Michael Liedtke

June 03, 2008 | Daily Report Online

SAN FRANCISCO AP - Yahoo Inc. Chief Executive Jerry Yang pushed for an employee severance program that made it more expensive for Microsoft Corp. to engineer a takeover even after an outside consultant questioned the plan's generous benefits, according to previously sealed documents in a shareholder lawsuit against Yahoo.

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE

6 minute read

September 18, 2007 | National Law Journal

Google Inc. is calling on businesses and regulators throughout the world to adopt international standards for protecting consumer privacy online and offline. The request, to be unveiled in France, comes as the online search leader battles privacy concerns that threaten its plan to buy Internet ad service DoubleClick Inc. for $3.1 billion.

By Michael Liedtke

5 minute read

January 24, 2008 | Daily Report Online

Few Internet entrepreneurs practice what they preach as devoutly as LinkedIn Corp. co-founder Reid Hoffman, whose business revolves around his belief that good fortune flows from good relationships.Hoffman, 40, has put that principle to work by mining his own vast network of Silicon Valley connections to rake in one Internet jackpot after another.

By Michael Liedtke

6 minute read

August 24, 2009 | Daily Report Online

By JOELLE TESSLER and MICHAEL LIEDTKE

7 minute read

December 12, 2011 | Daily Report Online

Government regulators are sharing some alarming information about Facebook: They believe the online social network has often misled its more than 800 million users about the sanctity of their personal information.The unflattering portrait of Facebook's privacy practices emerged last week in a Federal Trade Commission complaint alleging that Facebook exposed details about users' lives without getting legally required consent.

By Michael Liedtke

6 minute read

May 27, 2011 | Daily Report Online

Google Inc. hopes to nudge consumers and merchants into a world where the smartphone has replaced the wallet as the container for credit cards, coupons and receipts.While it tackles that challenge, Google also will have to spar with the biggest online payment service, eBay Inc.'s PayPal, in a legal battle that could be filled with corporate intrigue.

By Michael Liedtke and Peter Svensson

6 minute read

March 08, 2011 | Daily Report Online

By Michael Liedtke

5 minute read

September 11, 2009 | Daily Report Online

SAN FRANCISCO AP - The nation's top copyright official has joined the mounting opposition to a class-action settlement that would give Google Inc. the digital rights to millions of out-of-print books.Her objections cast further doubt on whether the agreement will be allowed by a federal court, even as Google offered a concession Thursday aimed at smoothing the way for approval.

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE

5 minute read

July 11, 2007 | Law.com

Averting a looming court battle over how it has been handling a steady exodus from its Internet dial-up service, AOL has agreed to make it easier for its remaining customers to leave as part of a $3 million settlement with 48 states and the District of Columbia. The resolution was driven by complaints from AOL customers who said they were thwarted in attempts to close their accounts or discovered that they were still being billed for services that they thought had been canceled.

By Michael Liedtke

3 minute read

May 04, 2006 | Law.com

Microsoft Corp. will pay $70 million to thousands of California government agencies in the latest legal settlement spurred by price-gouging allegations against the world's largest computer software maker. The proposed truce covers a wide range of taxpayer-backed agencies -- from local school districts to regional transportation systems -- that bought Microsoft products dating back to 1995.

By Michael Liedtke

2 minute read