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Latest by Andrew Couts

Meet the muzzled copyright crusader who believes laws are paralyzing progress

Former staffer for the House Republican Study Committee Derek Khanna goes on the record with Digital Trends to discuss cell phone unlocking, copyright law.
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Google Reader set to die on July 1, and everyone’s freaking out

Google's RSS service Google Reader will be "powering down" on July 1. People are not happy.

Netflix Social lets you share what you watch with Facebook friends

Netflix users can now share which videos they've watched with Facebook friends, with a new feature called Netflix Social.

Digital Self: Google Glass will magnify privacy debates – and that’s a good thing

Google Glass, the Internet giant's forthcoming augmented reality glasses, has sparked unprecedented privacy concerns – and that's a good thing.
Terms and conditions: Soundcloud

Terms & Conditions: SoundCloud keeps your music yours

For this week's T&C, we dive into online audio sharing service SoundCloud's terms of service to see how the company deals with your garage band's intellectual property rights.

Here are the bills that could make cell phone unlocking permanently legal

Two bills have been introduced that would allow customers to unlock their cell phone. But advocates still aren't pleased.

Facebook News Feed cleans up its act with bigger photos, content-specific feeds

Facebook's News Feed just received a major face lift, offering users bigger photos and video, content-specific feeds, and an overall streamlined experience.

Cell phone unlocking will soon be legal again – count on it

Congress is clamoring for the chance to make cell phone unlocking legal again. But will what they come up with count as a win for consumers?
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The Digital Self: How tech can solve our gun problem (and why we won’t let it)

Smart guns technology seems like the perfect solution to America's gun problem of gun violence. But it's one we aren't willing to swallow.

White House thinks ‘illegal’ cell phone unlocking is just as stupid as you do

In a win for "common sense," the White House today said that it believes unlocking off-contract cell phones – and tablets – should be perfectly legal.
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Terms & Conditions: Waze is a privacy accident waiting to happen

Waze is easily one of the best GPS apps available, providing users with real-time traffic information. It's also a complete wreck when it comes to privacy.
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The Digital Self: Confessions of a terrified telecommuter

Yahoo's decision to ban remote workers may make sense for that company. Here's hoping that other employers don't blindly follow suit.

Terms & Conditions: The Pirate Bay’s fine print is still punk rock

Considered the world's most illegal website by the establishment, The Pirate Bay does adhere to one traditional business norm: It has a terms of service.

Petition forces White House to address why unlocking smartphones is illegal

A petition urging the White House to make unlocking cell phones legal again has surpassed 100,000 signatures, forcing the Obama administration to respond.
China is waging cyberwar

China is waging an undeclared cyberwar on the US … but now what?

Mandiant's report on cyber attacks allegedly carried out by the Chinese government should have us all asking, what does this mean for the Web?
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Yahoo’s home page gets a Marissa Mayer facelift

Yahoo.com is about to look a whole lot different thanks to a major redesign announced today by CEO Marissa Mayer.

Apple hit by same hackers as Facebook, security patch coming today

Apple revealed today that a small number of its employees' computers were hit by the same malware Facebook said infected its system last week.

The Digital Self: Admit it, U.S. Internet service sucks

Your Internet service provider is ripping you off. And it's time to change your expectations about what good Internet service means.

Burger King Twitter account hacked, McDonald’s was (probably) lovin’ it

Burger King's Twitter account was hijacked by a hacker, who retained control of the feed for hours.

Terms & Conditions: Mailbox app is worth the wait

Mailbox is the hot new email app for iPhone users – at least, those users who are lucky enough to have already made it through the app's slow roll-out process. While the rest of us poor saps wait for a spot to open, here's a quick rundown of the apps terms of service and privacy policy.

All you need to know about Washington’s big cybersecurity push

Obama has signed an executive order on cybersecurity, and CISPA is back in the House. Here's everything you need to know.
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State of the Web: Zombie CISPA will rise from the grave (but don’t freak out yet)

The dreaded Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act is expected to rise from the dead this week. But don't freak out just yet.

Bill Gates would rather fight one horse-sized duck (video)

Microsoft's Bill Gates tells the Reddit community that he would rather fight one horse-sized duck than 100 duck-sized horses. Wise man.
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Terms & Conditions: When it comes to privacy, eBay is the anti-Facebook

Online auction giant eBay's new User Agreement and Privacy Policy dissected so you can understand it.
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The Digital Self: ‘Demand Privacy’ should be the new ‘Buy American’

It's time for consumers to make "Demand Privacy" the battle cry of the 21st century, just as past generations made "Buy American" the maxim of the 20th.

Hacker exposes George H.W. Bush family emails, photos

A hacker named "Guccifer" has stolen emails and photos of the family of former President George H.W. Bush.
se your phone to break these Guinness World Records from your couch

Use your phone to break these Guinness World Records from your couch

A quick guide to Guinness World Records you can set with your smartphone right now.

Terms of Service Tracker keeps companies from slipping one past you

Companies' terms of services and privacy policies can change anytime. Docracy's Terms of Service Tracker tells you when they do.
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Fight 1 horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses? Here’s the answer!

Which would you rather fight: one horse-sized duck, or 100 duck-sized horses? This hypothetical has been put to everyone from a New York Times columnist to the President of the United States. But what do these fighting amateurs know about battling mythical beasts? We went to the real experts to settle this matter once and for all.
cell tower [Shutterstock noolwlee]

State of the Web: Why the FCC’s ‘free super Wi-Fi’ plan is probably too good to be true

The FCC wants to lay the groundwork for a free "super Wi-Fi" network across the U.S. Unfortunately, a number of hurdles stand in the way.
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Terms & Conditions: Shoot all the Vine porn you want – it’s allowed

Social video app Vine has come under fire since its launch for allowing pornography to creep into the service's highlighted feeds. And while the company has done what it can to hide its porn stash, the app's Terms of Service in no way forbid users from posting their intimate moments.
What happens when your phone knows you better than you do?

The Digital Self: What happens when your phone knows you better than you do?

A new "context aware platform" from Qualcomm is opening the doors to a future in which everything about our lives – from the apps we use to the places we go to even the sounds we hear – is harvested and shared.
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Facebook still has 76.3 million ‘fake’ users

Facebook still has more than 76 million "fake" user accounts, according to its fourth quarter 2012 earnings report.
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Facebook killing it in mobile, but sees profits drop 79 percent

Facebook now has more mobile users than desktop users, and its revenue has jumped 40 percent over last year. But it's net income is down 79 percent, causing Wall Street to punish its stock in after-hours trading.