WebProNews

Group Accused of Politically Gaming Digg

Digg is looking into accusations that a conservative group has been gaming the site to bury content it deems too liberal.

Lawmakers Question Yahoo, AOL And MySpace Over Online Tracking

U.S. representatives Ed Markey (D-Mass) and Joe Barton (R-Texas) sent a letter today to 15 companies identified in a recent Wall Street Journal investigation as installing consumer-tracking technologies to target users visiting these sites.

NetChoice Voices Opposition To Online Retail Tax

Representative Paul Hodes (D-NH) introduced today a bipartisan resolution to protect online out-of-state sellers from having to collect taxes in states where they have no physical presence. The resolution (H.R. 1570) "Supporting the Preservation of Internet Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses," says that Congress should not impose unfair tax collection burdens that would hurt the U.S. economy and consumers.

Report: State Dept. Official May Go To Work For Google

A State Department official who's made something of a splash due to his use of Twitter might soon begin collecting paychecks from Google, according to a new report.  Jared Cohen would supposedly assume a "strategic policy role" at the company.

Internet Gambling Bill To Get Mark-Up Tuesday

The Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act (H.R. 2267) which was debated at a Congressional hearing this week is set to be amended or marked up by the House Financial Services Committee next Tuesday.

AOL Launches Advertising Hub For Politics

AOL has launched AOL Advertising Politics hub aimed at campaigns, advocacy groups and companies looking to target audiences online. Online display advertising has become a key factor for political campaigns. With the Supreme Court ruling earlier this year lifting the restrictions on political ad spending from corporations, companies can now join campaign and issue advocacy groups in influencing voters online. AOL hopes to capitalize on the upcoming November elections.

Lawmakers Hold Hearing On Internet Gambling

The House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing Wednesday to discuss regulating Internet gambling in the U.S. and establish safeguards for licensed operators to put in place to protect against underage and problem gambling.

Facebook Hires White House Economics Expert

A round of applause for Facebook's HR department, please.  Today, the company announced that it's managed to hire Marne Levine, who last held the title(s) "Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Chief of Staff of the National Economic Council at the White House."

Google, Twitter Document Political History In Australia

This week, Australia got its first female prime minister (Julia Gillard replaced Kevin Rudd following a surprise challenge for the leadership of the Labor Party), and throughout all of the excitement, it seems that Google and perhaps Twitter provided two significant ways for people to keep up with events.

Rude Behavior Causing Americans To Tune Out Social Networks

More than one-third (34%) of Americans are "tuning out" social networking sites, with 39 percent doing so because of rude behavior, according to a new survey by Weber Shandwick and KRC Research.