Yahoo!, Facebook and eBay Aid Legal Defense of Google

While Yahoo! might seem like a strange “friend” for Google to have, that’s just what a major court case has brought about. CNET reports that companies like Yahoo!, Facebook and eBay have filed “friend of the court” briefs to support Google and YouTube in their defense against a $1 billion copyright infringement case brought by Viacom in March 2007.

The filings in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York urge Judge Louis Stanton to dismiss the suit, which revolves around copyright-protected content by Viacom entities such as MTV, Paramount Pictures and Comedy Central being uploaded on YouTube. Viacom claims that Google – YouTube’s parent company – “encouraged” users to upload pirated digital media files and benefited financially from illegal sharing.

The consortium of companies defending Google and YouTube told Judge Stanton that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act protects Internet service providers from liability for copyright violations committed by users and that a ruling against Google would have a chilling impact on future digital innovation.

LinkedIn Updates Twitter Application

LinkedIn announced yesterday a new improvement to its Tweets application that allows members to locate and manage their LinkedIn connections on both LinkedIn and Twitter. LinkedIn users can install the updated application and use it to easily find the people they currently follow on Twitter, view Twitter feeds and tweet from their accounts.

The improved Tweets application offers several handy features including a new module, “Connections to follow,” which recommends new people for users to follow based on LinkedIn connections. Users can also use the new “Connections” tab to view LinkedIn connections who have added Twitter accounts to their LinkedIn profiles. Finally, the upgraded Tweets application also provides a way for users to save LinkedIn connections as a dynamic Twitter list, with the ability to add and remove Twitter accounts to the list daily based on LinkedIn connections.

Twitter Moves to Ban Third-Party Advertising

InformationWeek reports that Twitter has moved to block third-party advertising on its site. Twitter chief operating officer Dick Costolo said in the company blog on Tuesday that the third-party advertising ban was intended to protect the “core experience of real-time introductions and information” that has been critical to Twitter’s success. However, there is a significant caveat: the ban will not apply to Promoted Tweets – Twitter’s own paid advertising service.

Despite the seeming double standard in the decision, Costolo defended the move and explained that Twitters feels there is a significant difference between how third party advertising and Twitter-approved advertising impacts the user experience:

“Why are we prohibiting these kinds of ads? First, third party ad networks are not necessarily looking to preserve the unique user experience Twitter has created,” Costolo wrote. “They may optimize for either market share or short-term revenue at the expense of the long-term health of the Twitter platform. For example, a third party ad network may seek to maximize ad impressions and click through rates even if it leads to a net decrease in Twitter use due to user dissatisfaction.”

Facebook Announces New Privacy Controls

In response to the growing number of users who have expressed disapproval of Facebook’s current privacy laws, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced today that the company will be adding simpler privacy controls in the coming weeks. In a letter published in the Washington Post, Zuckerberg said that Facebook plans to roll out an easier way to turn off all third-party services.

According to Zuckerberg, the company has also received feedback that many users are concerned over how their personal information “is used and worry that it is shared in ways they don’t want.” In response to these concerns, Zuckerberg outlined Facebook’s principles:

• “You have control over how your information is shared.”
• “We do not share your personal information with people or services you don’t want.”
• “We do not give advertisers access to your personal information.”
• “We do not and never will sell any of your information to anyone.”

Are Facebook Plans to Revamp Privacy Policies Too Late?

PC Magazine reported on Friday that Facebook is planning to implement changes to its privacy policies that will make them easier to understand. However, the report also suggests that the changes might not be enough to satisfy the company’s growing number of critics.

Facebook released a statement which said that it had received a “pretty clear” message from users that they “appreciate having precise and comprehensive controls, but want them to be simpler and easier to use. They also like the new programs we have rolled out, but want simple and easy ways to opt out of sharing personal information with applications and Web sites through Facebook Platform.” The statement also said that Facebook would be implementing the feedback in changes to be announced “shortly.”

However, many critics are concerned that the changes won’t go far enough to alleviate concerns about Facebook’s sharing of user information. The announcement by Facebook comes on the heels of a poll by U.K.-based security firm Sophos which showed that 60 percent of almost 1,600 respondents are either “highly likely” or “probable” to quit Facebook over privacy concerns, while another 16 percent said that they already have.

Twitter for iPhone

Twitter yesterday announced that Twitter for the iPhone and iPod Touch is now available for free on the iTunes App Store. According to the announcement, users do not need a Twitter account to enjoy the application. Users without a Twitter account can download the app to browse trends, read top tweets, find popular users and read public tweets. However, new users who wish to open an account can sign up within the application without having to visit the Twitter website.

Facebook Tip Complaint Gets Waitress Fired

If you are frustrated with something that happened at work, perhaps Facebook isn’t the best place to complain about it. That’s the lesson that a waitress in North Carolina learned the hard way as the Charlotte Observer reports that she was fired about making a post on her personal Facebook page complaining about what she thought was a meager tip.

Ashley Johnson worked as a waitress at Brixx Pizza in Charlotte, and after she was forced to stay past her scheduled time to wait on a party that stayed three hours and left a $5 tip, she posted a message sarcastically thanking the party. However, her bosses at Brixx Pizza saw the posting – which included the restaurant’s name – and fired her for violating a company policy that “speaking disparagingly about customers” and a second, updated company policy forbidding employees from “casting the restaurant in a negative light on social networks.”

“We definitely care what people say about our customers,” said Jeff Van Dyke, one of the partners who run the restaurant.

For her part, Johnson said that she “had no idea that something that, to me is very small, could result in my losing my job.”

European Group Slams Facebook Privacy Policies

A coalition of European data protection officials warned Google on Wednesday that recent changes made to the social media site’s privacy settings are “unacceptable” and that changes need to be made in order to ensure the protection of user’s security and personal rights. PC World reports that the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party, a collection of data groups in Europe, issued an open letter to Facebook on Wednesday criticizing the recent changes to its privacy settings which expose more private information of its users to search engines and other third parties.

In the open letter, the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party said that Facebook needs “default setting in which access to the profile information about the connections of a user is limited to self-selected contacts” and that further access, “such as by search engines, should be an explicit choice of the user,” according to the regulators.”

The pressure on Facebook to revise its privacy policies is mounting. Computerworld reports that the company has called an all-staff meeting on Thursday to discuss the backlash relating to its recent privacy setting changes.

Google Searches for Quitting Facebook on the Rise

One of the hottest trends on the Internet is quitting Facebook. That’s the conclusion reached by InformationWeek after analyzing Google query results relating to the popular social networking site. It appears that a growing number of people are interested in learning how to get off of the site.

According to the InformationWeek article, the phrase “how to quit Facebook” had 16.9 million results as of Tuesday morning while the similar phrase “how do I delete my Facebook account” generated an additional 15.9 million links. While it’s impossible to tell exactly why the spike in interest in learning about deleting Facebook accounts has gone up, recent concerns about Facebook’s privacy policies is a likely cause of at least some of the issues.

Facebook users can either deactivate their account (which removes them from any friend’s lists or groups but lets them become active and start using the account at any time) or delete it entirely. Several high-profile tech names like Matt Cutts of Google and Engadget/Gizmodo founder Peter Rojas have publicly decided to leave Facebook in recent weeks, with Rojas citing the amount of time spent managing privacy settings as a key factor.

Microsoft Unveils New Social Media Tool

Microsoft announced today a new test project called Spindex, designed to aggregate social media streams, making it easier for users to find new information, view customized trending topics and get the most out of their social media experiences.

Currently in its early stages, Spindex offers users an overview of the entire social media world, allowing them to simultaneously connect and interact with multiple networks on one page. For example, users can find articles and content based on personal interests in their friends’ messages and comments. The new tool also allows users to keep track of the information they are saving via Evernote.

According to Microsoft, “Spindex is not just a social reader — as you browse your friends’ updates, Spindex continually suggests related content from Bing — giving you better insight into the topics and trends spinning around you.”

As the latest test project within Microsoft’s FUSE Labs, Spindex is available in early technical preview form.

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