John Paczkowski

News Byte

FTC Adds Privacy Expert to Help Shape Public Policy

John Paczkowski in News on May 21 at 12:42 pm PT

The Federal Trade Commission will soon have a new adviser to shape its thinking on Internet and mobile market issues. Paul Ohm, a University of Colorado law professor and former federal computer-crimes prosecutor, will join the agency in late August, taking over for Columbia University professor Tim Wu. At the FTC, Ohm, who has been at the forefront of a lot of debates about how best to apply Fourth Amendment privacy rights in the 21st century, will advise commissioners and staff on policy and enforcement cases.

News Byte

Judge Orders Apple and HTC to Talk It Out

John Paczkowski in News on May 17 at 1:43 pm PT

With their patent war raging on, Apple and HTC have been ordered into face-to-face mediation talks to settle their legal differences. Issued by the U.S. District Court of Delaware on Thursday, the order requires counsel and key decision makers from both companies to attend a session on August 28, 2012. It follows by a single day the enforcement of an International Trade Commission import ban on two HTC smartphones won by Apple in December of 2011.

News Byte

First White House Cyber-Security Coordinator to Retire

John Paczkowski in News on May 17 at 8:47 am PT

Howard Schmidt, the first-ever White House cyber-security coordinator, is leaving the post he’s held since 2009. Schmidt, who has spent the past two-and-a-half years working on protections for the country’s critical infrastructure, will step down at the end of this month; he’ll be succeeded by Michael Daniel, chief of the White House budget office’s intelligence branch.