law

As Doctor Hibert so eloquently put, "only one in two million people has what we call the "evil gene". Hitler had it, Walt Disney had it, and Freddy Quimby has it." And while we understand that line as a joke, it seems that an Italian court has taken the idea far more seriously.

After listening to a week of testimony, the House Judiciary Committee has crafted two bills that seek to deal with the problem of cyber-bullying. One bill is a nuanced attempt to create a conversation between children, parents and school administrators about the proper use of technology, and the other is, well, not.

In what was no doubt the first ever 140-character legal document, the British High Court has served an anonymous web-pest an injunction via Twitter. This is the first time the microblogging service has been used to execute a court order.

In an attempt to head off new emissions standards, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is threatening to sue the Environmental Protection Agency. The Chamber is calling it the Scopes Monkey Trial of the 21st Century, and wants to put the evidence supporting global warming on trial in a court of law.

With their shapeless black robes and lined faces, the justices of the Supreme Court do not project a particularly cutting-edge image. And for the most part, that's not a problem. The judges concentrate primarily on cases related to either hot-button issues like torture and abortion, or cases dealing with the legal minutiae of how courts should properly function.

Since 2001, the European Union's (EU) anti-trust regulators have investigated complaints that chip maker Intel engaged in anti-competitive practices. They accused Intel of of paying retailers not to sell computers with AMD chips, and for using its position as the number-one chip manufacturer to muscle around competition. Today, the EU handed down the decision in the form of a $1.4 billion fine, the largest in European history.

While most people just use Craigslist for finding roommates and discount furniture, there is an undeniably large segment of users that turn to the site for more erotic reasons. With the killing of a masseuse hired through the site dominating tabloid front pages, Craigslist representatives will meet this week with States Attorney Generals from Missouri, Illinois, and Connecticut to work at reducing the number of illegal services offered on the site.

For a behind the scenes video of staff photographer John B. Carnett's photo shoot with the LASD, check out the video at the bottom of this page.

For more on the proposed Web Toll, stay tuned to PopSci's podcast.

What if the Internet were like cable television, with Web sites grouped like channels into either basic or premium offerings? What if a few big companies decided which sites loaded quickly and which ones slowly, or not at all, on your computer?