Kraft's Oreo cookie brand is going for a Guinness World Record for recording the highest number of brand 'likes' on Facebook in a single 24-hour period.  The global attempt begins today (Feb. 15) at 9 am U.S. EST and 2 pm U.K. time. Oreo is asking its existing Facebook community and new fans to "like" a specially created branded Facebook post during the 24-hour period. To earn the record, the post will have to draw a minimum of 45,000 likes, according to Marketing Magazine.

Outspoken net neutrality proponent Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) will lead a new Senate Judiciary subcommittee for Privacy, Technology and the Law, the committee announced on Monday. "The explosion of new technologies and activities online, including social media, has unleashed new questions about how to protect Americans' privacy in the digital age," committee chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said in a statement announcing the appointment. Franken said in a statement that the tech boom has "put an unprecedented amount of personal information into the hands of large companies that are unknown and unaccountable to the American public." The subcommittee's …

Qualcomm said Monday that future Android-powered devices equipped with its Snapdragon chipsets will have access to instant streaming of TV shows and movies from Netflix. The company already offers apps for the iPhone and iPad as well as Windows Phone 7 devices, but to date hasn't been available on Android. The move could give Netflix's mobile audience a big boost since Android has become the world's top-selling smartphone platform, according to recent data from research firm Canalys. The growth of both smartphones and tablets dovetails with Netflix's expectation that customers will increasingly watch movies and shows through the …

At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today, Microsoft previewed a Wndows Phone 7 upgrade and continued to tout its new deal with Nokia. Among the new features coming to the mobile platform later this year will be a "dramatically enhanced" version of Internet Explorer 9, broader multitasking capability and the addition of Twitter to the "People" hub--one of the main areas of the WP7 interface, divided into subject-specific areas. The first significant update--copy-and past-functionality--will be added in the next month. The upgraded IE9 browser will arrive in the second half of 2011. In a keynote address, Microsoft CEO …

Barbie and Ken have ironed out their differences, and after a seven-year separation, are back on again, with Mattel announcing a limited edition "She said yes!" gift set to celebrate their reconciliation. While the romantic announcement was timed for Valentine's Day, more cynical observers might think it's a career ploy from the 50-something fashion doll: It coincides with the opening of Toy Fair, the industry's biggest annual event, now under in New York. The El Segundo, Calif.-based toy marketer says Barbie updated her Facebook status to "In a relationship," officially ending the seven-year break. (Fans will recall she …

Online eyeglasses retailer EyeBuyDirect has launched a contest called "How to Kiss With Eyeglasses" at http://howtokiss.eyebuydirect.com, dangling a $500 gift voucher as the prize for the best original story of "kissing with eyeglasses." People can upload videos through March 15.

Though still a private company, Facebook can't seem to keep a lid on its financials. In the fourth quarter, the social network "generated ~$250 million of net income," sources tell Business Insider. Previous reports pegged Facebook's profits at $355 million over the first nine month of 2010. "These sources say the company is on track to generate about $2 billion of EBITDA in 2011," while one optimistic insider says Facebook could bank $4 billion this year. "The projections are just projections, obviously, and Facebook probably isn't very concerned with generating cash at this point," Business Insider notes. "Even if …

Any news or media publisher feeling as if they've finally figured out the digital landscape is in for a big surprise, insists Bret Taylor, chief technology officer at Facebook. "We haven't seen tons of other industries as impacted as games by Facebook, and we think that the next big change is seeing the next few industries being disrupted by social platforms in the same way gaming has been," Taylor tells BBC News. "If we had to guess, it's probably going to be orientated around media or news, because they are so social." But, with Facebook "Like" buttons now as …

Trying to break open the possibilities for online monetization, PayPal has opened up its micropayment solution to "game developers, media publishers, or anyone interested in selling digital content on a global scale." First announced late last year, the Ebay-owned online payment company said it plans to offer "a competitive fee structure for micropayments, with pricing at 5 percent plus 5 cents for purchases under $12." According to ReadWriteWeb, PayPal's two-click micropayment solution "has the potential to change how publishers and other online merchants interact with their customers." When consumers pay for online content, PayPal for digital goods allows them …

Following eyewitness sightings of a "strong" Steve Jobs seen walking around Apple HQ, the company's savior remains actively involved in key decision making. Despite a medical leave of absence, "Jobs ... has been taking business meetings at home and on the phone," reports The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources. Confirming an earlier report, sources say Jobs has visited Apple's Cupertino, Calif., campus since taking his leave. "Among products he is continuing to work on are the next version of the iPad tablet computer, expected out in the next couple of months, and a new iPhone, expected to be …