China blocks access to Google

In today's podcast: China blocks access to Google; US bans imports of Sharp TVs; and DOJ says names should be kept secret in ISP investigation.

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Google Web sites including its English search engine became inaccessible in China late Wednesday, following the country's criticism of Google last week for serving up pornographic search results. China appeared to block sites including Google.com, Gmail and Google Docs around 9:30 p.m. local time, when complaints about the sites not loading began appearing on Twitter. Attempts to visit the sites timed out or returned a "connection interrupted" message. A Chinese government-backed Internet watchdog criticized Google last week for allowing links to pornographic Web sites to appear in its results. A news program broadcast by state-owned CCTV drew widespread attention to the issue when it showed google.cn, the company's Chinese-language search engine, returning the links based on English searches.

The U.S. International Trade Commission issued a decision Wednesday that blocks the U.S. import of LCD panels and LCD televisions made by Sharp, ruling that the company violated a patent held by rival Samsung Electronics. The exclusion order, which is subject to review by the U.S. president, blocks Sharp and other companies from importing LCD panels that use the technology without a license from Samsung. Televisions and monitors that use these displays also cannot be imported. A Sharp spokeswoman said the company has not yet seen the full ruling, adding that Sharp TVs remain on sale as normal in the U.S. pending the decision on an appeal.

The U.S. Department of Justice has secret reasons for ordering that an Internet service provider keep quiet about a subpoena seeking information about the ISP's customers. The DOJ, defending against a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a classified justification of its gag order on the unnamed ISP, telling the court that not even the ACLU or the ISP could see the reasons for the gag order, the ACLU said Wednesday. The so-called national security letter program, expanded under the USA Patriot Act of 2001, included a provision allowing the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and other investigative agencies to issue subpoenas for records and data to ISPs and other companies, and order those firms to keep the subpoenas secret. Those gag orders were necessary to protect the integrity of terrorism investigations, the DOJ argued.

Microsoft on Wednesday announced online tools that could help consumers reduce energy consumption costs, and said it had big plans for products in the pipeline. Microsoft's Hohm Web site will offer tools that allow users to view home energy use and receive recommendations on how to save energy. It will also help users compare energy usage trends over months or years.The tools will also provide tips on reducing energy bills. For example, heating could be a major contributor to high electricity bills, and the Web site will offer tips on installing thermostats or sealing homes to better preserve heat. The tools aren't yet available, but users can sign up to be notified when the beta service becomes available. A Microsoft spokeswoman couldn't say when the service would become available.

...And those are the top stories from the IDG Global IT News Update, brought to you by the IDG News Service. I'm Sumner Lemon in Singapore. Join us again later for more news from the world of technology.