E-Commerce

Provisions in a proposed international treaty that civil liberties groups, developing nations and technology organizations claim will threaten the free flow of information on the Internet have been sidetracked by the pact's writers in Geneva. The U.N. World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO...

Yahoo unveiled a plan to update both its platform and tools for Web search advertising, in an effort to contemporize the lucrative business model that is driving dollars and competition among the Internet company and its chief rivals Google and Microsoft. In announcing a revamped search advertising ...

Streaming digital audio and video, MP3 ripping and CD burning, podcasts, webcasts, satellite radio, digital audio broadacasting and now streaming mobile wireless: The rapid advent of new digital audio technology has created a wealth of options and opportunities for technology providers, new and esta...

A New York state lawmaker has filed suit against Google, claiming the search engine has profited from helping users access child pornography and saying that the company has already demonstrated the ability to stop such searches through its dealings with the Chinese government. Jeffrey Toback, a repr...

A bill before Congress to revamp how franchises are awarded for delivering television to communities will save consumers US$22 million a day, a panel of telecommunication experts said Wednesday at a press conference in Washington, D.C. "Twenty-two million dollars a day," declared panel member Robert...

Making yet another attempt to curb online gambling, a House Judiciary subcommittee unanimously approved the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, sponsored by Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Rick Boucher (D-Va.) The bill, which expands the ban on interstate gambling to include Internet gambling, crimin...

Delivering a message that may be aimed at inspiring employees or reassuring investors, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said his company is being "underestimated" as it launches products into the market dominated by search giant Google. The "Microsoft-as-Underdog" motif may be hard for some to swallow,...

The long-anticipated online advertising battle between Microsoft and Google moved closer to becoming a reality Wednesday as Microsoft begins final preparations on its MSN adCenter search advertising platform. Microsoft is expected to display the last update to the test version of adCenter during the...

Two of the biggest-selling rock bands of the 1970s have filed suit against their onetime label saying the royalties reaching them from digitally downloaded versions of their songs are too low. The Allman Brothers Band and Cheap Trick filed suit against Sony BMG in U.S. District Court in New York, cl...

Hoping to help make it easier for consumers intimidated by technological jargon to become buyers, Yahoo has launched a site aimed at simplifying decisions about purchasing home computers, portable gadgets and a host of other electronics. The portal said the Yahoo Tech site would cut through "geek-sp...

The associations representing movie studios and music labels are warning some 40 college presidents that their students are using their high-powered networks to steal copyrighted entertainment and urging them to take "immediate action." The Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Pi...

In a party line vote, the U.S. House of Representatives Commerce committee rejected a proposal to include so-called net neutrality regulations in a bill that would permit telecoms to offer pay-TV services. Such regulations would prohibit Internet service providers from slowing or blocking consumers'...

Hoping to grab the early lead in the move toward high-definition DVDs, Warner Home Video said it would release a disc next month that contains both traditional and high-definition versions of the same film. The DVD release of "Rumor Has It," a romantic comedy starring Kevin Costner and Jennifer Anis...

Microsoft has taken the unusual step -- for Microsoft, that is -- of spinning off technology developed by a research subsidiary with the aim of entering the social networking space. The new startup is called Wallop. Its aim, according to Microsoft, is to roll out a next generation social networking ...

In perhaps its most direct competitive thrust at e-tail giant Amazon.com yet, eBay has launched an "express" marketplace aimed to highlight fixed price sales for consumers who are not interested in its core auction listings. eBay Express will be a standalone Web site within the eBay marketplace that...