My Way News - China backs down from requirement for Web filter
AP reports: "In a rare reversal, China's government gave in to domestic and international pressure and backed down Tuesday from a rule that would have required personal computers sold in the country to have Internet-filtering software."

Comment: This is good news, and very unexpected, though a close reading of the report indicates that the plan may be merely delayed and could be imposed again in the future.

My Way News - Unclear what happens to personal info with Clear
AP reports: "The sudden shutdown of the Clear program, run by Verified Identity Pass Inc., this week has raised more concerns about who keeps our personal information, how well it's protected from theft and whether it could be sold to the highest bidder. [...] Clear grew out of the government agency's Registered Traveler program, which requires 'biometric identifiers.' Two similar companies - FLO and Vigilant, still operate similar databases, but are far smaller."

Comment: If you give your identification data, including biometric data, to a private company and they are later sold or go out of business, do you retain the rights to your data? Do you own your ID? These questions have not been clearly answered by the legal system and the presumption going forward is that the data belongs to the company and may be sold without your consent or knowledge. Unless Clear users file a class action lawsuit and force the issue, it is very likely that their data will end up in the hands of a third party and they will have no control over it.

My Way News - Google access in China temporarily disrupted
AP reports: "Internet users in China were unable to access search giant Google Inc. (GOOG)'s main Web site or its Chinese service, and the company said Thursday it was investigating. The outage came after the China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Center last week accused Google of providing links to vulgar and obscene sites."

My Way News - US calls on China to revoke Web filter order
AP reports: "Washington is calling on Beijing to revoke an order to personal computer makers to supply Internet-filtering software with every PC, adding to an array of disputes between the major trading partners. [...] U.S. officials met last week with Chinese regulators and expressed concern about the effort to censor Internet use and its possible trade impact."

My Way News - Mont. city ends policy seeking Internet passwords
AP reports: "Applicants for city jobs were asked for usernames and passwords for Web sites and social networking sites, sparking an outcry from those who thought the policy went too far, according to a report last week from KBZK-TV. The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana questioned the legality of the policy."

Comment: It's beyond absurd that they thought they could get away with that. It's nice to see that sometimes, common sense prevails.

My Way News - Google to step up anti-porn efforts in China
AP reports: "Google Inc. (GOOG) said Friday that it was working to block pornography reaching users of its Chinese service after a mainland watchdog found the search engine turned up large numbers of links to obscene and vulgar sites. [...] While the government claims the main targets are pornography, online gambling, and other sites deemed harmful to society, critics say that often acts as cover for detecting and blocking sensitive political content."

Comment: Shame on Google for kowtowing to the Chinese government.

My Way News - Web support pours out for Iran protesters
AP reports: "Google and Facebook have rushed out services in Farsi. Twitter users have changed their home cities to Tehran to provide cover for Internet users there. Others have configured their computers to serve as relay points to bypass Iranian censorship."

My Way News - Top senator: NSA not violating surveillance law
AP reports: "The National Security Agency has not committed flagrant violations of the rules governing surveillance of American e-mails and phone calls, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Wednesday."

My Way News - China backpedals on filtering software order
AP reports: "A Ministry of Industry and Information Technology official told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Chinese computer users are not required to use or install the Green Dam Youth Escort software - though the software will still come pre-installed or be included on a compact disc with all PCs sold on the mainland from July 1."

Comment: Very clever, I'm sure there will be some percentage of user who will voluntarily use the software and that, over time, that percentage will grow as users becomes accustomed to the idea.

The Dawning of the Biometric Age - BusinessWeek
Business Week reports: "In baby steps and giant leaps, the world is moving further into digital identification and biometrics. The new technology raises concerns about privacy, of course, as well as opportunities for security companies."

Comment: Not the mark, but the trend is toward greater use of biometric identification technology in more and more areas of society. It's a trend worth keeping an eye on.

Photo: ABC News.com

My Way News - Tweeting Iran: Elex news in 140 characters or less
AP reports: "Iranians must outsmart government blocking to use Twitter, on which users post messages limited to 140 characters called 'tweets.' Twitter and other social-networking sites remained blocked Monday in Iran. [...] Facebook was used to organize people before the election, but it was also blocked after the vote. On Monday, the site was replaced with a message that said the page was blocked under a filtering policy."

BBC NEWS - Ahmadinejad defiant on 'free' Iran poll
The BBC reports: "One opposition newspaper has been closed down and BBC websites also appear to have been blocked by the Iranian authorities. The AP news agency reports that mobile phone services have been blocked in Tehran."

My Way News - China requires PCs to come with anti-porn software
AP reports: "China is requiring personal computers sold in the country to carry software that blocks online pornography and other Web sites, potentially giving one of the world's most sophisticated censorship regimes even more control over the Internet."

VOA News - US Begins Collection of Biometric Information on Non-Citizens Departing Country
VOA reports: "Fingerprints and other physical identifiers, called biometrics, are seen as a fail-safe way to verify identity and defeat imposters. Since 2004, the United States has collected biometric information from foreign visitors upon arrival, but not departure. That is now changing."

Experts warn cell phones face hacking threat - Security- msnbc.com
MSNBC reports: "Accessing your bank account using your mobile phone might seem safe, but security experts say would-be hackers can access confidential information via a simple text message seemingly from your service provider."