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Craiglist announced that it will get rid of the “erotic services” portion of its site. The popular web-based classifieds site has been under scrutiny over the section, which houses thousands of ads for sexual services, many of which are probably illegal. The removal also comes in the wake of the Craigslist Killer, Philip Markoff, who found and lured victims through the site.
The European Union slapped Intel with a $1.45 billion fine. The record breaking fine in the anti-trust case stems from Intel giving manufacturer’s lucrative deals on chips in return for carrying its products in their machines. The EU ruled that Intel “used illegal anticompetitive practices to exclude its only competitor (Advanced Micro Devices) and reduce consumers’ choice.”
Verizon will give up its landline business in fourteen states, merging their assets with Frontier Communications for $5.3 billion. The all-stock deal comes after reports that 20% of US households are cell phone only, and that there are more cell phone only homes than land line only homes. Verizon CEO noted that this transaction is part of our “multi-year effort to transform our growth profile and asset base to focus on wireless, FiOS fiber-optic services and other broadband development, and global IP.”
Clearwire announced that Cisco will provide the Internet protocol equipment needed to roll out WiMax. Currently, WiMax is only available in Baltimore and Portland, OR, but the company, whose investors include Comcast, TWC, Sprint, Google and Intel, plans on having WiMax available in over 80 markets by the end of 2010. In addition to IP equipment, Cisco will also unveil a new line of WiMax devices later this year.
After two years of testimony, a French court ruled that eBay cannot be held responsible users selling counterfeit products. The lawsuit, brought on by L’Oreal, alleged that eBay wasn’t doing enough to prevent counterfeit goods from being sold on its auction site. The ruling comes nearly a year after a similar case, in which the court ruled that eBay hadn’t done enough to prevent the sale of faux Louis Vuitton handbags.