This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
Cyril Lionel Houri (born April 1969 in Meudon, Hauts-de-Seine, France) is a New York-based entrepreneur who has founded two geolocation technology companies: InfoSplit, Inc. and Mexens Technology Inc. (now called Navizon)[1]. Houri is recognized as one of the inventors of IP address geolocation[2], and has contributed in the advance of WiFi and cellular positioning technologies. For his expertise, he testified as an expert witness on location-based technology in LICRA vs. Yahoo!.[3]
Houri's education began in Paris, and he later earned a Master of Science degree in engineering and computer science from the National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse in 1992. In 1996, he relocated to New York City, where he initially worked on financial software design. In 1999, Houri founded InfoSplit Inc., a pioneer in IP geolocation, which identifies the geographic location of an Internet user. Houri designed and patented some of the technology that is now commonly used to geolocate website visitors. Since December 2014, Houri's patent is co-owned by Microsoft and Quova (now called Neustar)[4] [5].
The LICRA vs. Yahoo! case
editIn 2000, Yahoo! was sued by two French anti-racism groups demanding that Yahoo! France prevent French web users from accessing English-language auction sites offering Nazi memorabilia, which are illegal in France. Yahoo! argued in court that it was technically impossible to block only French web surfers from the site. Houri was called to testify on behalf of the plaintiff groups and demonstrated that geolocation technology could be used to block at least 90% of France-based users from accessing the offending Yahoo! sites. The court ruled for the plaintiffs and ordered Yahoo! to block French web users from accessing the unlawful content.
From IP Geo Location to Wi-Fi positioning system
editIn 2004, Houri sold InfoSplit to Quova, a larger California-based geolocation company [6]. Shortly thereafter, he launched Mexens Technology, Inc. and created Navizon, a Wi-Fi positioning system for handheld and mobile devices that triangulates signals from cellular tower and/or Wi-Fi access points to pinpoint the user's location [7]. Navizon is based on a collaborative database compiled by users with GPS devices who collect positional information of Wi-Fi hotspots and cellular signals[8], and was granted a patent for this technology.[9]
References
edit- ^ "Apple to Open iPhone Programming to Outsiders". The New York Times.
- ^ Goldsmith, Jack (2006). Who Controls the Internet? Illusions of a Borderless World. Oxford: Oxford Academic. pp. 49–64. ISBN 9780195152661.
- ^ "French Court Affirms Auction Sites Ruling : Yahoo Faces Deadline To Block Nazi Items". The New York Times.
- ^ "Method and system for locating geographical locations of online users". Google Patents.
- ^ "US-8239510-B2 - Method and Systems for Locating Geographical Locations of Online Users". Unified Patents.
- ^ "QUOVA ACQUIRES COMPETITOR INFOSPLIT". digitalcommerce360.
- ^ "Lost and Found in Manhattan". Wired.
- ^ "iPhone Faux-GPS Hack Works and is Awesome". Gizmodo.
- ^ "System and method for determining geographic location of wireless computing devices". Google Patents.