill, and move on to other matters."

Both Protect IP … Read more

Hacking your own touch-screen gloves will certainly keep your hands warm this winter, but what about your ears? Well, Instructables user Grissini shares a clever trick to mod your existing earphones into a cozy set of earmuffs. He calls them Muff-Fones.

Here's what you'll need:… Read more

commentary A bipartisan group of leading members of Congress, led by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), today unveiled draft legislation that could ease tensions in a growing firefight over online piracy pitting technology industries and consumers against content providers.

The bill, "The Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade" or OPEN Act, provides a narrow and sensible alternative to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act, bills pending in the House and Senate respectively. OPEN's sponsors expect to introduce the legislation in both houses within a week. Wyden and … Read more

General Motors isn't just interested in building energy-efficient vehicles; the company now says its Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant is the company's first U.S. facility to become Energy Star certified. This means the plant has met strict energy performance levels set by the EPA from 2010 to 2011.

The Michigan plant, which builds the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, and Chevrolet Traverse, was designed to meet the optimum energy efficiency in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning without using steam, the company said in a press release.

The plant, which opened in 2006, has energy and water conservation features … Read more

There is no more influential business lobby group in the world than the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which boasts that its "core purpose is to fight for free enterprise" and "individual freedom."

Which is why the Chamber's unflagging--even unyielding--support of a controversial copyright bill loathed by Silicon Valley might come as something of a surprise. Not only do critics view the Stop Online Piracy Act as antithetical to the individual freedom the Chamber applauds, but the technology industry has contributed more to economic growth and free enterprise in the last decade than Hollywood has. … Read more

As Cyber Monday draws near and debate continues about the Stop Online Piracy Act, the U.S. government has again seized a bevy of domain names it says belong to Web sites that deal in counterfeit goods.

Blog TorrentFreak ran a list of more than 130 domains it said were seized by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security's Immigrations and Customs Enforcement division as part of "Operation in Our Sites." TorrentFreak called the move the largest such round of seizures to date.

Most of the domain names suggest sites that traffic in counterfeit … Read more

Facebook is facing legal action in Germany over its controversial facial-recognition feature.

The state data protection authority in Hamburg is preparing to sue the social-networking giant over the feature, which automatically recognizes and tags photos in Facebook users' networks, according to a report in Deutsche Welle.

"This requires storing a comprehensive database of the biometric features of all users," the organization reportedly wrote in a German-language statement published on its Web site. "Facebook has introduced this feature in Europe, without informing the user and without obtaining the required consent. Unequivocal consent of the parties is required by … Read more