Updates on Google Inc (GOOG): Government Consent, Spying & Facebook Inc (FB)

Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), SINA Corp (NASDAQ:SINA)

Google argues for right to continue scanning Gmail (ElPasoInc)
Attorneys suing Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) say the firm violates privacy and takes personal property by electronically scanning the contents of people’s Gmail accounts and then targeting ads to them. “This company reads, on a daily basis, every email that’s submitted, and when I say read, I mean looking at every word to determine meaning,” said Texas attorney Sean Rommel, who is co-counsel suing Google. But in a federal court hearing Thursday in San Jose, Google argued that the case should be dismissed, and that “all users of email must necessarily expect that their emails will be subject to automated processing.”

Google Inc (GOOG)

Google London Office With Running Track Wins Approval (Bloomberg)
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), owner of the world’s largest search engine, won local government approval to build its new U.K. headquarters next to King’s Cross train station in London. The Camden borough council unanimously approved the 85,800-square-meter (920,000 square-foot) building at a meeting late yesterday. The project on 2.4 acres (1 hectare) will have a swimming pool and a running track on the roof and space for as many as 5,000 workers, according to a filing to the borough.

NSA Code Cracking Puts Google, Yahoo Security Under Fire (BusinessWeek)
Disclosures that the U.S. National Security Agency can crack codes protecting the online traffic of the world’s largest Internet companies will inflict more damage than earlier reports of complicity in government spying, according to technology and intelligence specialists. …The reports, based on documents from former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, emerged amid an expanding debate over whether NSA surveillance activities undermine civil liberties. The revelations raise fresh questions about the security of data held by companies including Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) just as more commerce shifts online.

Social Media Violating User’s Privacy, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) & Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) Accused (eFinanceHub)
Recently, a case has been made against Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), to take an advantage of consumer data the companies have collected, and using it to better target their advertising. Facebook was charged for using approximately 150 million users’ images to promote products and services through the advertisements, and fined about $9.5 million to settle the case.

Google’s Former China President Lee Says on Blog He Has Cancer (Bloomberg)
Lee Kai-Fu, Google Inc. (GOOG)’s former China head, said on his microblog he has cancer, sparking widespread concern among his more than 51 million followers. “Although lymphoma doesn’t sound optimistic and has made my family and friends concerned, this is life — it comes as a surprise but I should face it calmly,” Lee, 51, said on his SINA Corp (NASDAQ:SINA) Weibo account at about 8:07 a.m. Beijing time today. “Sickness is part of life; I will choose to face the ups and downs of life with a more positive attitude.”

Buy in increments (CNBC)