Lawyers

• Facebook must hand over New York users' info to prosecutors, court rules

  Facebook Inc cannot challenge search warrants New York prosecutors used to get information from its site on hundreds of users suspected of Social Security fraud, a state appeals court said on Tuesday, in a decision likely making it harder for New Yorkers to keep their digital lives private.

• Australia to crack down on alleged tax avoidance by 30 multinationals

  The Australian government on Monday announced a world-leading crackdown on alleged tax avoidance by 30 multinational companies in a move that could force the likes of Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp to restructure their businesses to escape huge penalties.

• French minister visits U.S. Internet firms about militants' messaging

  France's chief internal security official is traveling to California's Silicon Valley to discuss his government's concerns about violent jihadist social media messaging with leading tech and Internet companies.

• U.S. judge concerned Google antitrust lawsuit too vague

  A judge on Thursday said she would require consumers suing Google over its Android smartphone operating system to submit more factual details in order for an antitrust lawsuit to proceed, at a time when the Internet search company faces increased regulatory pressure.

• Microsoft cuts 3,000 jobs, rounding out July plan

  Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) said on Wednesday it cut about 3,000 jobs, effectively completing its plan to reduce its workforce by 18,000, or 14 percent of total staff, announced in July.

• Samsung seeks Hong Kong arbitration after Microsoft lawsuit

  Samsung Electronics Co Ltd initiated an arbitration proceeding in Hong Kong against Microsoft Corp on Tuesday, amid ongoing U.S. litigation over smartphone patent royalties.

• Court rules Nokia Mexico must pay damages to buyers of faulty phones

  A Mexican court has ruled Nokia Mexico S.A. de C.V must pay damages to customers who bought defective mobile phones prior to the handset maker's takeover by Microsoft Corp, a government agency said on Sunday.

• News Corp's Robert Thomson asks European regulators to reconsider Google settlement

  News Corp Chief Executive Robert Thomson has urged European regulators to reconsider their settlement with Google Inc over its search practices, calling the Internet company an "egregious" aggregator and a "platform of piracy."

• China gives Microsoft 20 days to provide explanation in anti-trust probe

  A Chinese anti-trust regulator said on Monday it has given Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) 20 days to reply to queries on the compatibility of its Windows operating system and Office software suite amid a probe into the world's largest software company.

• China antitrust regulator says Microsoft not transparent with sales information

  A Chinese antitrust regulator said on Tuesday that Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) had not been fully transparent with its sales data on the software it distributes in China, including information on sales of its media player and web browser software.

• Report says 'right to be forgotten' will never happen in the US

  TIME said privacy protections in the US comes in a form of a group of state and federal laws aimed at specific groups of people, unlike the single, more broad coverage legal measure the European Union has in place following a controversial ruling on a Spanish lawyer's request to remove information about his debts on Google.

• Pundits says Google, Microsoft could face request overload due to EU 'right to be forgotten' court ruling

  Industry observers are concerned about the serious implications of the "right to be forgotten" ruling of an European Union court yesterday to the businesses of Web companies like Google Inc and Microsoft Corp.

• Unlikely team-up of Microsoft, Apple, Sony seen to protect patents at Nortel trial

  The lawyers of Microsoft Corp are expected to protect a trove of documents consisting sensitive information about the patents it acquired together with Apple Inc and Sony Corp at the bankruptcy trial of Nortel Networks Corp.