unions

Column: Finally, ID fraud protection that works

Jay Foley, co-founder of the Identity Theft Resource Center, told me recently that 57 percent of all identity fraud involves opening new accounts "for short-term gain." The ITRC should know: it has been surveying ID fraud victims for several years and has amassed some impressive real-world statistics.

Foley also said 13 percent of the identity theft victims found out about the attacks only after criminals had established utility or cable service in their names. "So your credit record is more theirs than yours, making it harder to fight them in court," he said.

Clearly the best … Read more

EU cracks down on shady cell phone services

The European Union's consumer chief is taking action against dodgy Web sites selling mobile phone ringtones and wallpapers with unscrupulous practices, according to a story by Reuters.

On Thursday, EU Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva launched an investigation into 500 Web sites that sell ringtones, wallpapers, news feeds and video games to consumers. Kuneva believes these Web sites are misleading consumers, notably teenagers, and getting people to spend hundreds of millions of euros on services.

"Far too many people are falling victim to costly surprises from mysterious charges, fees and ringtone subscriptions they learn about for the first time … Read more

U.S. complains about European electronics taxes

The Bush administration on Wednesday hit out at the European Union for imposing taxes on imports of certain electronics in alleged violation of an existing trade agreement.

U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said the United States has filed a formal complaint with the World Trade Organization, which means that U.S. and European officials now have 60 days to consult about the dispute. If they don't reach a resolution at that point, the United States can call for a panel to determine whether the EU is complying with its World Trade Organization obligations under the 1996 Information Technology Agreement (PDF). … Read more

The European Union's pro open-source stance

It's perhaps not surprising that the European Union, while long attempting to remain neutral on open source, has finally come out to suggest that it will favor open source. Like the US Navy, the EU recognizes the value in open source and open standards:

For all future IT developments and procurement procedures, the Commission shall promote the use of products that support open, well-documented standards. Interoperability is a critical issue for the Commission, and usage of well-established open standards is a key factor to achieve and endorse it.

Undoubtedly Steve Ballmer will be on a plane within days to try to hector the EU into ceding its sovereignty to Microsoft again. (Btw, Ballmer beat the pulpit at Accel's recent CEO day, accusing open source of stealing Microsoft's intellectual property. This man dearly needs to get a life...and a clue.)… Read more

EU planning more fines for Microsoft?

I read this article on European Commission chief Neelie Kroes last night, and Tuesday morning woke up to news that the European Union is set to levy even more fines against Microsoft. Why? According to Bloomberg News:

European Union regulators may fine Microsoft Corp. for failing to comply with a 2004 antitrust order to charge "reasonable" fees for patent licenses on operating system software, three people familiar with the matter said. The fine may be announced as soon as February 27, said the people, who declined to be identified because the decision isn't public. Microsoft said in … Read more

The EU turns up its nose at Microsoft's openness pledge

Red Hat wasn't impressed by Microsoft's pledge to open up its APIs and protocols. This isn't surprising. More surprising, however, is the EU's dismissal of Microsoft's announcement:

The commission would welcome any move towards genuine interoperability. Nonetheless, the commission notes that today's announcement follows at least four similar statements by Microsoft in the past on the importance of interoperability.

The devil is always in the details, but it is the European Commission and the open-source community pushes Microsoft to live up to its pledge that it will do so...kicking and screaming at times, … Read more

EU invests $22 million in open-source P2P technology

It's ironic how different Europe can be from the United States. While the U.S. continues its mindless rampage against the future of digital distribution with DRM, RIAA, MPAA, and other acronyms designed to stuff the 21st century back into the 20th century's ideas of how to package and sell property, Europe is actually investing in that future. To be exact, it's putting $22 million toward peer-to-peer technology, in a BitTorrent-minded project called P2P-Next.

Surely European broadcasters are against the move, right? After all, research suggests that 50 percent of those using BitTorrent are doing so to steal TV shows. As one TorrentFreak blogger noted, however, European broadcasters believe this situation presents an opportunity rather than a threat:

One of the biggest names taking part is the BBC, who will use the new BitTorrent client to stream TV programs. Other partners in the P2P-Next project are the European Broadcasting Union, Lancaster University, Markenfilm, Pioneer Digital Design Centre Limited and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The main goal is to develop an open source, BitTorrent-compatible client that supports live streaming.… Read more

The EU is investigating Microsoft for antitrust violations...again

In what now appears to be a near daily experience, the European Union is investigating Microsoft for antitrust violations related to its attempts to get its Open Office XML file format standard accepted as an international "standard." As the argument goes, Microsoft apparently fought hard to get OOXML ratified as a standard.

Ya think?

European Union antitrust officials have asked Microsoft for information about its activities in the standards-setting process -- an early step in an investigation -- and are stepping up scrutiny of the issue, according to people familiar with the matter. The file format in question is computer code that describes how a document such as a letter or spreadsheet is digitally stored.… Read more

Microsoft under the EU gun again, this time for abusing its IE and Office positions

Microsoft desperately needs some European friends. Fresh from its first defeat in Europe, the American software giant is under the gun again from the European Commission. The stakes are much higher this time around, and the focus much more pertinent to true Microsoft monopoly power.

Microsoft got hit by a $734 million fine the last time around for preventing interoperability with Sun's computers and for bundling its media player. This time, Microsoft's Office file formats and its bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows are under fire. The EU's favorite whipping boy is almost certain to end up coughing up a lot more cash this time:… Read more

The EU opens up Microsoft. Kind of. Sort of. Not really?

With all the hoopla surrounding Microsoft's capitulation to the EU's demands over interoperability (see this and this, for example, though business journalist Dana Blankenhorn rightly yawns), it's important to remember just how far the deal doesn't go.

Mark Webbink, former Red Hat general counsel, explains:

So what has been accomplished? The Commission appears to have successfully forced Microsoft to open its work group server protocols to viewable access by all, including open-source developers. It also appears to have assured that such developers will be able to implement the protocols, at least from a copyright and/or … Read more