The Obama administration released its plans last June to take a tougher stance against Internet piracy, and Monday US lawmakers released their contribution: legislation that could allow the Department of Justice to seize the domain names of websites that promote copyright infringement. Introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy and dubbed the "Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act," the bill once again raises the issues of intellectual property rights versus Internet usage control and censorship. Proponents include the MPAA, RIAA, and the Screen Actors Guild, which stated, "This legislation will make it easier to shut down 'rogue' websites, which are dedicated to stealing the films, television programs and music created by our members."
But what exactly constitutes a "rogue" website? A side effect of this proposal would allow lawmakers to target sites beyond the usual piracy suspects, such as Wikileaks, known for publishing government documents and sensitive, sometimes classified, information. Opponents including the Electronic Frontier Foundation see the bill as the another restriction on freedom of speech on the Internet, citing the broad classification of sites "dedicated to infringing activities," as well as the blockage of whole sites and not just the offending material.
The ability to shut down domain names has long been sought after by the Department of Justice and copyright control groups, especially after the July seizure of nine television and movie streaming sites, which marked a departure from previous legal action which targeted website operators. But it appears unclear what arbitration would be in place for those accused of Internet piracy, as well as what would replace any website after shutdown. As the EFF states, "the bill gives the government power to play an endless game of whack-a-mole," but adds that the strength of the Internet piracy community lies in its ability to adapt and work around restrictions.
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Enough Farmville? Facebook revamps game updates
As Facebook becomes the fastest-growing social gaming platform, the company came by unique challenges that continue to follow its growth. The platform-holder has had to balance the needs of game developers who depend on exposure with providing a good experience for users who simply want to interact with friends without receiving notifications about their friends' FarmVille pets.
At a recent media event in Palo Alto, California, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that games are one of the primary reasons some people visit Facebook, confirming that 40% of its userbase is using the site for social gaming. At the same time, this means that about 300 million members of the world's largest online social network don't.
"Our goal is to make it so as few people as possible come to the site and have negative experiences,” said Zuckerberg. The event was held to discuss the latest changes the company is making to the ways games interface with its user experience.
Essentially, users will be generically notified if multiple friends are currently playing a new game, but successive updates about their play will be concealed unless the other users are also players of that game. The various improvements are expressed in detail on The Facebook Blog.
"In real life, if one of your friends plays FarmVille and you don't, they probably wouldn't come up to you and say 'Hey, I just got this new cow on my farm,'" he explains. "They might say 'Hey, I found this new game that's really cool that you should check out.'
"Giving this kind of context is what we want to emulate on the site," he adds. In the spring, the company made changes to the kinds of notifications Facebook games were allowed to send their users, aiming to keep "join my game"-type spam in check. As a result, numerous popular titles on the social network experienced steep declines in their userbases.
Games are a major force on Facebook, but it’s bittersweet: "One the one hand, games are a phenomenon - 200 million people or more are playing games on the site," says the CEO. "On the other hand, game are also one of the biggest complaints that we get." Games drive userbases, but they also threaten to drive userbases off, and finding that balancing point appears to be Facebook's current goal.
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Mark Zuckerberg is now richer than Steve Jobs
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg now has a higher net worth than Apple CEO Steve Jobs, as first noted by Forbes. This year, Zuckerberg is estimated to be worth $6.9 billion, mainly thanks to the soaring valuation of Facebook - anywhere between $23 billion and $34 billion - which he founded just five years ago. Jobs, meanwhile, has a net worth of $6.1 billion, most of which is actually tied up in Disney. Apple was founded before Zuckerberg was born.
Zuckerberg added $4.9 billion to his fortune this year, while Jobs only grabbed a billion. That means Zuckerberg is number 35 on the Forbes 400 while Jobs is placed at 42. Bill Gates remains the richest American with a net worth of $54 billion.
So what is Zuckerberg planning to do with all that money? For starters, he's about donate $100 million to help turn around the Newark public school system, according to The Wall Street Journal. The donation will be the first step from a foundation intended to improve US education. He will discuss the contribution Friday on The Oprah Winfrey Show, joined by Newark Mayor Cory Booker and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
Billionaires Zuckerberg and Jobs might soon be fighting in more than just wealth rankings. On September 1st, Apple entered the social network fray with Ping. Facebook, meanwhile, is rumored to be developing its own phone, but even if it isn't, the mobile space is going to be of utmost importance if the world's largest social network is to remain at the top.
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