Tag Archives: JusticeDepartment

US prosecutes man who hacked identities to help ISIS

Posted on by
Extremism and terrorism are complex things in the internet era, and US federal prosecutors are learning this first hand. The Justice Department recently charged Kosovo citizen Ardit Ferizi with leading a hacking team that swiped the personal data...

Apple tells price fixing courtroom it owns 20 percent of the e-book market

Posted on by

Apple tells courtroom it owns 20 percent of the ebook market in pricefixing case

Apple director Keith Moerer said in court on Tuesday that the company holds about 20 percent of the US e-book market, double the size commonly assumed. The revelation came after the Department of Justice tried to bolster its price fixing case against the company by asserting that "Apple forgot to focus on customers, that's why the iBookstore is a failure." Moerer responded that the online store has consistently held a 20 percent share since just after launching, adding that "sales grew 100 percent last year at the iBookstore and it had over 100 million customers." The government will continue trying to prove that Apple colluded with publishers like Macmillan and Harper Collins -- who settled out of court -- with testimony later today from Senior VP Eddy Cue.

Filed under:

Comments

Via: paidContent

Source: Publishers Weekly

DoJ reportedly asks service providers to dodge Wiretap Act

Posted on by

It's funny how a few tweaks can make a Government program go from completely legal, to questionably so. A new secret authorization puts the US Justice Department on the fuzzy side of the legal line, approving the expansion of a program originally intended to monitor the internet traffic of military defense contractors to include energy, healthcare and finance sectors. The original program, known as the DIB Cyber Pilot, was voluntary, requiring users to approve monitoring via a login interface. Specific details on how the new program differs aren't known, but CNET reports that the Justice Department has begun issuing letters granting legal immunity to providers who violate the Wiretap Act for the sake of the program. These letters were sent to AT&T and other internet service providers, though it isn't clear how many have gone out.

Electronic Privacy Information Center executive director Marc Rotenberg summarized the situation for CNET, "The Justice Department is helping private companies evade federal wiretap laws. Alarm bells should be going off." The operation was approved by Executive order earlier this year, but remains on shaky ground. Still, these legal complications could soon vanish: if signed into law, the CISPA (Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act) would formally authorize the program. The expanded program doesn't go into effect until June 12th and will only apply to areas of critical infrastructure. Hungry for more information? Don your tinfoil hat, and check out CNET for the entire report.

Filed under:

Comments

Source: CNET

WSJ: Microsoft, unnamed business partners being investigated by US government over foreign bribery

Posted on by

WSJ Microsoft, unnamed business partners being investigated by US government over foreign bribery

Microsoft is under investigation by United States regulators over software bribery claims involving foreign government officials, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing "people familiar with the matter." The piece says both the US Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are looking into the Redmond, Washington-based software giant, investigating allegations of kickbacks in China, and its "relationship with certain resellers and consultants in Romania and Italy." Though neither the Justice Department nor the SEC would confirm the investigation, Microsoft told the WSJ, "We sometimes receive allegations about potential misconduct by employees or business partners. We cooperate fully in any government inquiries," without confirming the situation.

With regard to China, Microsoft's allegedly being investigated for kickbacks that its Chinese subsidiary is said to have paid for software contracts in the region. In Romania the situation is said to be similar to that in China, but in Italy it's said to involve customer loyalty plans.

Update: Microsoft further outlines its response to the allegations here (though still without confirming whether or not the investigations are taking place).

Filed under: ,

Comments

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Macmillan settles up with DoJ, Apple now stands alone in e-book price fixing case

Posted on by

It took awhile to read the writing on the wall, but Macmillan has finally settled the antitrust lawsuit brought by the US Justice Department for the publisher's alleged e-book price fixing. In doing so, Macmillan joins Hachette, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Penguin in choosing not to go to trial against the DoJ's lawyers. It's an about-face from Macmillan's initial stance in settlement negotiations, when it claimed that the DoJ's terms were far too onerous.

Why settle now? Company CEO John Sargent told the Wall Street Journal that the company changed its tune not because it was guilty, but "because the potential penalties became too high to risk even the possibility of an unfavorable outcome." Should the settlement terms be approved by the court, retailers will be able to discount Macmillan titles, regardless of existing contracts, for 23 months starting from December 18, 2012. With Macmillan bowing out, Apple remains as Uncle Sam's lone legal opponent at the trial scheduled in June. Given Apple's staunch denial of wrongdoing and general willingness to litigate, it seems we may be in for some more legal fireworks this summer.

Comments

Via: Electronista

Source: Wall Street Journal

Senator Schumer calls on DOJ to drop e-book price-fixing suit

Posted on by

Senator Schumer calls on DOJ to drop e-book price fixing suitBelieve it or not, but that whole e-book price fixing fiasco is still an ongoing issue for the Justice Department. New York's senior senator, Chuck Schumer wishes it wasn't however, he simply wants the DOJ to drop the case and walk away. In a lengthy (factually questionable) op-ed in the Wall Street Journal the distinguished gentleman from the great state of New York said that a successful suit against Apple (he didn't bother to call out the others involved) would set the e-book industry back several years and allow Amazon to dominate the market unchallenged. He also makes a broader call for the administration to develop more clear guidelines for deciding what non-merger cases to pursue. Unfortunately, we have to point out, that his argument is undercut by some questionable data referenced in the editorial. According to Schumer Amazon once owned 90 percent of the e-book market -- a number that, if true, most certainly predates the release of the Nook. This is followed by an insinuation that Apple all but single-handedly toppled the retail giant with the launch of iBooks, cutting Amazons market share to just 60 percent. While the latter number sounds about right we'd hesitate to lay responsibility for that 30 point drop entirely at Apple's feet. To dig into Schumers op-ed yourself hit up the source link.

Senator Schumer calls on DOJ to drop e-book price-fixing suit originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 20:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Paid Content  |  sourceWall Street Journal  | Email this | Comments