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Facebook to Pay $9.5M in Beacon Lawsuit, Obama 'Welcomes' Biometric ID Plan

by Warren Riddle on March 19, 2010 at 11:58 AM


Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines....

  • Since 2008, Facebook has been embroiled in a legal dispute over its Beacon advertising program, and a judge has finally put an official end to the case. A District Court judge in San Jose, California has approved a class action settlement that will force Facebook to pay $9.5 million. [From: The Washington Post]
  • Two senators have crossed party lines in order to propose a scannable biometric ID system, and the President reportedly "welcomed" their plan during a recent White House meeting. The proposal, which would most likely involve a finger or hand scan, is intended to curb the employment of illegal aliens, although a certain element will undoubtedly view it as a sign of the Apocalypse. [From: CNET]
  • The FBI has been working to upgrade its computer system for over four years, and the bureau is once again delaying the process, which had been expected to reach completion last fall. Perhaps if the agents quit spending so much time stalking people on Facebook, this wouldn't be a problem. [From: The New York Times]
  • January and February were very kind to Apple, as sales of numerous products surged during the period. Palm definitely can't claim the same success, though, as it suffered through a 29-percent drop in smartphone sales during the quarter that ended February 26th. [From: USA Today]
  • The Federal Communications Commission is steadily demonstrating its devotion to diversifying and upgrading the nation's technical infrastructure. As part of the National Broadband Plan, the agency is now promoting the establishment of Video.gov, a site that would serve as a digital archive of government video. [From: Ars Technica],
  • Netflix has posted an apology for phasing out its Friends feature, a service that has been part of the site since 2004. That's an impressive display of conscientiousness, though, since "less than two-percent of all subscribers" actually used the feature. [From: Hacking Netflix]

Tags: biometric, facebook, fbi, fcc, government, lawsuit, morningxtra, nationalbroadbandplan, netflix, smartphone, top

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