In India, accessing a blocked website potentially carries a 3 year sentence
According to a government sanctioned warning on blocked torrent sites, using the Internet to access a blocked website in India could result in a ~$4,500 USD fine as well as…
Governments
NSA: “We must know everything” – a reminder
The NSA has been out of the newsflow for a while, until some unknown hacker group decided to copy their tools and offer them for sale at one million bitcoin…
UK Court: ISPs have to block *trademark* infringements in addition to copyright infringements
In a world first, a UK Appeals court has ruled that ISPs have an obligation to censor sites that infringe trademarks off the Internet, building on previous rulings that say…
Court rules that ISPs do not need to give up information on alleged pirates, copyright infringers
An American Internet Service Provider (ISP) has received validation that it does not have to give up personal details of alleged copyright infringers. The Eastern Virginia District Court has denied…
More examples of how licensing kills progress: the stories of Gopher and GIF
At Private Internet Access, we're dependent on - and celebrating - the existence of free and open strong cryptography. Time and again, people proclaiming the virtues of monopolies and exclusive…
It’s been over a month since the Indian government shut down Internet access in Jammu and Kashmir
Starting on July 8th, the Indian government ordered ISPs and telecommunication companies to shut down Internet and mobile phone access in Jammu and Kashmir in response to the protests. The…
FBI violated the Fourth Amendment while recording 214 hours of audio at a California courthouse, according to Federal Judge
According to a recent ruling by a Federal Judge in the Ninth District Courts, the FBI violated the Fourth Amendment when obtaining 214 hours of audio recordings. The offending surveillance occurred at…
Paramount Pictures agrees to end geoblocking in Europe
Paramount Pictures has agreed to stop seeking geoblocking restrictions “when licensing its film output for Pay-TV to a broadcaster” within the European Economic Area (EEA), according to a European Commission…
Use a VPN to bypass the VoIP ban in the UAE and you could get fined up to $544k
The vast number of United Arab Emirates (UAE) residents that use a VPN to bypass the VoIP ban could soon be in incredibly hot water. The VoIP ban means that…
China will start prohibiting ad blocking on September 1st
The ad blocking industry is facing a stark challenge from the Chinese government. China’s new Internet Advertising laws includes wording that explicitly prohibits “tampering with or blocking other businesses’ advertisements.”…