Quoted – Yelp.com: Extortion or free speech? Lawsuits mount

Image representing Yelp as depicted in CrunchBase
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Yelp.com: Extortion or free speech? Lawsuits mount

You would expect nothing more, or less, from the Web.As merchants line up to join the lawsuit against Yelp for allegedly downgrading their ratings when they did not advertise, the debate over the import and impact of online reviews has never been more heated. From other online sites touting their more pristine approaches, to merchants insisting that negative reviews can only help — honest! — perspectives are as diverse as opinions expressed in the online reviews themselves.

You would expect nothing more, or less, from the Web.

So who can a consumer trust? Surveys consistently show that word of mouth trumps all other sources of information and increasingly a seemingly average Joe review on the Web qualifies as word of mouth. Scott Testa, a technology consultant and business professor at Cabrini College near Philadelphia, said that while the Yelp suit may open the floodgates to criticism of criticism, the best bet for consumers is to read widely and with skepticism.

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/03/29/yelp-com-extortion-or-free-speech-lawsuits-mount/

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Quoted – FTC Sues, What’s the Fallout for Intel? – Datamation

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Quoted – FTC Sues, What’s the Fallout for Intel? – Datamation

The Federal Trade Commission‘s lawsuit against Intel isn’t earning a lot of cheers of support, except maybe from nVidia. In fact, analysts think the suit over claims that the world’s biggest chip maker used its market position to stifle competitors is late and pointless.

The FTC’s slowness isn’t the only problem. It’s also toothless. “If history tells us anything, at the end of the day, most are pretty unsuccessful. Microsoft did not get broken up. IBMBusiness Administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia. did not get broke up. These big cases are generally unsuccessful,” said Scott Testa, professor of

While nVidia will be all too happy to help the FTC in the case, AMD has settled its legal beef with Intel and just received the $1.25 billion settlement. However, even if it doesn’t want to testify, it has no choice.

“They may be subpoenaed. They may not have a choice. When you get subpoenaed you don’t say ‘Hey it’s settled, we don’t want to talk about it.’ You go,” said Professor Testa.

Testa said Intel can’t be timid about such accusations if it wants to compete, nor should it. “At some point in time you have to compete. I don’t think a company should be penalized for being superior. They are an aggressive company and they shouldn’t run their business wrapped around legal ramifications. They should run their business around business ramifications,” he said.

http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/features/article.php/3853911/FTC-Sues-Whats-the-Fallout-for-Intel

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