From counterfeit goods to weight loss scams, Google blocked more than 780 million ads in 2015 for violating policies, it said Thursday in a blog post. More than 12.5 million pharmaceutical ads that made misleading claims were blocked, while more than 10,000 websites and 18,000 accounts that pitched counterfeit products like fake designer watches were suspended. More than 30,000 sites that made misleading claims for weight loss through supplements -- a top user complaint, Google said -- were blocked, as were nearly 7,000 phishing sites. The company said it also disabled 10,000-plus sites offering "unwanted" software and slashed unwanted downloads through Google ads by over 99 percent. More than 17 million "trick to click" ads such as those that resemble system warnings from a person's computer were scrapped. Google said it also "stopped showing ads on more than 25,000 mobile apps because the developers didn't follow our policies." For instance, two-thirds of the violators had placed their ads so close to buttons that users accidentally clicked the ads. The company said more than 1.4 million applications from sites and mobile apps that wanted to display Google ads but didn't follow policies were rejected. Users also provided "4+ billion pieces of feedback" through the "mute this ad" functionality telling Google they didn't want to see an ad on a site again. Besides rolling out a new design to help users manage their ads settings last year, the company said it's updating policies on weight loss ads and new protections against malware and bots in 2016.

Spotify bought Cord Project and Soundwave to "further boost [its] existing strengths in developing engaging and innovative music experiences," Spotify said in a news release Wednesday. Both businesses will join Spotify's product development team, said Spotify, which didn't disclose the purchase price of either deal.

ICANN’s search for a successor to retiring CEO Fadi Chehadé “is proceeding well,” though little other information on the search is available, ICANN Board Chairman Steve Crocker said in a blog post Monday. Chehadé is to resign from ICANN March 12, after the nonprofit corporation’s planned March 5-10 meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco. “It’s clear Fadi has a full run up to his final day and [the Marrakesh meeting], managing the organization and being its representative in key arenas,” Crocker said.

Brother printers, a General Electric dishwasher, Whirlpool smart dishwasher and Gmate Smart blood glucose monitor are among the first devices available for Amazon’s Dash Replenishment program, the retailer said Tuesday. Under Dash Replenishment, connected devices automatically order physical goods from Amazon when supplies are running low, the company said. For device makers and developers, Dash Replenishment Service APIs (application program interfaces) are available for integration into any device that can connect to the Internet, Amazon said. Developers can begin an integration using HTML containers and REST (representational state transfer) API calls, it said.

Amazon China reportedly registered with the Federal Maritime Commission to be a freight forwarder as Beijing Century Joyo Courier Service Co. (see 1601150033), which shows the company isn't giving up on investments in China, said a report from Credit Suisse research analysts. The report said analysts' conversations with Amazon officials suggested the company "will look to iterate its effort to offer Chinese consumers guaranteed authentic products." The report also suggested the fees Amazon will collect as a freight forwarder could result in savings from lower prices for consumers.

The NSA released an unclassified report on how it's implementing changes to its phone metadata records collection program as required by the USA Freedom Act, the agency said Thursday in a news release. NSA's Civil Liberties and Privacy Office did the assessment, which helps the agency identify impacts to civil liberties and privacy, describe safeguards applied to a certain activity and support more transparency. The law, which was passed last summer, took effect Nov. 29. The report also detailed data minimization procedures designed to protect privacy. It said the NSA "may process, analyze, disseminate, and retain" call detail records -- meaning the metadata -- only as permitted by the minimization procedures adopted by the U.S. Attorney General's Office and approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

The Cross Community Working Group on Enhancing ICANN Accountability (CCWG-Accountability) is “likely” to adjust its timeline for completing its final proposal on changes to ICANN’s accountability mechanisms based on feedback it receives from ICANN’s six chartering organizations, ICANN said in a blog post Friday. CCWG-Accountability had planned to submit its final proposal to the ICANN board by the end of January, but stakeholders have considered further delays likely given the significant amount of controversy on some aspects of the current proposal (see 1601080054). CCWG-Accountability has sought feedback by Jan. 21 from the six organizations on whether they support the working group’s current proposal. The Country Code Names Supporting Organization, Generic Names Supporting Organization and the Governmental Advisory Committee are preparing comments, ICANN said. “When feedback is received from all six Chartering Organizations, the CCWG-Accountability will be in a better position to judge how much additional work may be needed to finalize the report and will adjust its timeline.” GAC’s feedback has been seen as particularly important given the controversy over how the ICANN board should handle GAC advice following the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition.

Thirty civil rights, privacy and watchdog groups sent a letter Wednesday to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, again asking him to provide "crucial facts" about how Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act affects U.S. citizens and residents, especially before any legislative reauthorization effort. "No member of Congress should be forced to vote on such a critical matter while they and their constituents are kept in the dark about the extent to which Section 702 is being used to surveil Americans and other U.S residents," read the follow-up letter from the coalition. The groups, which include the American Civil Liberties Union, Brennan Center for Justice and Project for Government Oversight, initially requested such information in a letter in October. Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of Brennan's liberty and national security program, wrote in a blog post that the NSA acquires more than 250 million Internet communications annually under the program, which allows the agency to eavesdrop on a foreigner's calls and emails overseas, including communications with Americans. In a Dec. 23 response, the Office of DNI recommended to the coalition through Brennan that intelligence officials meet with civil liberties advocates. "But the letter hinted that much of the information the groups seek may not be forthcoming," Goitein wrote. She said any such meeting should be "focused on moving the conversation forward," meaning intelligence officials should discuss "our specific points and proposals."

The Education Department should continue to protect college students' online anonymity in any future guidance, the Electronic Frontier Foundation said Wednesday in a letter to Arne Duncan, who stepped down as secretary at year end, and Assistant Secretary Catherine Lhamon. EFF's letter came after a coalition of 72 women's and civil rights groups sent a letter to the department in October seeking new federal guidance telling universities and colleges of their legal obligations "to protect students from harassment and threats based on sex, race, color, or national origin carried out via Yik Yak and other anonymous social media applications." The coalition said academic institutions "currently have no explicit guidance" on how to respond to such harassment through social media platforms. It said the department's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) should remind universities and colleges that taking action to eliminate such harassment won't infringe on protected speech. EFF said it agrees with the coalition's assessment that harassment on online platforms is a "serious problem" and also agrees with many of its recommendations to fight harassment. But EFF disagreed with the coalition's request that OCR require academic institutions to remove online speech platforms. EFF Legal Director Corynne McSherry said in a news release that "blanket bans" on such platforms is a "counterproductive strategy. Online anonymity is crucial for students who fear retaliation for their political and social commentary. It helps many people avoid being targets of harassment in the first place.” EFF also said even if an academic institution blocks access to such platforms on campus, it won't stop students from going off campus or joining another network to comment anonymously.

Virtual reality software company Envelop VR raised $5.5 million in Series A funding, bringing its total backing to date to $7.5 million, it said. The company will use the funding to grow product and business teams with the goal of having its Envelop Virtual Environment software available when VR headsets from Oculus Rift and HTC reach the mass market later this year, said the company. The software enables enterprises and consumers to create, work and play in a VR environment and will allow developers creating VR content to be able to work while in their VR headsets, instead of having to switch between them and their 2D computer monitors, said the company.