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It looks as though leaker/hero/traitor Edward Snowden has options as he seeks a place to take up asylum. Venezuela and Bolivia have now both offered asylum to Snowden, who is believed to be holed up in a Moscow airport. Snowden reportedly submitted a formal asylum request with Venezuela and Nicaragu...

Don't be surprised if this becomes a thing. Twitter's "retained profits" last year in the UK came to just Pounds 92,408 -- about $137,500. Some in Britain speculate that the piddly amount reflects some clever accounting, namely routing revenue through Ireland, where tax rates are much lower. If that...

In the U.S., we spent last week celebrating Independence Day -- the day we split from a government that our ancestors didn't trust because it was disconnected from the people. It is fascinating to watch the leaks coming out lately, which suggest our government is acting against the best interests of...

I just watched a presentation by the National Association of Attorneys General, and these top law enforcers painted Google as a criminal organization with so much power that it has unusual influence over the federal government. "Intellectual Property Crimes Online: Dangerous Access to Prescription D...

In what could be a prelude to censorship, the Turkish government has asked Twitter to establish a "representative office" in Turkey. The government has hinted that it might ban Twitter if the company doesn't comply. Turkey did as much to YouTube, blocking the site for two years until last October, w...

The UK's NSA-ish surveillance program, "Project Tempora," has drawn the ire of the German government. Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, the Germany justice minister, sent a pair of letters Tuesday to the British justice secretary detailing the angst and anger that Britain's snooping has caused. Ge...

Google cannot be forced to delete sensitive information from its search index, a key advisor to the European Court of Justice said. The opinion, released by Niilo Jaaskinen, was prompted by a case in Spain claiming that Google should remove outdated financial details about an individual. That case w...

Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who recently blew the top off U.S. surveillance programs by leaking information to the press, has accused U.S. spies of hacking into Chinese mobile companies to thieve text messages. Snowden also alleged that the U.S. has hacked servers at Tsinghua University. Snowd...

There was a huge battle between GM and Microsoft at COMDEX years ago, when Bill Gates said, "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon." GM got pissed and issued a press release suggesting how poorly a Micros...

France plans to propose a law that would prevent Amazon from offering discounts and free delivery for books in France. Amazon's discounts amount to unfair competition and threaten booksellers' business model, culture minister Aurelie Filipetti said. France is not alone complaining about Amazon's agg...

France's data protection watchdog, the Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertes, says it will fine Google if the company doesn't rewrite its privacy policy within the next three months. The CNIL will fine Google up to 150,000 euros, or about $200,000, and double that if it fails to act...

Honoring a previous agreement, legendary British rock group Pink Floyd has given the green light to music streaming outfit Spotify to host the band's catalog. Pink Floyd announced earlier this month that it would resist releasing its music on Spotify until the 1975 classic "Wish You Were Here" hit 1...

Regardless of how this turns out, at least they nailed the name. Google is launching about 30 superpressure balloons that will beam Internet access back to the ground. With equal parts brevity and self-deprecation, the effort has been dubbed "Project Loon." Taking flight from New Zealand, the balloo...

I'm into fixing problems -- in fact, for much of my life I've been employed as someone who is brought in to fix a difficult problem. I don't see much point in just complaining -- either try to fix it, ignore it, or move someplace where it doesn't affect you. The current problem is that the U.S. appe...

Another Electronic Entertainment Expo video game show has come to a close, and this week, more than ever, the battle lines were drawn as Microsoft and Sony both unveiled new systems. Sony may have gotten the upper hand by announcing that its PlayStation 4 will be $100 cheaper than the Xbox One and f...

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