The FTC and Google reached a landmark agreement regarding allegations of antitrust behavior by Google regarding Google search engine. But also the settlement allows competitors of Google’s “on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms – to patents on critical standardized technologies needed to make popular devices such as smart phones, laptop…
Continue Reading FTC Concludes that Google Does Not Violate Antitrust Laws
Although in mid-December the Washington Post reported that there was an apparent antitrust settlement with Google and the FTC, Google reached out to me to let me know otherwise. Google sent me an email with a link to former FTC Commissioner Orson Swindle’s article and a Forbes article which…
Continue Reading Google US Antitrust Settlement, Not so Fast
After an 11 day jury trial in Denver, the executives at Executive Recycling were convicted of illegal disposal of e-waste overseas, mail and wire fraud, and smuggling and obstruction of justice. Computerworld reported that Executive Recycling falsely advertised customers that old computers, PDAs, TVs and other electronic waste would…
IDG reported that the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) issued guidelines for smartphone users which for the most part are common sense. But apparently many smartphone uses need this advice. The FCC report is entitled “Ten Steps to Smartphone Security” which includes the following:
There have news reports aplenty about Instragram’s about face regarding sharing users’ data that led Instragram to revert back to its 2010 Terms of Service (TOS). However a blog on the New York Times indicates that maybe all is not over with Instragram because:
It was unclear whether reverting its…
The Washington Post reported that the FTC and Google have reached a deal in the 2 year investigation about monopoly practices where Google “would agree to new limits on its ability to use snippets of content from other Web sites and would agree to make it easier for marketers to…
Continue Reading US Antitrust Problems for Google May be Over
Every business wants to pay the least taxes possible, even the US Supreme Court’s first opinion about the IRS code encouraged tax payers to figure out how to minimize their taxes. But since the Internet has eliminated the boundaries of time and geography, taxes on the Internet have become more…
The FTC reported that 80% of apps used by children contained the ability to access the Internet (compared to 62% in 2011) and 13% had the ability to access user geo-location (compared to 10.5% in 2011). The New York Times reported:
Several hundred of the most popular educational and gaming…
Continue Reading Children’s Use of Apps – Alarming News About Privacy
The Washington Post reported that during a federal investigation regarding a landfill owner, apparently two federal prosecutors used aliases to posted anonymous comments. Fred Heebe (he landfill owner under investigation) filed a defamation lawsuit based on the anonymous postings and hired a former FBI agent to find the posters.
Continue Reading Scandal Over Anonymous Postings by Prosecutors
Yahoo recently reported stated that French President Francois Hollande wants a tax on Google, and other search engines each time they use French media content. Google has threatened to exclude French media websites from search results to avoid paying this new tax. Apparently the goal of the new tax…
Continue Reading France and Germany Considering Google Tax on Searches
