Department of Justice

The Feds are on Facebook. And MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter, too.

U.S. law enforcement agents are following the rest of the Internet world into popular social-networking services, going undercover with false online profiles to communicate with suspects and gather private information, according to an internal Justice Department document that offers a tantalizing glimpse of issues related to privacy and crime-fighting.

Think you know who's behind that "friend" request? Think again. Your new "friend" just might be the FBI.

The Feds are on Facebook. And MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter, too. U.S. law enforcement agents are following the rest of the Internet world into popular social-networking services, going undercover with false online profiles to communicate with suspects and gather private information, according to an internal Justice Department document that offers a tantalizing glimpse of issues related to privacy and crime-fighting.

Think you know who's behind that "friend" request? Think again. Your new "friend" just might be the FBI.

Google Inc. wants the digital rights to millions of books badly enough that it's willing to take on the U.S. Department of Justice in a court battle over whether the Internet search leader's ambitions would break antitrust and copyright laws.

The stage for the showdown was set Thursday with a Google court filing that defended the $125 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit the company reached with U.S. authors and publishers more than 14 months ago.

Google Inc.'s bid to secure the digital rights to millions of books remains under attack from rivals and other critics trying to block a revised legal settlement that would unlock a vast electronic library.

The opposition fired its latest salvo Thursday, the deadline for filing objections with U.S. District Judge Denny Chin in New York.

A settlement has been reached between three universities that supported Amazon.com's popular Kindle electronic book reader and the federal government. The U.S. Department of Justice settled with Case Western in Cleveland, Ohio; Pace University in New York City; and Reed College in Portland, Ore., after they agreed to no longer use or promote the Kindle DX or any other electronic reader until the devices are accessible to blind students.

The universities were part of an Amazon.com pilot project to use the Kindle DX in the classroom. Six schools participated in the project.

The Obama administration is calling on federal regulators to make more radio spectrum available for wireless Internet services so they can compete with broadband plans provided by the major phone and cable companies.

Lawrence Strickling, head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, said in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission on Monday that wireless connections offer the best hope for injecting new competition into the duopoly market for broadband services in the United States.

After eight years of light antitrust scrutiny under a Republican White House, the technology and telecommunications industries are bracing for stepped up oversight by the Obama administration's Justice Department.

Christine Varney, the head of the department's antitrust division, vowed in a May speech that her office will take a tough look at potential abuses of market power across some of the nation's biggest industries, including high tech and telecom.

Fifty-four people in the U.S. have been indicted in connection with a multinational bank phishing scheme, according to the Department of Justice, which said it's the largest number of people ever charged in a U.S. cybercrime case. One of the suspects, a woman, was charged separately by the Los Angeles district attorney, according to an FBI spokesperson.

In addition, 47 people have been charged in Egypt in connection with the case, which has been named Operation Phish Phry.

Fifty-four people in the U.S. have been indicted in connection with a multinational bank phishing scheme, according to the Department of Justice, which said it's the largest number of people ever charged in a U.S. cybercrime case. One of the suspects, a woman, was charged separately by the Los Angeles district attorney, according to an FBI spokesperson.

In addition, 47 people have been charged in Egypt in connection with the case, which has been named Operation Phish Phry.

At the request of the Author's Guild and the Association of American Publishers, a U.S. District Court has postponed a hearing on the proposed settlement with Google on the scanning and distribution of copyrighted books. Google didn't oppose the delay.