Supreme Court closes door on warrantless eavesdropping suit

The long-standing warrantless spying case ended at the hands of the Supreme Court today. After six years of working its way up through the courts, the Electronic Frontier Foundation's lawsuit against the National Security Agency -- which aimed to hold telecom companies liable for allowing government eavesdropping on U.S. residents -- was terminated.

The Supreme Court declined to review a lower court ruling on the case today, closing the door on further appeals. Its decision did not address the merits of the case.

Hepting v. AT&T was a class-action suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and EFF in 2006. It claimed that AT&T was letting the government wiretap resident's phone calls and spy on emails without necessary warrants or notifications.

"We're disappointed in the Supreme Court's decision not to review Hepting v. AT&T since it lets the telecommunications companies off the hook for betraying their customers' trust and handing their communications and communications records to the NSA without a warrant," EFF's Legal Director Cindy Cohn said in an email statement.

The legal tangle began when the New York Times reported in late 2005 that the president had authorized the NSA to conduct wiretaps, allegedly involving Americans' conversations and Internet communications, without a court order. The news ultimately led to proposed changes to a 1978 law known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA.

FISA required investigators to obtain a warrant from a secret court before conducting wiretapping on international communications when at least one end is located in the United States. The NSA's terrorist surveillance program, confirmed by President George W. Bush after the New York Times report, did not receive the FISA court's approval prior to its start. However, in 2008 Congress passed a retroactive immunity law for telecom companies that cooperated with the government during that time called the FISA Amendment Act.

Despite Hepting v. AT&T coming to a close, EFF is working on a similar case called Jewel v. NSA. That case targets federal agencies and government officials who were involved in warrantless wiretapping.

"We continue to try to stop the spying in our suit against the NSA itself, called Jewel v. NSA, which is set for a hearing in mid-December," Cohn said in the statement. "The government still claims that this massive program of surveillance of Americans is a state secret, but after eleven years and multiple Congressional reports, public admissions and media coverage, the only place that this program hasn't been seriously considered is in the courts -- to determine whether it's legal or constitutional. We look forward to rectifying that."

Google nudges developers to build Android-optimized apps

One of the most familiar knocks against Android tablets: They simply don't have enough apps to be viable.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly mocked Android tablet apps onstage. And while there are more that are tablet-optimized than there were six months ago, it's still tough to say how many more -- Google won't say. (The company instead highlights the total number of Android apps available, including those for smartphones -- it was 675,000, at last count.)

But Google is putting more effort into promoting Android as a platform for tablet apps. Today, with the holiday shopping season nearing, the company posted a "tablet app quality checklist" highlighting best practices for building for the Nexus 7, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, and their peers. It's all aimed at developers, particularly those who may have previously only developed for Android phones. ("Take advantage of extra screen area available on tablets," one of the more obvious suggestions goes.)

A checklist isn't going to build a platform, of course. But alongside the post today Google also shared what amounts to a sales pitch: "developer stories" that help Google make its case that software makers should build tablet apps.

In its post, Google makes three points:

• Bigger screens lead to more engaged users. More engaged users make money for developers, either by purchasing goods inside the app or by having their eyeballs sold to advertisers. 
• It's easier to retain users on tablet apps. Game maker TinyCo. told Google that players of its games are more likely to return than users of smartphone apps. As a result, they are able to generate more revenue per user over time. 
• Android tablet sales are increasing, and users are following. In a savvy move, Google highlights Instapaper -- an app that was long a darling of the iPad set, and moved to Android earlier this year when original developer Marco Arment hired Mobelux to port it. 

 Mobelux tells Google that of people who have downloaded Instapaper for Android, half have downloaded it for a tablet. We'd rather know how many downloads it has, of course, and how those compare to downloads for iOS. But the point to developers is clear -- popular apps like Instapaper are getting on board with Android tablets, and so should you. 

Time will tell how many developers take Google up on its pitch. The iPad remains far and away the market leader in the tablet space. But Google, Amazon, and a host of others are doing their best to lure more users to Android tablets. And the more developers who take Google's advice on best practices, the easier that will be.

YouTube expands original programming push to Europe

YouTube is cranking up its original programming effort with an international push that includes new channels in Europe.

The video-sharing site announced this evening it was adding 50 channels on top of the 100 it has introduced in the past year, along with the launch of country-specific channels in France, Germany, and Britain.

"From local cuisine, health and wellness and parenting to sports, music, comedy, animation and news, this new lineup of original channels will have something for everyone," Robert Kyncl, YouTube's global head of content, said in a company blog post this evening announcing the new programs. "They are backed by some of the biggest producers, well-known celebrities and emerging media companies from Europe and the U.S."

Since announcing $100 million investment in original programming last October, YouTube said it is already harvesting the fruit of its labor. The video portal says it is averaging more than a million views per week from its top 25 original channels, and that more than 800,000 people are watching 4 billion hours of video every month -- up from 3 billion hours earlier this year. It also said the number of people subscribing has double over last year.

Google is investing an additional $200 million into marketing and production costs, The New York Times reports. The company expects its investment will help attract a greater number of YouTube users to its channels.

"I believe that every interest will, at some point, have a channel serving that interest," Kyncl told the Times. "People are building channels and creating audiences, which is something they couldn't do before in such numbers."

The expansion comes as competition heats up for consumers' entertainment dollars. Video platforms such as Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu are also touting original programming in their competition to attract viewers and advertisers.