Facebook denies that it missed a March 31 deadline to comply with European data protection laws. TechCrunch says the social network, based internationally in Ireland, is working on changes that will be implemented in time for a later deadline of July 31. The pressure group, europe-v-facebook.org, was formed last year after some Austrian students filed 22 privacy violations against Facebook. It is now encouraging consumers to make formal complaints to the European Commission.

Retail and consumer-facing industries now comprise more than a quarter of internet display ads, says the Internet Advertising Bureau, which total GBP4.8 billion. They outpace financial services display ads, which are 15% of total. The firm cites the popularity of watching videos online and the growth of advertising on social media sites like Facebook for the increases.

The Federal Court has dealt Google a blow in finding for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Tuesday that the search giant engages in false and misleading advertising. In overturning a previous judgment, the court said that ads using keywords for Honda, Harvey World Travel, Alpha Dog Training and Just 4X4 Magazine were published by Google and led consumers to rival company websites. It ordered Google to pay the ACCC’s costs. Google said it was disappointed by the ruling.

If you try to do a search in English, images drop from the top of the screen and weigh down the search bar. Feeling lucky? You'll get gold Google coins. The search giant used to direct Chinese users to its Hong Kong page but stopped after the Chinese government threatened to take away its license. So is this new landing page a protest of sorts or just more droll Google humor?

A German video of a two year old dancing to Elvis' "Jail House Rock" is a viral hit, chalking up 7 million views and pushing Invisible Children's anti-warlord video out of first place on Campaign's viral chart. The amateur footage has given his parents' online dance supply store unprecedented exposure. Two U.S. political videos, "Obamaville" and "The road we've traveled", have entered the top 10.

A start-up Belgian company is testing a system called Paycento, whereby people could pay to read a single article or download a piece of music with one click, negating the necessity of having to enter credit card details and fill out forms in order to subscribe to the whole she-bang. It could boost sales for newspapers, music vendors and other low-priced goods and services.

Privately, Internet businesses on Monday were raising concerns over the British government's plans to monitor social media use and email, saying there is "a question of jurisdiction." Their reaction comes on the heels of several MPs and civil liberties groups who argue that privacy and free expression online will be endangered. The proposal, which would allow authorities to have "on demand" access in real time, is expected to be outlined in detail on 9 May in the Queen's speech.

The polling firm will gather data in real time in order to help companies see a clearer picture of what people are saying about them on Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites. YouGov has a panel of 426,000 people that it uses for UK market research; this is taking the research farther. The pollsters said investment in this and other new products plus overseas expansion pushed profits down 9% in the six months until 31 January.

Industry watchdogs in the UK, Denmark, Norway and Sweden are looking into complaints that Apple is misleading consumers with its 4G marketing, given that the LTE frequencies supported by the iPad are available only in the U.S. and Canada. The move follows a firestorm in Australia that resulted in Apple refunding new iPad customers after accusations of false advertising.

"When did it become OK to text Mum happy birthday?" asks a $12 million marketing campaign that began on Monday. The outdoor effort dares people to consider the quality of their personal communications and introduces the tagline, "It's time for Skype". Taking a swipe at Twitter, another line proclaims, "140 characters doesn't equal staying in touch". The effort may be adapted for other markets if the first phase is a success.