SOPA blackouts to go on, even if bill is dead (for now)
Parts of the internet will go black tomorrow. From Wikipedia and Reddit to the Cheezburger network and Major League Gaming, numerous highly-trafficked web properties say they'll shut down to protest the SOPA legislation that would make the internet far less free in the name of fighting piracy.
Even Google is going to be making a statement using its homepage.
The blackouts are going on despite the fact that SOPA is effectively dead -- for the time being.
EU data protection law language leaked
In January, draft language for the new European Data Protection Directive, is expected to be released publicly.
The directive's goals include setting in place guidelines for the protection of data that originates within Europe and laying out if, how and when that data can leave Europe. The directive will replace the EU's existing Data Protection Directive.
Is Amazon a threat to online retail in the U.S.?
Amazon has been doing battle with states over the collection of sales tax for years.
It has developed a strategy for dealing with states that propose legislation that would force it to collect sales tax as a result of its affiliate relationships: threaten to terminate affiliates in the state if the legislation is passed.
Sure enough, the e-commerce giant has consistently followed through on such threats. The result: Amazon affiliates either have to say goodbye to revenue, or flee to another state. And the states themselves don't generate any of the revenue they thought they were losing out on in the first place.
EU: no cookies without consent. Will EU affiliate programs be killed?
Earlier this year, I wrote about an EU plan to require that internet users consent to cookies before they're placed on their computers. At the time, I called the plan "absurd".
Which must be precisely why the Council of the EU has approved a directive amending legislation to do just that. The announcement of this potentially horrendous action? Well-hidden in an 18 page Council press release.
EU wants cookie approval
What if you had to receive consent to place a cookie on a user's computer? As an online publisher or digital marketer, you might find it very difficult to operate.
But that's exactly what an amendment that will be voted on in the EU Parliament considers requiring.
US senators take aim at mobile spam
US Senators Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) want to make unsolicited commercial text messages illegal. They have introduced legislation they're calling the m-SPAM Act of 2009 to put the brakes on mobile spam.
The proposed legislation would strengthen the powers given to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to curb unwanted text messages. Additionally, it would flat out prohibit sending text messages to mobile numbers on the Do-Not-Call registry.
