Internet snooping laws 'overly intrusive'

A study undertaken by experts at the London School of Economics found government plans to intercept Internet traffic could be overly intrusive and impose an unfair burden on Internet service providers (ISPs), reports Computing.co.uk.

Telephone companies and ISPs are already compelled to retain communications data that can be examined by authorities for a period of 12 months.

While government has abandoned plans for a database of all Internet communications, a document released in April outlines plans to force ISPs to collect more information on Internet activity - including information from third-party providers overseas - and process it for authorities to examine.

A new generation of Iranians has found ways to bypass the country's notoriously censorial Internet restrictions and disseminate details about Iran's internal turmoil in the wake of the recent election, reports CNet.

In technical circles, at least, Iran is well-known for erecting one of the world's most restrictive Internet blockades, second only to China in its scope.

But the government's censors have been unable to staunch every data leak. "The bottom line is that a lot of information is still getting out," says Zahir Janmohamed, advocacy director of the Middle East and North Africa for Amnesty International USA.

The all-too-typical violent hyperbole found in reader comments across the Internet has landed a Las Vegas newspaper in the hot seat with US prosecutors, reports The Register.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal says it has been served with a federal grand jury subpoena seeking information on people who posted supposedly threatening anonymous comments on a story about a tax fraud trial.

According to the newspaper, the subpoena seeks the identities and contact information of those who made certain posts prosecutors believe allude to acts of violence against the jury and others involved with the case.

Mobile communications are being eyed as the next prize for IBM, which is investing $100 million in research over the next five years, says the BBC.

Big Blue plans to target its investment at people who use their mobile phone, rather than their PC, to go online.

It said 83% of the world does not have easy access to a computer.