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For Google the decision was clear. An anti-Islamic video that provoked violence worldwide was not hate speech under its rules because it did not specifically incite violence against Muslims, even if it mocked their faith. The White House was not so sure, and it asked Google to reconsider the determination, a request the company rebuffed. Although the administration’s request was unusual, for Google, it represented the kind of delicate balancing act that Internet companies confront every day. These companies, which include communications media like Facebook and Twitter, write their own edicts about what kind of expression is allowed, things as diverse as pointed political criticism, nudity and notions as murky as hate speech. And their employees work around the clock to check when users run afoul of their rules. “Because these speech platforms are so important, the decisions they take become jurisprudence,” said Andrew McLaughlin, who has worked for both Google and the White House. Most vexing among those decisions are ones that involve whether a form of expression is hate speech. Hate speech has no universally accepted definition, legal experts say. And countries, including democratic ones, have widely divergent legal approaches to regulating speech they consider to be offensive or inflammatory.

Faster chips, bigger screens and speedier wireless Internet connections are among the refinements smartphone users can count on year after year in new models, most of them in familiar rectangular packages. They are improvements, to be sure, but they lack the breathtaking impact the first iPhone had, with its pioneering fusion of software and touch screens. But big innovations in smartphones are not a thing of the past.

Incremental improvements can add up over a span of years, providing the computing horsepower to enable big advances in software. Breakthroughs in smartphone materials, software and even batteries could lead to substantial changes in how smartphones look and function in the years ahead. Technology analysts say smartphones could again see big changes akin to the one Apple introduced in 2007. Wearable computers are a source of fascination among many Silicon Valley companies, especially at Google. The company has put tremendous effort behind Project Glass, eyeglasslike frames that can display texts, e-mails and other information from a smartphone on a miniature screen in front of the wearer’s eye.

While a few weeks of ratings will soon seal the fates of this year’s fall lineup, one company is diving deep into social media to help networks gauge interest in this season’s crop of new shows ahead of time, and possibly help decide which ones are worth keeping around.

Analytics firm Fizziology is currently in pilot programs with several studios, monitoring the pre- and postpremiere social buzz of their fall slates. Among the early winners in the social sphere are Fox’s The Mindy Project, NBC’s The New Normal and ABC’s 666 Park Avenue. Yet social metrics remains an uncertain science for networks. “The business is going to change, but until we see a shift from networks, social remains a very young piece,” said Dan Neely, CEO of research firm Networked Insights. “For brands, however, these metrics are used with ratings to assess investment and as a predictive indicator of the public’s awareness.”

Telecom Italia, Italy’s largest telecoms company by revenues, and rival Fastweb have said they will join forces to speed up the rollout of a large “ultra-fast” broadband network in Italy.

The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to co-operate on building their so-called “fiber-to-the-cabinet” networks that bring a fiber-optic cable to the cabinets, or junction boxes, in the street. The existing copper wire, owned by Telecom Italia, is then used for the connection from the street to homes. While both companies were already expanding their broadband networks, by working together they can do so faster and more cheaply. Telecoms companies have long sought to reduce costs by sharing networks, especially with mobile technologies and to a lesser extent with networks that bring fiber into the home.