Facebook PAC Gives More Money to Republicans Than to Democrats

Facebook PAC Gives More Money to Republicans Than to Democrats
07/05/2012 by Alex Fitzpatrick on Mashable

Bucking the tide for technology companies, Facebook’s Political Action Committee FB PAC contributed to slightly more Republican politicians than Democrats during the first quarter of 2012.

Republican members of Congress, including Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel (R-Ky.), were on the receiving end of $65,000 from Facebook’s PAC. Congressional Democrats, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on the other hand, received slightly less: $53,500.

The minor lean to the right is unusual for a technology company, which tend to favor Democrats. For example, Microsoft has contributed $694,284 to Democrats and $477,706 to Republicans via its PAC this year, while Google has given $101,800 to Democrats and $100,000 to Republicans.

A look at technology companies’ contributions to presidential campaigns reveals a wider split. Microsoft has given $289,088 to President Obama’s re-election effort this year, compared to $71,990 for Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Comcast’s contributions offer a similar example: $157,962 to Obama and $13,750 for Romney.

The traditional logic suggests that Democrats are the more technology-friendly of the two major American political parties, but Facebook’s mostly bipartisan congressional contributions could be interpreted as the early sign of a changing tide.

Facebook also gave to several leading members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, which oversee the U.S. court system. That may reveal some of Facebook’s political strategy, as it routinely finds itself either on attack or defense in the courtroom.

The disclosure forms also revealed the top contributors to Facebook’s PAC: CEO Mark Zuckerberg, COO Sheryl Sandberg, founder of LinkedIn Reid Hoffman and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen all chipped in the maximum allowable amount of $5,000.

Does the Democrat-Republican split of Facebook’s PAC surprise you? Sound off in the comments below.




Source: Mashable

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Apple forced to suspend push email service in Germany

Apple forced to suspend push email service in Germany
25 February 2012 Last updated at 13:04 GMT

Apple has been forced to stop push email for iCloud and MobileMe users on iOS devices while they are in Germany.

Push email allows users to see their messages on their devices automatically as soon as they are delivered.

However, the ability to receive emails by other means such as by opening the Mail app is unaffected.

Earlier this month a German court ruled that Apple's push technology infringed a Motorola Mobility patent.

Apple says it believes Motorola Mobility's patent are invalid and is appealing the decision.

This latest patent litigation only affects iOS devices. Apple's push service to desktop and laptop computers, and other services such as Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync are not effected.

Apple has published a support note on its website detailing a workaround for customers that are affected by the decision.

Patent battles
Apple and Motorola Mobility have been involved in a series of patent disputes in recent weeks.

In December, Apple briefly pulled several iPad and iPhone models from its German online store after Motorola Mobility enforced a patent injunction against the company.

More recently, Apple won a separate patent dispute with Motorola over the "slide to unlock" feature on many smart phones.

Google announced last year that it plans to acquire Motorola Mobility, which holds 24,500 patents, in a $12.5bn (£7.9bn) deal.