House Committee Debates Taxing Online Gambling

A key supporter of a law banning Internet gambling found himself trying to defend the measure against those who questioned why the federal government shouldn't benefit by taxing an activity that many Americans are engaging in despite the prohibition, CongressDaily reported. During a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the issue, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., who helped author the 2006 law set to go in effect in June, defended the measure that bans Internet gambling and requires credit card firms to block payments to offshore gambling operators.

Lawmakers Seek Legal Opinion on Google WiFi Error

Two lawmakers who co-chair the House Privacy Caucus asked the Federal Trade Commission if Google broke the law in collecting WiFi and other Internet data while taking photographs for its Street View product. Reps. Joe Barton, a Republican, and Edward Markey, a Democrat, wrote to the FTC chairman to ask if the agency was looking into the data collection, which Google has said was "a mistake."

Privacy Issues Spark Disagreements at Facebook

A backlash over Facebook Inc.'s privacy practices has triggered disagreement inside the company that could force Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg to scale back efforts to encourage users to share more about themselves in public. The social network has come under fire for a series of recent changes to its policies that have limited what users can keep private, as well as embarrassing technical glitches that exposed personal data.

Alcohol Companies Target Youth Online, Report Says

A new report claims alcohol beverage companies are using new technologies such as social media, mobile phone applications and online videos to target youth. The report, conducted by the Center for Digital Democracy and the Berkeley Media Studies Group, highlights several examples to try to prove its case that firms are targeting youth by using the communication tools they use most.

Germany Threatens Legal Action Over Google Street View

Google came under increased pressure in Europe over its collection of private data from unsecured home wireless networks, as a German regulator threatened legal action if the company did not surrender a hard drive for inspection. The German demand underscored the seriousness of the quandary Google now faced following its admission that it had stored the snippets of Web sites and personal e-mail messages from people around the world while compiling its Street View photo archive.

MySpace Outlines "Simplified" Privacy Settings

In a letter to users, MySpace's co-president Mike Jones outlined the company's stance on privacy and its place within social networking, as well as detailing what he calls a "simplified" version of the social network's privacy settings that will roll out to users in the next few weeks. The announcement comes just three weeks after Facebook's F8 conference, where Facebook introduced, and immediately implemented new privacy settings that have drawn user and media ire for making profile information too public.

ITC to Investigate Apple's Complaint Against Kodak

The U.S. International Trade Commission will investigate complaints by Apple that Eastman Kodak violated its patents related to digital imaging devices and software, the latest dispute in a long-standing patent skirmish between the two companies. Apple filed a so-called section 337 complaint against Kodak on April 15, alleging that the company had violated its patents related to digital imaging devices and associated software.

EC Leader Says WTO Should Probe Chinese "Firewall"

China's Internet "firewall" is a trade barrier and needs to be tackled within the framework of the World Trade Organization, Neelie Kroes, vice-president of the European Commission, told reporters in Shanghai. Dutch-born Kroes, who is also in charge of Europe's digital agenda, said the firewall was a trade barrier as long as it blocked communication for Internet users, preventing the free flow of information.

White House to Seek Comments on Cybersecurity Research

The Obama administration will open a Web-based forum to discuss a cybersecurity research and development agenda, according to a notice published in the Federal Register. Nextgov.com reported that the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Coordination Office for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development asked the public to submit comments for a "game change" initiative to boost the safety and security of the Internet, telecommunications and computer systems, according to the notice.

Germany Scolds Google for "Street View" Privacy Breach

Germany's consumer protection minister strongly criticized Google for a widespread privacy breach and insisted the U.S. Internet giant must cooperate better with data protection authorities. Google Inc. issued an apology, acknowledging it has been vacuuming up fragments of people's online activities broadcast over public Wi-Fi networks for the past four years while expanding a mapping feature called "Street View."

Judge Releases Court Documents in Case of Stolen iPhone

Apple pressed local police to investigate the loss of a next-generation iPhone a day after Gizmodo published photographs, telling investigators that the prototype was so valuable, a price could not be placed on it, according to court documents made public. In response to arguments made by media organizations, a San Mateo judge unsealed documents that provide a detailed glimpse into an April 20 meeting between Apple lawyers and executives, and law enforcement.

Sheriff's Candidate Sues Opponent for Domain Names

Ed Teal, a candidate for Marshall County Sheriff in Guntersville, Alabama, has filed a lawsuit against his opponent, incumbent Scott Wall's, chief deputy, Doug Gibbs. In Teal's lawsuit in U.S. Federal Court, he claims that in January he went to register a website for his campaign and discovered that almost all of the web addresses he could use, for example www.edtealforsheriff.com, had already been registered.

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FCC Chairman Calls Broadband Approach "Narrow and Tailored"

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski told a skeptical audience of cable executives he is pursuing a "narrow and tailored" approach to regulating broadband networks to promote adoption, competition and innovation. At a cable industry conference, Mr. Genachowski said his recent decision to push a weightier regulatory framework toward broadband was a reaction to a recent federal appeals court decision that damaged "the legal foundation underneath" the commission's long-stated policy objectives.

Smartphone Patent Suits Could Lead to Price Hikes

The patent wars are raging in the mobile device market, and they could result in rising costs for handset makers and higher gadget prices for wireless carriers and consumers. So far this year, Apple and HTC -- two of the most innovative smartphone makers -- have become embroiled in more patent-related litigation than in all of 2007, and they are on track to beat their own 2008 and 2009 records, according to Bloomberg data.

European Group Calls Facebook Privacy "Unacceptable"

A European data protection group penned a letter to Facebook in which it told the social networking site that its recent privacy changes are "unacceptable". That Article 29 Working Party, a collection of European data groups, sent letters to 20 social networking sites overall, but singled out Facebook for "fundamentally chang[ing] the default settings on its social-networking platform to the detriment of a user."

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