May 2014

Four major Silicon Valley companies have formally agreed to pay $324.5 million to settle claims brought by employees accusing them of colluding not to poach each other’s talent.

The settlement, between Apple, Google, Intel, Adobe Systems and roughly 64,000 workers, was disclosed in papers filed with the federal court in San Jose, California.

US District Judge Lucy Koh has been asked to preliminarily approve the accord at a June 19 hearing, over an objection by one of the four named plaintiffs. That plaintiff, Michael Devine, said the settlement let the companies off too easily. The settlement gives workers only a few thousand dollars each on average. The companies’ combined profit in their latest fiscal years was about $60 billion, with three-fifths coming from Apple.

[Commentary] Telecommunications conglomerates often prevail in debates about the future of media by pretending that the issues are too complicated for Americans to understand.

But there is nothing complicated about the current battle over the future of the Internet. Nor is there anything complicated about the need for citizens to rise up and defend net neutrality -- also known as the First Amendment of the Internet, because it provides the guarantee of free speech online for all.

If the Federal Communications Commission allows the “paid prioritization” of some websites and communications over others -- as has been proposed under a plan the commissioners recently voted 3 to 2 to consider -- the basic premise of a free and open Internet will be undermined.

In a digital age, this threatens a lot more than online shopping. “Profits and corporate disfavor of controversial viewpoints or competing services could change both what you can see on the Internet and the quality of your connection,” warns the ACLU. “And the need to monitor what you do online in order to play favorites means even more consumer privacy invasions piled on top of the NSA’s prying eyes.”

The threat is real. Public interest groups warn that under a plan developed by FCC chair Tom Wheeler, cable and telecom companies could shape a pay-to-play Internet, in which they charge cash-rich corporations and special-interest groups to provide high-speed service while consigning websites without billionaire benefactors to a digital dirt road.

FCC Chairman Wheeler’s plan comes in response to an appeals court ruling that scrapped a previous FCC attempt to preserve net neutrality. A Democrat, albeit one with a background as an industry lobbyist, Chairman Wheeler says he wants to maintain an open Internet. But he’s going about it the wrong way. His plan is much like the one the courts rejected: he envisions a complex set of rules that would require the FCC to constantly “scrutinize” these pay-for-priority schemes for certain websites, apps and online services.

Google's proposed settlement with European Union antitrust cops is under increasing threat of being revised or scrapped, amid calls to more tightly regulate the Web giant in the run up to European Parliament elections.

Politicians from France and Germany have in recent days ramped up rhetoric against the settlement with Google, which aims to resolve accusations that the company abuses its dominance in online search to promote its own businesses. Germany's economy minister said the deal should be improved. His French counterpart said that the European Commission -- the bloc's executive arm -- should reject it as it stands.

Behind closed doors, commission officials have suggested to opponents that some elements of the deal -- in which Google has pledged to dedicate space for competitors atop its search results --could be revisited, according to people involved in the discussions. Google officials, for their part, have been holding similar meetings to press their case that their settlement is fair, and tougher than regulators might get by pressing formal antitrust charges, people familiar with those meetings said.

"The offers by Google aren't worthless, but they're not nearly enough," said EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger, among the 28 commissioners who must approve a settlement before it becomes binding. "We don't want to become a digital colony of global Internet giants," said French Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg said at an event to oppose the antitrust deal. "It is necessary, indeed urgent, to put in place a framework that guarantees a level playing field" for European companies.

EBay came under pressure over a massive hacking of customer data as three US states began investigating the e-commerce company's security practices.

Connecticut, Florida and Illinois said they are jointly investigating the matter.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman requested eBay provide free credit monitoring for everyone affected. Details about what happened are still unclear because eBay has provided few details about the attack. It is also unclear what legal authority states have over eBay's handling of the matter. The states' quick move shows that authorities are serious about holding companies accountable for securing data following high-profile breaches at other companies, including retailers Target, Neiman Marcus and Michaels and credit monitoring bureau Experian.

The investigation by the states will focus on eBay's measures for securing data, circumstances that led to the breach and the company's response, said Jaclyn Falkowski, a spokeswoman for Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen.