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FBI Director Robert Mueller confirmed that the bureau has renewed its push for a new Internet wiretapping law, which CNET reported two weeks ago.

In an appearance this week on Capitol Hill, Mueller downplayed privacy concerns, saying the FBI's wiretap proposals -- social-networking Web sites and providers of VoIP, instant messaging, and Web e-mail are the primary targets -- would still require a court to be involved.

We want to "be able to obtain those communications," Mueller said on Wednesday. "What we're looking at is some form of legislation that will assure that when we … Read more

The House Armed Services Committee yesterday approved an amended version of the National Defense Authorization Act that removes language requiring presidential authorization for military offensive operations in cyberspace to defend the country.

Congressional sources working with House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard "Buck" McKeon said the move did not grant the secretary of defense any additional powers and dismissed fears as unwarranted.

"We don't interpret this to mean that Congress is giving the Department of Defense new authorities," said a committee source. "It would all be within the context of the Authorization to Use … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--A senior U.S. House of Representatives aide said at an event held this evening at CNET's headquarters that he was astonished by the recent groundswell of opposition to a cybersecurity bill expected to be voted on next week.

"I'm really astounded to keep hearing this drumbeat that it's vague," Jamil Jaffer, senior counsel to the House Intelligence Committee, said during a roundtable on the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, or CISPA (PDF), moderated by CNET chief political correspondent Declan McCullagh and organized by Hackers and Founders.

Jaffer said that CISPA's critics … Read more

Anonymous is certainly making the rounds this week. First China, now the telecom and tech industry.

The hacker group has claimed responsibility for leading denial-of-service attacks on two technology trade association Web sites, USTelecom and TechAmerica, according to Bloomberg. Anonymous is reportedly lashing out because these organizations support a cybersecurity bill that some members of congress are working to pass.

The attacks began yesterday when users were unable to log onto the sites, reports Bloomberg. USTelecom represents telecom companies, including AT&T, Verizon, and CenturyLink; and TechAmerica's members include tech companies such as IBM, Microsoft, and Apple.

Both … Read more

The Motion Picture Association of America believes there's still hope for the controversy-plagued Stop Online Piracy Act.

In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter that was published online today, MPAA chief Christopher Dodd said he was "confident" that President Obama was using his "good relationships in both communities" -- that is, Silicon Valley and Hollywood -- to advance SOPA.

When asked whether there are negotiations going on now, Dodd replied: "I'm confident that's the case, but I'm not going to go into more detail because obviously if I do, it becomes … Read more

Bruce Schneier, a vocal critic of security measures used by the Transportation Security Administration, was asked to testify before Congress about TSA's security screening initiatives but then was "formally uninvited" after the agency complained.

"On Friday, at the request of the TSA, I was removed from the witness list," Schneier wrote on his blog. "The excuse was that I am involved in a lawsuit against the TSA, trying to get them to suspend their full-body scanner program. But it's pretty clear that the TSA is afraid of public testimony on the topic, and … Read more

We knew that political posturing over the privacy brouhaha involving employer requests for access to Facebook accounts was only just getting started.

Today U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) called on two federal agencies -- the Department of Justice and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission -- to investigate what they call a "new disturbing trend" of prospective employers demanding job applicants to turn over user names and passwords for their social networks.

"I am alarmed and outraged by rapidly and widely spreading employer practices seeking access to Facebook passwords or confidential information … Read more

After asking an Apple representative to appear in Washington to discuss the company's privacy policies regarding mobile devices, U.S. lawmakers have turned their attention to developers of third-party applications for Apple's iOS platform.

Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) today posted letters they sent to Apple CEO Tim Cook, as well as to 33 high-profile, third-party companies with apps on Apple's iOS platform. Some of those companies include Twitter, Foursquare, Path, Pinterest, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

The letters cite last month's incident when third-party social app Path was found to be collecting user address book information without asking. … Read more

Apple may find itself in front of a Congressional committee trying to back up claims that it's protecting the privacy of its users.

As concerns have mounted over the information collected by mobile apps, Apple has been forced to defend its policies to lawmakers. Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook last month asking for clarification on the company's privacy policies concerning the data that apps can collect.

Apple replied with a five-page letter dated March 2 (PDF) in which it tried to explain the vetting process … Read more