Should Web users who share music for free have to face the same potential liability as those who sell pirated music? The record labels say the answer is yes.

For years consumer advocates have warned that Google poses a threat to Web users' privacy. Now, Google has provided privacy advocates with new ammunition in the form of a Super Bowl ad.

In late 2008, the Department of Justice threatened to file an antitrust lawsuit against Google unless it backed out of a deal to power search ads for Yahoo. Google agreed to nix the deal, leaving Yahoo to form a partnership with Microsoft instead. Now, the DOJ might be getting ready to again flex its muscle with Google, this time to force the company to abandon ambitious plans to publish out-of-print books.

Some digital rights advocacy groups have long criticized the prospect of "three strikes" policies, which would involve Internet service providers disconnecting alleged copyright infringers. Today, at a hearing about the proposed Comcast-NBC merger, three-strikes opponent Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) voiced that concern. "Will Comcast continue to commit not to cut off their customers from the Internet without some sort of due process procedure," Doyle asked Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. Roberts would not.

Some critics aren't any happier with the revised deal in the Google Book Search case than they were with the original. In fact, at least one prominent academic has come to view the proposed resolution more negatively as more time has gone by.

President Barack Obama reiterated his support for net neutrality this week during an interview on YouTube. Obama's remarks aren't surprising, given that he has consistently touted the importance of improving broadband access and insuring neutrality. But whether the FCC will be able to enact neutrality regulations remains to be seen.

Faced with the use of its technology to track consumers without their permission, software company Adobe Systems says it backs new privacy laws. "To ensure continuing consumer confidence in the Internet and in online commerce, Adobe supports the passage by Congress of comprehensive personal privacy legislation," the company said in comments to the Federal Trade Commission.