Netflix released its Q2 2011 financial report today and it contains a lot of useful information. One of the topics listed is Facebook integration. Netflix says it plans to integrate Netflix into Facebook before it releases its Q3 earnings report in Canada and Latin America. But why is it that the United States isn’t on that list? People share videos on Facebook all the time, so why are things different for Netflix? It all deals with the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA).

Japan is now the place to be if you want to have a better chance of avoiding computer viruses. The country has now made it illegal to create, distribute or store viruses. Those who are caught doing so without a good reason will be either sentenced to prison for up to three years, or be fined up to $6,000 or 500,000 yen. If one is caught storing or acquiring viruses, they could go to prison for two years or be fined around $4,000 or 300,000 yen.

The days of streaming copyrighted content on the internet for profit could be coming to an end soon. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bill that if approved by the entire Senate, would make it a felony for anyone to commercially stream copyrighted content. If this law is passed, chances are there will be someone still streaming illegal content, but their numbers could decrease drastically out of fear of jail time.

While we were longing for the weekend to arrive, President Obama was making his rounds in Europe. Since the president was out of the country, he could not physically sign his name on the document that would renew the Patriot Act before it expired. To solve this little problem, the president authorized the use of the autopen, a device that signed the president’s name for him.

Ofcom, a communications regulator in the United Kingdom, has announced a number of changes that will affect wireless customers. One of the biggest changes deals with mobile and broadband contracts. It is now UK law to only offer mobile phone or broadband internet plans for a maximum of 24 months. The service providers are also required to offer 12-month contracts as an alternative option for customers and businesses.

Today Indiana became the 32nd state to legally ban texting while driving. The bill was signed by Mitch Daniels, the governor of Indiana. The law will go into effect on July 1.

It looks like at least one town on Long Island has found a modern way to collect fines on those who choose to install a pool on their property without pulling the necessary paperwork. Unfortunately for those homeowners, the result could mean a $75,000 fine. Wow, lots of money for the lack of proper paperwork. more »

If you’re like me, you probably know CTIA mostly because of the cell phone trade shows the organization put on. Turns out CTIA also does phone certification, and represents phone companies in disputes. The organizations latest move, suing the city of San Francisco, looks to fall into the latter category. The lawsuit against San Francisco more »

If you were to buy a cell phone in San Francisco, you soon might look at the processor speed, screen size, keyboard, and specific absorption rate. The ladder of course is something that you don’t typically see on the boxes of cell phones nowadays, but thanks to a preliminary approval of the ordinance, could be more »

Tomorrow, it is expected that 30 million cellphones in Mexico will no longer be allowed to connect to the network thanks to a law passed last year requiring all users to register their phones. The law is aimed at stemming drug and gang violence that plagues many cities in the nation. Users were required to more »