In a sweeping ruling, New York's highest court ruled today that Web site operators can't be sued for libelous posts submitted by users even if those posts are edited or promoted by the site.

Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is joining the Electronic Privacy Information Center and other advocates in calling for the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Facebook's latest privacy mess -- the face recognition tool.

A controversial anti-piracy measure, the Protect IP Act, might have drawn the backing of the entertainment industry, but a growing number of critics including digital rights groups, prominent Internet engineers and, as of this week, the editorial pages of The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, say the bill could do more harm than good.

A judge in Wisconsin appears to have given the greenlight to search marketers who want to use people's names to trigger pay-per-click ads. Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Charles F. Kahn, Jr. this week dismissed an invasion of privacy lawsuit by personal injury lawyers at the firm Habush Habush & Rottier against attorneys at the rival firm Cannon & Dunphy. The privacy claim stemmed from allegations that Cannon & Dunphy used the names Habush and Rottier to trigger search ads for its own firm.

When Facebook began rolling out a tool in the U.S. last December that enables easier photo-tagging, relatively few people complained. But now that the feature is rolling out to the rest of the world, including Europe -- which has broad privacy laws -- more people are taking note. The result is a new wave of criticism, including at least one official probe, in Europe.

Entertainment industry executives have made no secret of their hope that broadband providers will deploy "three-strikes" policies and disconnect users who repeatedly infringe copyright. So far, however, Internet service providers in the U.S. have been slow to implement such systems -- and for good reason. Now, the Special Rapporteur to the United Nations has weighed in with a report condemning three-strikes laws as a potential human rights violation.

Last year, blogger Rachel Kane created the blog WTForever21.com for the sole purpose of poking fun at the retailer's items. She proceeded to gleefully trash the merchandise. Forever 21 doesn't see the humor in the site. In April, the company sent Kane a letter accusing her of trademark infringement, based on her use of the company's brand in the blog's name, and copyright infringement, stemming from her use of the images on the Forever 21 Web site.

In a speech that bodes ominously for cord-cutters, Time Warner Cable head Glenn Britt said this week that the company plans to refocus its efforts from marketing triple-play TV-phone-broadband service to selling broadband-only subscriptions.

Tennessee has just passed a law making it illegal for people to share subscriptions to Netflix, Rhapsody or other entertainment services. The new measure, signed this week and slated to take effect on July 1, empowers state prosecutors to bring theft of services charges to anyone who accesses another's subscription service. First-time offenders who do so can be charged with misdemeanors if the total value of property accessed is less than $500; if the value is more, or if the person has a prior conviction, prosecutors can bring felony charges.

Last September, 17-year-old Queens, N.Y.-based Fei Lam began selling parts needed to create white iPhones without Apple's authorization.Media reports said he took in $130,000 with the venture -- though the high school student says he didn't earn quite that much. When Lam started selling the kits, Apple didn't offer white iPhones. In late April, however, Apple finally began selling white versions of its smartphone. Four weeks later, the company sued Fei Lam and his parents in federal court in the Eastern District of New York.