"The rise of the Internet as a primary source of news has undermined quality and reliability." So says the Writers Guild of America, East, in written comments submitted today to the Federal Trade Commission.

Digital rights advocates often implore judges to cast a skeptical eye on requests to unmask anonymous bloggers for purposes of filing a libel lawsuit. The danger, they warn, is that the person making the request has no intention of actually suing for libel, but will retaliate in some other way once they learn the blogger's identity.

Some academics are now asking whether behavioral targeting has to compromise users' privacy. In a new paper, "Privads: Privacy Preserving Targeted Advertising," they propose a model for behavioral advertising that might not raise as many privacy concerns as cookie-based methods.

In what could be a bad omen for Facebook's Beacon settlement, a federal judge in San Francisco has rejected a class-action settlement in a data breach lawsuit against TD Ameritrade. The judge found that the settlement wouldn't adequately compensate consumers.

The influential journalism site Poynter Online is carrying a piece warning publishers that proposed new privacy legislation "could have a serious impact on the billions of dollars spent every year on display advertising on the Web."

The lobbying in advance of the Federal Communication Commission's vote to move forward with neutrality rules was so frenzied -- and, in some cases, so incompetent -- that it drew a rebuke yesterday from commission member Mignon Clyburn. "Unfortunately, some parties seem to prefer radioactive rhetoric and unseemly and unbecoming tactics," she chided. "Such an approach may yield headlines, but will not yield positive results with me."

The Federal Trade Commission is riling industry watchers by suggesting that bloggers -- but not writers for mainstream media outlets -- should disclose every freebie they receive, even review copies that companies routinely give to journalists. But even as the FTC is busy giving bloggers ethical advice, some companies are allegedly deploying online marketing strategies that are far more problematic than passing out free review copies.

A federal judge in Illinois has dismissed a lawsuit by Cook County sheriff Thomas Dart accusing Craigslist of creating a public nuisance by allegedly running prostitution ads.

Noted computer scientist Vint Cerf has added his voice to those who are asking the Federal Communications Commission to craft net neutrality regulations. Meantime, several state attorneys general and local politicians have filed comments opposed to new neutrality regulations, as did 18 Republican senators and 72 Democratic House members. One of those House members, however, has already flip-flopped.

Chief executive officers of 25 large Web companies are urging Federal Communications Commission head Julius Genachowski to proceed with plans to create net neutrality rules.