• Cole Haan Draws FTC Notice With Pinterest Contest
    Cole Haan's "Wandering Sole" contest on Pinterest has drawn the attention of the Federal Trade Commission, which is indicating that the retailer potentially engaged in an unfair or deceptive practice with the initiative.
  • Microsoft Promises To Stop Searching Users' Emails
    In an about face, Microsoft's general counsel Brad Smith said today that the company won't again take it upon itself to search users' email accounts. Now, if the company suspects that a user's email contains evidence of a crime, Microsoft will turn the matter over to the authorities.
  • Facebook Defeats Teens' Lawsuit Challenging Sponsored Stories
    Handing Facebook a big win, a federal judge has thrown out a potential class-action lawsuit alleging that the company violated teens' rights by using their names and images in ads. The judge ruled that Facebook's "Statement of Rights and Responsibilities" protected the site from the lawsuit. Facebook's terms provide that users who "like" products or services also consent to have their names and images used in ads.
  • Court Order Censoring 'Innocence Of Muslims' Continues To Raise Questions
    It's safe to say that when actress Cindy Garcia answered a Backstage casting call for an Egyptian adventure film, she had no idea what she was getting into. Instead of the action flick "Desert Warrior," the director created "Innocence of Muslims," an inflammatory piece that sparked controversy -- and was blamed for causing riots in the Middle East -- when it appeared on YouTube in mid-2012. Garcia says that she received death threats as a result of her five-second appearance in the film.
  • Google, Consumers Try To Resolve Battle Over Gmail Ads
    Google and a group of consumers who have accused the company of violating their privacy by scanning Gmail messages will meet with a mediator next month, in an attempt to resolve the four-year-old lawsuit.
  • FCC Urged To Nix Restrictions On Muni Broadband
    When FCC Chair Tom Wheeler announced last month that the agency was going to write new net neutrality rules, he also indicated that the agency was interested in examining government-imposed restrictions on municipal broadband. Late last week, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance asked the FCC to do just that. The group filed papers urging the FCC to "use its full capacity to ensure communities have the authority to decide for themselves if a municipal network is appropriate for its situation."
  • Netflix Calls For New Restrictions On ISPs
    Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is asking the Federal Communications Commission to enact new neutrality rules that would impose more restrictions on Internet service providers than the previous regulations, which were recently struck down in court.
  • Sen. Franken: Comcast Merger Threatens Open Net
    Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), one of the most vocal proponents of net neutrality principles, is warning the Department of Justice that Comcast's planned acquisition of Time Warner could threaten the open Internet.
  • Pandora Users Allowed To Proceed With App Privacy Case -- For Now
    Two years ago, Pandora dodged a privacy lawsuit stemming from its Facebook integration. But the streaming music company's luck didn't hold in another recent privacy battle: A federal judge ruled last week that users can proceed with allegations that Pandora's mobile app engages in the "nefarious" practice of sharing data with mobile ad networks.
  • Google, Viacom Finally Settle Battle About Clips On YouTube
    After seven years, three court rulings and millions of dollars in legal bills, Viacom and Google have settled their battle about video clips on YouTube. Terms of the settlement weren't disclosed, but Re/code reports that no money changed hands. Google and Viacom said in a statement issued today that the deal "reflects the growing collaborative dialogue between our two companies on important opportunities."
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