Consumers who delete tracking cookies, or instruct their browsers to reject them, often do so for a simple reason: They don't want to be tracked online. But some online ad companies seem to think they've figured out a workaround -- Flash cookies. These cookies aren't stored in the same place as HTTP cookies, which means that users who tell their browsers to delete cookies aren't getting rid of the Flash cookies.

Google's lawyers have to be pretty happy today, given the news that a second judge has sided with a video-sharing site in a copyright infringement lawsuit. U.S. District Court Judge A. Howard Matz in Los Angeles dismissed a lawsuit brought by Universal Music Group against video sharing site Veoh. Matz ruled that the DMCA's safe harbor provisions protect Veoh from liability. The decision marked the second major victory for Veoh, which also defeated a copyright infringement lawsuit by adult entertainment company Io Group.

State bar authorities in Florida have fined lawyer Sean Conway $1,200 for criticizing judge Cheryl Aleman on a blog. Among other remarks, Conway called the judge an "evil, unfair witch."

Any Web companies that use or plan to use behavioral targeting should know that the Federal Trade Commission has made it very clear that it's patrolling the space for potential privacy violations.

Congress doesn't have the power to intervene in private lawsuits, but members of the House Judiciary Committee didn't let that stop them from holding a hearing this morning about the proposed settlement in the Google book search case.

A federal judge in Maine said today that he agrees with media organizations and Web companies that the state's new privacy law, which restricts gathering or publishing information about minors under age 18, is likely unconstitutional.

This summer, The Houston Chronicle and other news organizations in Texas carried articles about the alleged murder of a 4-year-old by her stepfather, Lucas Coe. The pieces drew hundreds of commenters, including many who posted under screen names. Now, Coe's defense lawyer has subpoenaed the Chronicle (and other outlets) to learn the identity of the commenters, the Chronicle reports.

In yet another sign that the Federal Trade Commission is concerned about online advertising and privacy, Bureau of Consumer Protection head David Vladeck specifically asked Google to adhere to the agency's behavioral advertising self-regulatory principles in its new book initiative.

The National Football League is joining the Southeastern Conference in attempting to limit the media's ability to report on games. This week, the NFL told the media that any detailed accounts of the games must be time-delayed and that live updates must be limited to scores or other quick facts.

Cord-cutters might be in the minority for now, but as more programming moves online -- and as broadband connections continue to become faster and more reliable -- it's inevitable that consumers will increasingly eschew pricey TV subscriptions in favor of watching video online. Cable companies are all too aware of this possibility and already appear to be preparing preemptive strikes.