While he doesn’t think the U.S. will see legislation this year, he does think we’ll have it eventually. He said that the U.S. was paying a lot of attention to Europe, especially since it is expected to change its privacy directive as well.

Polonetsky did tell us that 2012 would include even more scrutiny of companies and lots of hearings.

“I’ve never seen as much scrutiny,” he said.

For the companies that are not in favor of legislation, he recommends that they show how they are self-regulating.

Would you like to see online privacy legislation? We’d love to know your thoughts.

According to Szoka, even though FairSearch may raise some valid points, you have to be “skeptical” when dealing with policy and antitrust.

“We have to be skeptical any time that competitors are using a regulatory process to try to compete,” he said. “Moreoever, we should be worried not just about Google because, obviously, they are big boys and can take care of themselves, but really about the next Google.”

He went on to explain that FairSearch’s argument against Google is based mostly on bias. However, based on research from Josh Wright, also of TechFreedom, if bias is a problem, and it’s not been determined that it is, Microsoft’s Bing shows much more bias than Google does.

Szoka told us that, if bias is the only way that distinguishes what is and what isn’t competition, there is a problem. Instead, he thinks the analysis should look at whether or not consumers are harmed, and, at this point, he said the complainants have primarily been Microsoft and companies that are a part of FairSearch.

While TechFreedom defends Google on this matter, Szoka told us that the organization’s overall goal was to prevent government intervention.

“In general, competition [and] innovation do a much better job of protecting consumers than government does,” he said.

In response to FairSearch’s complaints against it, a Google spokesperson sent us this statement:

“Most people understand that Microsoft and our other competitors complain constantly about Google, but they also know that Google builds our search results for users, not websites, and that the laws are designed to protect consumers, not competitors.  The fundamental openness of the Internet means that consumers have infinite choices and can always switch to Bing, Facebook, Kayak, or Expedia with just one click.”

Does Google show a bias in its search results, or is FairSearch making inaccurate claims? What do you think?

As Ben Hammer explained to WebProNews, the organization is made up of several companies including Microsoft, Expedia, and TripAdvisor, and it believes that Google is a search monopoly.

“The question that our group is focused on is, now that authorities in the U.S., in the European Union, and around the world have already established that Google has monopoly power in search on the Internet, is Google violating the law by abusing that power in ways that sort of tilt the playing field to itself and basically restrict the options that consumers on the Internet have to find information, and then also get all the benefits that come with competition on the Internet?” he pointed out.

FairSearch began after Google announced that it was going to acquire ITA Software and make developments in the travel industry. Hammer told us that, because Google owns more than 60 percent of the search market share, it should be held to a “higher standard.”

“One of the sort of principles of competition and consumer law is that, once a company gains monopoly power in a market, they have undue influence over everything that happens in that market,” he said. “Only with that kind of power can you then do certain things that disadvantage everyone else in a way that competition and innovation and consumer benefits can be upended permanently.”

Hammer told us that, if authorities find its claims against Google to be true, FairSearch would like to see action taken that stops it.

WebProNews reached out to Google for its response to FairSearch and received the following statement from a spokesperson:

“Most people understand that Microsoft and our other competitors complain constantly about Google, but they also know that Google builds our search results for users, not websites, and that the laws are designed to protect consumers, not competitors.  The fundamental openness of the Internet means that consumers have infinite choices and can always switch to Bing, Facebook, Kayak, or Expedia with just one click.”

Do you agree with FairSearch’s claims? We’d love to know.

Alec Milton, the CEO of Oasys Software, told us that the results were “quite shocking.” As he explained, the company found that nearly 92 percent of employees spend up to one hour per day searching for email. In addition, another 64 percent of those surveyed said that they were forced to delete emails because their inbox was too full.

Milton recommends that companies and employees organize their emails into folders just as they would important documents. There are also software services, such as Oasys, that companies can use to help secure email systems.

That is the question that a lot of people are asking. Crystal Cox, who runs hundreds of blogs on legal and financial matters, was sued earlier this year by the Obsidian Finance Group on claims of defamation. Cox, who defended herself in court, argued that the content she published was factual based on information she received from an inside source.

However, because the court did not consider her to be part of the media, her argument had no substance. As a result, she was ordered to pay $2.5 million in damages to Obsidian Finance.

Cox spoke with WebProNews and told us that she does, in fact, consider herself to be a journalist. Although she is not certain as to what her next action will be, she did tell us that she would continue to fight for bloggers to be treated the same way as journalists are.

Should bloggers and journalists be treated equally?

As Chris Boggs, the President of SEMPO, told WebProNews, the main goal of the letter was to promote a free market approach to the Internet that would allow search engines to provide the best results with limited or no regulation. The organization wrote the letter in response to its members’ needs and the continuing call for regulation of Google.

Although SEMPO has not received a response from the FTC, it hopes that its message was heard. Boggs told us that it is willing to work with government agencies such as the FTC to help them better understand how search engines operate.

Keep watching WebProNews for the latest news in this developing story.

The social network, like many other Internet companies, allows advertisers to target their audience based on various factors including location, demographics, and likes. The Telegraph calls this practice “eavesdropping” and explained that Facebook could face legal action or a large fine if the law is implemented.

In response to this news, a Facebook spokesperson told WebProNews that the accusations were “inaccurate and sensational.” The spokesperson went on to say that Facebook users give their consent to be served relevant ads when they sign up for the service.

Is Facebook crossing the line, or are the European claims over the top?

In an interview with WebProNews, Bernstein told us that both consumers and vendors would benefit if the agreements looked better. Consumers would be more knowledgeable about products, and companies would be less likely to face litigation.

Do you agree with his solution?

Avvo has received questions such as, “Is a verbal partnership agreement for a startup binding in California?” and “How do I fire the co-founder of my startup?” and has seen 30 times more pageviews for these types of questions in the Silicon Valley alone.

Whether or not this is any indication of a tech bubble is debatable, but it definitely shows that people are curious about the legal structure of a business, which cannot be a bad thing.

The “online jury,” so to speak, has not been shy about sharing their feelings. Blogs have been created regarding the case, and Facebook and Twitter posts go out continuously. Is this communication influencing the proceedings inside the courtroom?

Persuasive communications expert Juliet Huck told WebProNews that the judge had a difficult job on his hands in terms of keeping the online influences away from the jury. Social media has become such a dominant player in society that it is a challenge to keep it away from even the most conventional practices like the legal system.

How big of a role do you think social media will play in Casey Anthony’s trial?

On the negative side, Facebook has filed legal action against them for infringing on its trademark rights. Although the legal issues are not resolved, Standefer and Genitempo told WebProNews that they are proud of the success of Lamebook. They said the ordeal has been a great learning experience for them.

When he tried to connect with Facebook and defend himself, he found that the company does not have any customer support. He believes this is a very big problem for a company of Facebook’s magnitude, especially given the fact that its users range from all ages.

“This is a problem that, if it’s ignored, it’s not going to get better; it’s going to get worse,” he said.

As a result, Fagin has filed a lawsuit against Facebook for $1. Since the value is so low, it’s obvious that the principle of the matter is his bigger objective. He told WebProNews that he would like to raise enough awareness to ensure that the government would somehow require Facebook to incorporate customer support.

For anyone that has had a similar experience on Facebook, Fagin asks that they email him.

Update: Fagin has also created a Facebook group as part of his initiative.

Michael Weinberg and Mehan Jayasuriya, both of Public Knowledge, addressed these very concerns in a recent interview with WebProNews. According to them, a lot of people think they are protected when they really aren’t.

As they explained, bloggers need to know whether or not they are infringing on a copyrighted item, and they also need to know how to respond to claims against them. Although there are some gray areas involved with music blogging, Weinberg and Jayasuriya said putting an entire song/video in a blog post is almost always wrong.

They further pointed that bloggers need to be proactive and determine their rights in order to resolve problems before they get out of hand. In addition, bloggers need to know their own rights to prevent being taken advantage of.

Although WebProNews spoke with John Bergmayer, a staff attorney with Public Knowledge, before the House voted, he said it be “really unlikely” for the FCC’s rules to be overturned. He further explained that he didn’t think the Senate would have enough votes to repeal it.

On Mashable, Ben Parr reports that the President said he would veto the action if it were to come before him.

Bergmayer did say that the opponents to the FCC rules could try to repeal the action through a broader budget deal, which means that the issue of net neutrality is growing into a large political concern.

How do you think this debate will play out?

Last year at the Computers, Freedom, and Privacy Conference, this group began to pen what is now known as the Social Network Users’ Bill of Rights. These rights deal with issues regarding control of data, freedom of speech, protection of data, and many other challenging areas.

As Christina Gagnier, Partner with Gagnier Margossian LLP, explained to WebProNews, they hope to get people thinking about these difficult topics.

“We’re just looking for feedback,” she said.

Because there are multiple topics of debate in terms of the rights, this group set up a site to allow users to comment and vote on the rights. Users can also propose new rights.

Is this Bill of Rights the answer to the challenges of social media?