Corporate and legal

Twitter said to be prepping ad re-targeting exchange

Twitter is said to be readying an ad exchange that would let marketers target ads directly at users who have visited their Web sites.

According to AdAge, Twitter is hoping to challenge Facebook's own so-called re-targeting exchange, otherwise known as FBX. AdAge cited sources familiar with the project.

Since at least late last year, the company has met with several FBX partners who are well-versed in locating on Facebook people who had previously visited a brand's site and retargeting them with non-standard display ads on the social network, in hopes of luring them back to the brand site. … Read more

Instagram's Systrom: We're 'not a photography company'

SAN FRANCISCO -- Instagram is not a photography company.

That message, which might shock some of the 100 million-plus people who have uploaded more than 5 billion photos to Instagram, is what co-founder Kevin Systrom made clear during a discussion tonight among him and co-founder Mike Krieger and Digg founder and Google Ventures partner Kevin Rose.

The discussion, part of the Commonwealth Club's Inforum series, was an opportunity for hundreds of Instagram fans to hear first-hand a bit of the history -- and perhaps some of the future -- of the popular photo-sharing app. Even if that's not … Read more

Oracle appeal in Google API copyright suit hit with criticism

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is throwing in its two cents in the ongoing legal battle between Oracle and Google over whether APIs should or shouldn't be copyrightable.

Gathering together 32 computer scientists and tech industry leaders, the Internet advocacy organization submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Thursday. The brief is signed by tech leaders like MS-DOS author Tim Paterson and ARPANET developer Larry Roberts.

EFF and the brief's signatories are trying to convince the court that APIs should not be copyrightable because they are critical to spurring innovation … Read more

Feds don't plan to take down Bitcoin or other currencies

Even though the feds went after Liberty Reserve for alleged money laundering, they apparently don't have plans to crack down on all digital currencies -- as long as all rules are followed.

In an interview on Thursday with American Banker, Jennifer Shasky Calvery, the director of FinCEN, which is the U.S. Department of Treasury's law enforcement branch, said she sees virtual currency providers as financial institutions and looks at each one's actions separately.

"FinCEN has been out front in issuing our guidance to make it clear that we see virtual currency as a type of … Read more

Clearwire delays Sprint takeover vote for review of Dish offer

Clearwire has decided to delay its shareholder vote on Sprint's takeover proposal in order to review Dish Network's surprise revised offer.

The wireless broadband provider had initially scheduled a special shareholders meeting for Friday to hold a vote on the proposal, but the company announced Thursday it had rescheduled the meeting for June 13. While the company said it has not changed its recommendation that shareholders accept the current Sprint bid of $3.40 per share, Clearwire said Dish's revised proposal "appears to be more actionable than Dish's previous proposal."

Dish upped its ante in the bidding war … Read more

Google exec sees Google Fiber as a 'moneymaker'

KANSAS CITY -- Google is in it to win it when it comes to building fiber broadband networks. Despite speculation to the contrary, Google sees its Google Fiber broadband business as a moneymaker, and not just an overpriced test network.

And it's very likely that the company will continue expanding the service into other cities willing to partner to keep costs down.

Speaking at the Fiber-to-the-Home Council meeting here late Wednesday, Milo Medin, vice president of access services for Google, told an audience of city planners, engineers, and city mayors that Google is not just building a testbed for … Read more

Google shows off vision of connected life

NEW YORK--Google wants to play a bigger part in your life.

That's the message the company was likely conveying with its model home here in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Google took over a building on Thursday to show off its many newer services and hardware, including Google Now, Hangouts, and Google Glass.

Google Now is a big initiative and appears to be the glue that ties many of its products together. Google Now on Android, which is called Google Search on iOS, uses your device's GPS, e-mail, calendar, and other personal information to deliver relevant and … Read more

Sony eyes two former Apple executives for board

Sony is planning to add two new people to its board of directors, and both can trace their roots to Apple.

Eikoh Harada, current president of McDonalds Holdings Japan, and Tim Schaaff, Sony's former Network Entertainment chief, have been nominated to join the electronics giant's board of directors. Although people are elected for boards all the time, Harada and Schaaff's shared histories make these nominations rather interesting.

Harada spent 14 years at Apple and left in 2004 when he was head of the iPhone maker's Japan operations. Schaaff also spent 14 years at Apple and was … Read more

EC leader calls for unified European mobile networks

International barriers in the telecommunications industry such as roaming fees are hurting consumers and should be eliminated within a year, a top European Commission official said today.

"I want you to be able to go back to your constituents and say that you were able to end mobile roaming costs," said Neelie Kroes, the EC vice president in charge of its digital agenda, in a speech to members of a European Parliament committee on Thursday. "Whether they need it for travel, for trade, or for transactions -- our people need this reform."

With roaming fees, the … Read more