My Way News - Judge orders Google to give customer data to FBI
My Way News reports: "A federal judge has ruled that Google Inc. must comply with the FBI's warrantless demands for customer data, rejecting the company's argument that the government's practice of issuing so-called national security letters to telecommunication companies, Internet service providers, banks and others was unconstitutional and unnecessary. FBI counter-terrorism agents began issuing the secret letters, which don't require a judge's approval, after Congress passed the USA Patriot Act in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks."

Comment: No judicial review, no warrant? Where's the outrage? 

Motorola working on future electronic tattoo authentication | DVICE:
DVICE reports: "Last year, we told you about an electronic tattoo and a consumable sensor pill, two pieces of technology that promise to revolutionize the field of wearable computing. Well, yesterday those technologies took a great leap towards becoming everyday technologies [...] Former DARPA head Regina Dugan, now acting as the head of advanced research for Motorola, pulled back her shirtsleeve to reveal an electronic tattoo. Dugan said, 'What we plan to do is work with [MC10] to advance a tattoo that could be used for authentication.'"

My Way News - Congress gets mixed advice on regulating drones
My Way News reports: "The growing use of unmanned surveillance 'eyes in the sky' aircraft raises a thicket of privacy concerns, but Congress is getting mixed advice on what, if anything, to do about it. A future with domestic drones may be inevitable. While civilian drone use is currently limited to government agencies and some public universities, a law passed by Congress last year requires the Federal Aviation Administration to allow widespread drone flights in the U.S. by 2015. According to FAA estimates, as many as 7,500 civilian drones could be in use within five years."

Rubio to push biometric system in U.S. Senate immigration bill | Reuters
Reuters reports: "Republican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, who is considered crucial for the success of an immigration law overhaul, on Tuesday vowed to fight for a biometric system to track foreigners leaving the country after a Senate panel rejected the provision, in part because it was too costly."

Dezeen - Biostamp temporary tattoo wearable electronic circuits by MC10
Dezeen.com reports: "Materials scientist John Rogers and his firm MC10 have developed flexible electronic circuits that stick directly to the skin like temporary tattoos and monitor the wearer's health. [...] The team are now working on the integration of wireless power sources and communication systems to relay the information gathered to a smartphone."

My Way News - UK deputy leader: Surveillance bill won't happen
My Way News reports: "A mass Internet monitoring program touted by Britain's government as a terror-fighting tool is unworkable, the country's deputy leader said Thursday, vowing that it would not become law. [...] The proposal would have forced communications service providers to retain for a year a huge amount of personal data - including a record of websites visited, emails sent and Skype calls made - and make it available to law enforcement and other government agencies at the stroke of a key. Authorities would need a warrant to see the content of calls, emails and other communications."

My Way News - Rights group sues UK over exports of spy tech
My Way News reports: "Privacy International said Tuesday it had filed a lawsuit before London's High Court over the government's refusal to say whether it was investigating U.K.-based Gamma International, whose FinFisher software has been linked to use in more than two dozen countries, including Bahrain, Ethiopia, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam. [...] The export of Western surveillance software to repressive regimes has drawn increasing attention in the wake of the pro-democracy uprisings in the Arab world that laid bare the high-tech methods used by state spy agencies to stifle dissent."

My Way News - Judge rules secret FBI letters unconstitutional:
My Way News reports: "They're called national security letters and the FBI issues thousands of them a year to banks, phone companies and other businesses demanding customer information. They're sent without judicial review and recipients are barred from disclosing them. On Friday, a federal judge in San Francisco declared the letters unconstitutional, saying the secretive demands for customer data violate the First Amendment."

My Way News - Companies struggle to popularize mobile money
My Way News reports: "Mobile money may seem like a hot concept, but consumers aren't warming to it [...] Companies are building chips antennas into phones that let the gadgets interact with "tap to pay" terminals and other devices equipped with short-range sensors, like subway turnstiles. But getting the technology to do something useful and convincing people to adopt it is a slow process."

Comment: Not really the MOTB, of course, but mobile-commerce news is always interesting because it always seems just about to take off but never quite gets there. Of course, I'm talking about Western markets, there are many places in the world where paying with cell phones is common, but so far, the U.S. consumer and even many Europeans can't pay now the way they do in parts of Asia. 

My Way News - Banks see an opportunity in Africa
My Way News reports: "The spread of mobile phones has made it easier for the poor of the continent to maintain bank accounts. Africa's middle class is growing, too, and millions of people need a way to amass and maintain their money."