Apple and Dropbox have become two of the first technology companies named in a call-to-action by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) to agree to stand up against the U.S Government’s demands for user’s data, by signing an agreement to protect user privacy by joining the Digital Due Process coalition. The EFF explainsthat the Digital Due Process coalition consists of a number of privacy advocates including the EFF, ACLU and the Center for Democracy & Technology, but also technology companies including AT&T, eBay and Comcast, all of which share the goal of modernising surveillance laws that extend to the Internet....

Apple and Google have just removedAlexei Navalny’s app — the jailed critic of Kremlin — from their stores in Russia. Notably, this move comes hours before the country is hosting its presidential elections. A report fromReutersnoted that Vladimir Putin’s ruling Russia United party is expected to win again after a three-day voting process, despite a drop in its approval ratings. Navalny’s organization createda smart voting projectthat promotes candidates that could defeat the ruling party....

Apple hates power users. I’ve heard the refrain many times over the last few weeks, but it’s reached a crescendo with the release ofOS X Lion. Apple’s newest OS has a host of user-facing features that are aimed at making it the easiest and most feature-rich OS that Apple has ever made. Those features, along with the fact that several key new additions to Lion borrow heavily from the iOS mobile platform, have convinced many that Apple is actively discouraging power users from using its platform....

It looks like the waiting and speculation as to exactly what News Corp and Apple have been working on is about to be over. The Loopjust posted the invite below, sent out to press, which says that iPad-only newspaperThe Dailywill be unveiled at The Guggenheim Museum in New York on 2 February. As might beexpected, it doesn’t look like there’ll be any sign of Steve Jobs at the event, with Apple be represented by VP of Internet Services, Eddy Cue....

Apple has been granted a preliminary injunction by a German court barring distribution of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in almost the entire European Union, with only the Netherlands exempted, reportsFlorian Mueller of FOSS Patents. This proceeding is related to the IP rights granted to the design of Apple’s iPad. This is the latest victory for Apple in its legal battle alleging that the rival tablet infringes on its intellectual property rights....