Stories by Philip Willan

Saudi Arabia came close to buying Hacking Team

The Saudi Arabian government came close to buying control of Italian surveillance software company Hacking Team, notorious for selling its product to undemocratic regimes, according to hacked emails posted by WikiLeaks.

Italian police shutter Dark Web marketplace

Italian police have shut down a Dark Web marketplace offering illegal goods ranging from child pornography to forged luncheon vouchers, and seized 11,000 bitcoin wallets worth about 1 million euros, authorities said Friday.

Italian parliament drafts a declaration of Internet rights

The Italian parliament wants to have its say in the creation of an international legal framework promoting freedom, equality and access to cyberspace for all, and on Tuesday it presented a Declaration of Internet Rights that it will bring to the Internet Governance Forum in Brazil in November.

TripAdvisor gets Italian fine overturned

An Italian court has overturned a €500,000 (US$550,000) fine imposed last December on the online travel company TripAdvisor for allegedly publishing misleading information in its reviews.

Hacking Team CEO insists tools were not compromised

The founder of the Italian surveillance software company that suffered a disastrous data breach last week sought to reassure clients on Tuesday about the gravity of the intrusion, insisting that Hacking Team's anti-terrorism work has not been jeopardized.

Twitter a trap for Italy's communications gurus

In Umberto Eco's novel The Name of the Rose it emerges that a number of monks have been killed by a poison placed on the corners of the books in their monastery library. This month the author discovered that modern vehicles of communication can be equally treacherous.

Italy's Privacy Authority orders Google removals

Italy's Privacy Authority has ordered the first removals of Web pages from Google's search engine under the provisions of last May's European Court of Justice ruling on the "right to be forgotten."

TripAdvisor fined by Italian Antitrust Authority

Italy's Antitrust Authority has imposed a €500,000 (US$609,000) fine on TripAdvisor, the travel planning website, following complaints of unfair business practices by a national hoteliers' association and a consumer protection organization.

E-voting comes of age in Italy with Venice independence referendum

A successful online poll to measure support for the independence of Italy's northeastern Veneto region has demonstrated the sophistication of the area's IT businesses and the maturity of e-voting technology, according to the man who organized the unofficial referendum.

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