Cyril Houri
Encyclopedia
Cyril Lionel Houri
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.. Houri has designed IP address
geolocation
, WiFi
and cellular positioning technologies, and has testified as an expert witness on location-based technology in LICRA vs. Yahoo!.
Houri was educated in Paris before graduating with an MS degree in both engineering and computer science from the National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse, France in 1992. He moved to New York
in 1996 to take a job designing financial software. 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. Houri’s patent is now co-owned by Microsoft
and Quova
.
In 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, LICRA and UEJF, 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.
In 2004, Houri sold InfoSplit to Quova
, a larger California-based geolocation company. Shortly thereafter, he launched Mexens Technology, Inc. and created Navizon, a wireless positioning system for handheld devices that triangulates signals from cellular tower and/or Wi-Fi
access points to pinpoint the user’s location. Navizon is based on a collaborative database compiled by users with GPS devices who collect positional information of Wi-Fi hotspots and cellular signals.
Cyril Lionel Houri (born April 1969 in Meudon
Meudon
Meudon is a municipality in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is in the département of Hauts-de-Seine. It is located from the center of Paris.-Geography:...
, Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine is designated number 92 of the 101 départements in France. It is part of the Île-de-France region, and covers the western inner suburbs of Paris...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) is a New York-based entrepreneur who has founded two geolocation
Geolocation
Geolocation is the identification of the real-world geographic location of an object, such as a radar, mobile phone or an Internet-connected computer terminal...
technology companies: InfoSplit, Inc. and Mexens Technology Inc.. Houri has designed IP address
IP address
An Internet Protocol address is a numerical label assigned to each device participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing...
geolocation
Geolocation
Geolocation is the identification of the real-world geographic location of an object, such as a radar, mobile phone or an Internet-connected computer terminal...
, WiFi
WIFI
WIFI is a radio station broadcasting a brokered format. Licensed to Florence, New Jersey, USA, the station is currently operated by Florence Broadcasting Partners, LLC.This station was previously owned by Real Life Broadcasting...
and cellular positioning technologies, and has testified as an expert witness on location-based technology in LICRA vs. Yahoo!.
Houri was educated in Paris before graduating with an MS degree in both engineering and computer science from the National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse, France in 1992. He moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1996 to take a job designing financial software. In 1999, Houri founded InfoSplit Inc., a pioneer in IP geolocation
Geolocation
Geolocation is the identification of the real-world geographic location of an object, such as a radar, mobile phone or an Internet-connected computer terminal...
, 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. Houri’s patent is now co-owned by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
and Quova
Quova
Quova is a U.S. corporation that provides an online service which provides geolocation by IP address. It is used by Major League Baseball's MLB.tv to black out content from being watched in a team's home city...
.
In 2000, Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
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, LICRA and UEJF, 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.
In 2004, Houri sold InfoSplit to Quova
Quova
Quova is a U.S. corporation that provides an online service which provides geolocation by IP address. It is used by Major League Baseball's MLB.tv to black out content from being watched in a team's home city...
, a larger California-based geolocation company. Shortly thereafter, he launched Mexens Technology, Inc. and created Navizon, a wireless positioning system for handheld devices that triangulates signals from cellular tower and/or Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
access points to pinpoint the user’s location. Navizon is based on a collaborative database compiled by users with GPS devices who collect positional information of Wi-Fi hotspots and cellular signals.