Boehner urges U.S. Senate to pass surveillance reform bill
The Republican leader of the U.S. House of Representatives urged the U.S
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Obama says ‘handful of senators’ blocking U.S. surveillance reforms
By Patricia Zengerle and Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama warned on Friday that surveillance powers used to prevent attacks on Americans could lapse at midnight on Sunday unless “a handful of senators” stop standing in the way of reform legislation. Obama said he had told Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other senators that he expects them to act swiftly on a bill passed by the House of Representatives that would renew certain powers and reform the bulk collection of telephone data
Read moreVirtual reality film aims to raise funds by giving Nepal quake experience
By Nita Bhalla NEW DELHI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A virtual reality film aims to help raise funds for survivors of last month’s earthquake in Nepal by giving viewers a first-hand experience of the disaster’s aftermath, the director said on Friday. Los Angeles-based company RYOT – which produces news stories for audiences to act on – shot the footage in the days following the 7.8 magnitude quake which struck the impoverished nation on April 25, killing more than 8,000 people.
Read moreNSA chief urges ‘safe’ Internet under equivalent of Law of the Sea
By Eric Auchard and David Mardiste TALLINN (Reuters) – The U.S. National Security Agency chief called on Wednesday for an “open, reliable and safe” Internet governed by international rules akin to the Law of the Sea, while deflecting critics who say NSA spying has undermined public trust in the cyberworld.
Read moreSilk Road drug site staff member avoids further U.S. prison time
By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) – An Australian man who moderated the discussion forums on the underground drug website Silk Road was sentenced to time served on Tuesday after already being in custody for 17 months.
Read moreRussia should not cut itself off from foreign investment: Putin
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday the country should not cut itself of from foreign investment and technologies. “We should not, on any account, cut ourselves off” from the kind of foreign investment and technology that can drive economic growth, Putin told a conference of business people. After annexing Ukraine’s Crimea region in March 2014, Russia was hit with Western sanctions that limited its access to foreign capital and technologies, especially for the banking, energy and defense sectors
Read moreAdult online dating site reports data security breach of member information
(Reuters) – An online dating site for adults seeking sexual trysts has been hacked, potentially compromising the personal information of some of its 64 million members, the company said on Friday. AdultFriendFinder.com, part of Sunnyvale, California-based FriendFinder Networks Inc, said it had contacted law enforcement, including the FBI, and a private investigative team to review the incident.
Read moreFounder of Facebook’s Oculus hit with lawsuit
By Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – The founder of virtual reality glasses maker Oculus VR Inc, acquired by Facebook Inc for $2 billion, has been accused of taking confidential information he learned while working with another company and passing it off as his own, according to a lawsuit filed this week.
Read moreU.S. moves to facilitate social media in Crimea
The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday authorized American businesses and individuals to facilitate personal communications over the Internet like social media, instant messaging and photo sharing in Crimea, annexed by Russia from Ukraine last year.
Read moreRussia warns Google, Twitter and Facebook on law violations
By Maria Tsvetkova and Eric Auchard MOSCOW/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Russia's media watchdog has written to Google, Twitter and Facebook warning them against violating Russian Internet laws and a spokesman said on Thursday they risk being blocked if they do not comply with the rules. Roskomnadzor said it had sent letters this week to the three U.S.-based Internet firms asking them to comply with Internet laws which critics of President Vladimir Putin have decried as censorship. “In our letters we regularly remind (companies) of the consequences of violating the legislation,” said Roskomnadzor spokesman Vadim Ampelonsky. He added that, because of the encryption technology used by the three firms, Russia had no way of blocking specific websites and so could only bring down particular content it deemed in violation of law by blocking access to their whole services.
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