The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently formed a new unit tasked with developing technologies that enable more effective means of monitoring Internet, mobile and VoIP communications, CNET reported. The secretive new unit, reportedly called the Domestic Communications Assistance Center, aims to develop new surveillance technologies that make it easier for law enforcement to spy on suspects as they communicate using modern technology. Joined by agents from the U.S. Marshals Service and the Drug Enforcement Agency, the FBI reportedly formed the DCAC because it believes technology has developed too quickly, leaving law enforcement without the tools necessary to effectively monitor these new communications channels.

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Facebook on Wednesday announced it will be launching a new App Center in the coming weeks on the Web, iOS and Android. The company hopes the center will give developers a way to more effectively distribute apps and create new opportunities for more types of apps to be successful. “The App Center is designed to grow mobile apps that use Facebook – whether they’re on iOS, Android or the mobile web,” the company said. “From the mobile App Center, users can browse apps that are compatible with their device, and if a mobile app requires installation, they will be sent to download the app from the App Store or Google Play.” The social networking site is more to more than 900 million users and seems like a natural fit for app developers looking for the maximum amount of exposure.

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According to CEO Joe Kennedy, Pandora has surpassed 150 million users in the United States and is the second most downloaded app in the history of Apple’s App Store, CNET reported on Wednesday. The Internet radio service has big plans for the future and is working with automakers to integrate the service into virtually all future vehicles. “We truly believe this is just the beginning,” Kennedy said at the CTIA Wireless trade show in New Orleans. Over the past year, the company has faced increased competition from streaming service Spotify, however it doesn’t seem to have affected Pandora’s continued growth.

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The number of people accessing the Web through mobile devices has doubled since 2010 and now accounts for 10% of worldwide Internet usage. According to numbers compiled by Pingdom, Asia’s mobile usage amounted for 17.84% of the country’s total Internet usage, a 192.5% increase over the past 18 months. Africa’s mobile usage placed the region in second with 14.85%, usage in North America sat at 7.96%, followed by Australia, Europe and South America at 7.55%, 5.13% and 2.86% respectively. Pingdom notes that while worldwide mobile usage may only account for 10% of Web access, the number is growing at an extremely fast rate, and some countries’ Internet usage, such as India, is already nearing 50% from mobile devices.

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As service providers and government officials in the United States seemingly look to further limit Internet freedoms, Dutch lawmakers have passed Europe’s first net neutrality bill, digital rights advocate Bits of Freedom reported on Tuesday. The legislation prohibits Internet service providers from throttling users or disconnecting their access unless in extreme circumstances. The bill also includes an anti-wiretapping provision, which restricts Internet providers from using invasive wiretapping technologies to monitor its users, although wiretapping is permitted with a warrant. A technical error in the law might still be corrected in a vote scheduled for May 15th.

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According to an LG executive, the South Korean firm plans to launch an Internet-enabled Google TV in the United States the week of May 21st, Reuters reported on Monday. The company is looking to gain a larger share of the emerging smart TV market and defend itself against Apple, which is widely expected to unveil an HDTV later this year or early next year. “Production of Google TVs will start from May 17 from our factory in Mexico and U.S. consumers will be able to buy the product from the week of May 21,” said Ro Seogho, LG’s executive vice president of its TV business. The executive said the company will decide whether to expand its Google TV offering to Europe and Asia based on sales performance in the U.S. market.

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Apple’s MobileMe service will shut its doors forever on June 30th, 2012, and the Cupertino-based company is encouraging existing users to migrate to its iCloud service instead. To make the transition easier, MobileMe subscribers will be offered 20GB of free iCloud storage until September 30th. Apple plans to also offer MobileMe customers who purchased additional storage 50GB of extra iCloud space until September as well. “MobileMe members with 20GB of purchased storage receive a complimentary iCloud storage upgrade of 20GB, and accounts with additional purchased storage (40GB to 60GB) receive a complimentary upgrade of 50GB after moving to iCloud,” Apple posted on its website. “These free upgrades are good through September 30th, 2012. After that date, you can continue the upgrade at the regular price or let it expire and use the free 5GB plan.”

[Via AppleInsider]

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The Free Software Foundation has created a campaign in an effort to eliminate digital rights management (DRM) and embrace DRM-free media. “While DRM has largely been defeated in downloaded music, it is a growing problem in the area of eBooks, where people have had their books restricted so they can’t freely loan, re-sell or donate them, read them without being tracked, or move them to a new device without re-purchasing all of them,” the campaign’s website reads. “They’ve even had their eBooks deleted by companies without their permission. It continues to be a major issue in the area of movies and video too.” The foundation is hoping to raise awareness surrounding what it views to be a growing problem, and it scheduled the “International Day Against DRM” protest for May 4th as a result. A list of local events can be found on the group’s website.

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The United States Federal Trade Commission will fine Google for its breach of Apple’s Safari web browser security, Bloomberg reported on Friday. The Internet giant is currently negotiating with the Commission over an acceptable fine, which could amount to tens of millions of dollars. The fine would be the first time the FTC has ever punished a company for violating Internet privacy safeguards. Google in February was found to be bypassing the privacy settings of millions of unknowing Safari users by using a special code to install cookies on a user’s computer, even when such actions were supposed to be blocked by the browser.

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People who browse religious websites are more likely to have their computers infected with a virus than those who visit pornographic websites, according to Symantec’s annual “Internet Security Threat Report.” The firm found that websites with religious or ideological themes had triple the average number of threats than those featuring adult content. “It is interesting to note that websites hosting adult/pornographic content are not in the top five, but ranked tenth,” Symantec said. “We hypothesize that this is because pornographic website owners already make money from the Internet and, as a result, have a vested interest in keeping their sites malware-free; it’s not good for repeat business.” The report was based on information gathered from more than 200 countries through the Symantec Global Intelligence Network. Symantec blocked a total of 5.5 billion attacks last year, an 81% increase from 2010.

[Via Raw Story]

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Amazon on Wednesday announced an expansion of its Amazon Studios division, which will soon develop original content. The retail giant is currently accepting proposals for comedy and children’s programming to be distributed through its Instant Video service, the company said on Wednesday. “Amazon Studios wants to discover great talent and produce programming that audiences will love,” said Roy Price, director of Amazon Studios. “In the course of developing movies, we’ve heard a lot of interest from content creators who want to develop original series in the comedy and children’s genres. We are excited to bring writers, animators and directors this new opportunity to develop original series.” If selected for a full-budget series, the creator will receive $55,000 and up to 5% of Amazon’s net receipts from toy and t-shirt licensing, along with other royalties and bonuses. Amazon’s press release follows below.

Amazon Studios to Develop Original Comedy and Children’s Series for Amazon Instant Video

Writers, animators and filmmakers around the world are now invited to submit comedic and children’s series proposals

SEATTLE—May 2, 2012—(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon.com, Inc. today announced that Amazon Studios is expanding its development efforts into comedy and children’s series. Amazon Studios is Amazon’s content development division that uses audience feedback to identify great, original entertainment customers will love. Starting today, series creators are invited to upload their proposals for comedy and children’s programming to Amazon Studios at http://studios.amazon.com/getting-started/series. The best comedy and children’s series will be distributed through Amazon Instant Video, Amazon’s digital video streaming service.

“Amazon Studios wants to discover great talent and produce programming that audiences will love,” said Roy Price, director of Amazon Studios. “In the course of developing movies, we’ve heard a lot of interest from content creators who want to develop original series in the comedy and children’s genres. We are excited to bring writers, animators and directors this new opportunity to develop original series.”

Each month, Amazon Studios intends to option one promising new project and add it to the development slate where it will be tested for viability with an audience. If Amazon Studios elects to distribute a full-budget series, the creator will receive a $55,000 payment, up to 5 percent of Amazon’s net receipts from toy and t-shirt licensing, and other royalties and bonuses. Amazon Studios’ production company, the People’s Production Company is signatory to the Writers Guild of America and to The Animation Guild, Local 839.

To submit, a project must have a five-page description, along with a 22-minute pilot script for comedies, or an 11-minute pilot script for children’s shows. Within 45 days of submission, Amazon Studios will either extend an option on the project for $10,000 or invite the creator to add the project to the Amazon Studios site. If a project is not optioned, creators may remove their idea from the Amazon Studios site or leave it to get community feedback.

Amazon Studios new series development is led by Joe Lewis, previously with 20th Century Fox and Comedy Central and Tara Sorensen, formerly with National Geographic Kids.

Amazon Studios launched in November 2010. Since then, more than 700 test movies and 7,000 scripts have been submitted and 15 movie projects are currently under development.

Thousands of people oppose the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), including the Obama Administration and “Anonymous.” The bill, which was recently passed by the United States House of Representatives, looks to give businesses and the federal government legal protection to share cyber threats with one another in an effort to prevent online attacks. Internet privacy and neutrality advocates feel as if the bill does not contain enough limits on how and when private information can be monitored. Numerous technology companies — such as Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, IBM, Intel and Oracle — have voiced their support for the bill. Mozilla on Tuesday, however, took a stand and announced its opposition against CISPA.

“While we wholeheartedly support a more secure Internet, CISPA has a broad and alarming reach that goes far beyond Internet security,” the company’s privacy and public policy lead said to Forbes. “The bill infringes on our privacy, includes vague definitions of cybersecurity, and grants immunities to companies and government that are too broad around information misuse. We hope the Senate takes the time to fully and openly consider these issues with stakeholder input before moving forward with this legislation.”

Mozilla’s Mountain View neighbor, Google, has yet to make its stance known, and is one of the last tech firms to do so. “We think this is an important issue and we’re watching the process closely but we haven’t taken a formal position on any specific legislation,” a company spokesperson said. The Internet giant has previously spoken out about the Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA), even going as far as censoring its homepage and urging visitors to oppose the bill.

The United States House of Representatives voted last Thursday to pass a piece of legislation called the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, or CISPA. The controversial bill now sits in the hands of the Senate and faces further modifications if it hopes to gain approval from the White House, which has already gone on record with a veto threat. Legions of Internet users expressed outrage when the bill was passed, and numerous protests are being staged. According to President Obama’s office, the bill would allow “broad sharing of information with governmental entities without establishing requirements for both industry and the government to minimize and protect personally identifiable information,” but what exactly is CISPA? Greg Vokes of Paralegal.net sought to make the answer as easy to digest as possible, and the result is a terrific infographic titled “WTF is CISPA?” that can be viewed below in its entirety.

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The United States House of Representatives recently voted to pass the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA). The bill looks to give businesses and the federal government legal protection to share cyber threats with one another in an effort to prevent online attacks. Internet privacy, neutrality advocates and even the Obama Administration feel as if the bill does not contain enough limits on how and when the government may monitor private information. Online petitions opposing the bill and its supporters have collectively garnered more than one million signatures, although such protests have seemingly had little to no effect thus far. The hacktivist group “Anonymous” is looking to change that, however, with the announcement of Operation Defense: Phase 2.

In a video recently uploaded to YouTube, Anonymous acknowledged that its traditional DDoS-style of attacks are becoming less effective because companies have upgraded their web servers to withstand such threats. The group states that “we will not stand while our rights are being taken away,” and is planning a traditional protest of the companies who support CISPA.

The protest will begin on Tuesday, May 1st, and continue through June 30th. Anonymous and its supporters will target, AT&T, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Verizon Wireless, Bank of America, Chase Bank, McGraw-Hill, Coke and Pepsi, Target, WalMart, CVS and Visa, Mastercard and American Express. Anonymous’s video announcement follows below.

Google earlier this month reported its earnings for the first quarter of 2012, topping Wall Street’s estimates. The Internet giant also announced plans to create a new class of non-voting capital stock that would effectively create a 2-for-1 stock split. As a result, Google would be able to issue new shares of stock for acquisitions and employee compensation without diluting the 56.3% voting stake the company’s co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin control. Not everyone is happy about the planned split, however, and a shareholder has sued the company and its board in an attempt to block the plan. The class action lawsuit is being put forward by the Brockton Retirement Board, which has accused Google of breaching its fiduciary duty to the company’s shareholders, Reuters reported on Monday. The complaint states that Page and Brin “wish to retain this power, while selling off large amounts of their stockholdings, and reaping billions of dollars in proceeds.” The Brockton Retirement Board asked a Delaware judge to block the plan and award unspecified compensatory damages.

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