Eric Schmidt has agreed to testify in front of a US Senate subcommittee investigation into whether Google distorts the market and engages in anti-competitive behaviour.

The executive chairman of Google, who handed over the chief executive role to co-founder Larry Page in January, will testify in front of the committee after repeated requests from senators Herb Kohl and Michael Lee that Page or Schmidt testify.

"A top Google executive will finally face serious questioning about the company's behaviour," said John M. Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog's Privacy Project.

"Schmidt was CEO for the past decade, so it's appropriate he be called. Now that Larry Page has taken over that position, he should also be held accountable and be required to testify as well.

"Given Google's inconsistencies between actions and statements in the past, we trust Schmidt's testimony will be given under oath."

The investigation follows similar probes by the Federal Trade Commission, the state of Texas, the European Commission and competition authorities in France and Italy.

The top ISPs in the US have announced a deal with trade orgainisations including the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association Of America to police their customers for pirating material.

Under the terms of the voluntary agreement AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Verizon and Time Warner Cable will send up to six electronic "copyright alerts" to customers that their computer is being used to traffic pirated material. If the activity carries on and the customer does not respond, the ISPs will take "mitigation measures".

"These steps may include, for example, temporary reductions of internet speeds, redirection to a landing page until the subscriber contacts the ISP to discuss the matter or reviews and responds to some educational information about copyright, or other measures that the ISP may deem necessary to help resolve the matter," said the RIAA.

Customers will be able to challenge any accusations, for a $35 fee, and adjudication by an independent reviewer will take place. Such reviews do not, however, preclude legal action in civil courts.

"This groundbreaking agreement ushers in a new day and a fresh approach to addressing the digital theft of copyrighted works," said Cary Sherman, president of the RIAA.

"We hope that it signals a new era in which all of us in the technology and entertainment value chain work collaboratively to make the internet a more safe and legal experience.

"It is a significant step forward not only for the creative community, which invests in and brings great entertainment to the public, but for consumers and the legitimate online marketplace as well."

Reaction from the industry has been largely supportive, and even think-tanks known for their opposition to such policies have given the pact support, but pledged ongoing scrutiny as it is deployed.

"Today's agreement has the potential to be an important educational vehicle that will help reduce online copyright infringement," said a joint statement by Public Knowledge and the Center for Democracy & Technology.

"But whether the agreement will meet its educational promise or undermine the rights of internet users will depend on how it is implemented.

"Among our concerns, we are particularly disappointed that the agreement lists internet account suspension among the possible remedies. We believe it would be wrong for any ISP to cut off subscribers, even temporarily, based on allegations that have not been tested in court."

President Obama does a lot of town hall meetings, seeing them as a chance to talk directly to voters. He did one recently on Facebook's campus, and now he's turning to Twitter.

Tomorrow at 2pm Eastern Time (7pm GMT) Obama will respond to questions sent with the hashtag #AskObama. Some of the questions at the town hall web site will be sent on the day, and some from those collected since the announcement was made, but the topic is the economy and how to improve it.

It is being billed as a social media event, but in all truth it'll be tightly scripted. The questions submitted in advance will be carefully vetted, Twitter said in a blog post, and screened for quality. Translation: don't expect anything too interesting.

Early attempts at audience participation online brought huge numbers of questions on legalising drugs, which the government laughed off as coming from people rigging questions.

Given the Twitter meeting, it is unfortunate that the US Secret Service has reportedly confirmed that it is investigating the hacking of a Fox New Twitter feed which announced that the president had been assassinated.

The US Supreme Court has ruled that computer games, no matter how violent, qualify as free speech and are therefore protected from restriction under the First Amendment.

In a 7-2 ruling the court found for the Entertainment Software Association in its case against California state officials, who sought to restrict the sale of violent video games to minors with a new law in 2006.

After repeated court failures the Californian government took the issue to the Supreme Court, with Microsoft, Sony, Electronic Arts and Take Two (publisher of Grand Theft Auto) giving evidence opposing a ban.

"Video games qualify for First Amendment protection. Like protected books, plays and movies, they communicate ideas through familiar literary devices and features distinctive to the medium. And 'the basic principles of freedom of speech ... do not vary' with a new and different communication medium," the Supreme Court ruling (PDF) stated.

The ruling noted that depictions of violence are part of a long tradition, citing Homer's description of the blinding of the Cyclops and Hansel and Gretel's burning of a witch alive in an oven.

William Golding's Lord of the Flies contains a brutal murder, as does Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, and the fact that such depictions are now delivered with advanced computer technology makes no difference.

"This country has no tradition of specially restricting children's access to depictions of violence," the ruling said.

"California's claim that 'interactive' video games present special problems, in that the player participates in the violent action on screen and determines its outcome, is unpersuasive."

There were, however, dissenting voices. Justice Clarence Thomas took an historical perspective, arguing that the writers of the Constitution would not have had a problem with the law since it enforced a parent's right to monitor their child's interactions.

"The freedom of speech, as originally understood, does not include a right to speak to minors without going through the minors' parents or guardians. Therefore, I cannot agree that the statute at issue is facially unconstitutional under the First Amendment," he wrote in his dissent from the judgement.

The move will be a boost for the computer games industry, which would have faced reduced sales and the prospect of similar restrictions across other states in the US. It will also see considerable savings on its legal bills.

"This is a historic and complete win for the First Amendment and the creative freedom of artists and storytellers everywhere," said Michael D. Gallagher, president of the Entertainment Software Association.

"Today, the Supreme Court affirmed what we have always known - that free speech protections apply every bit as much to video games as they do to other forms of creative expression like books, movies and music."

America's first chief information officer has announced that he will step down in August after two and a half years in the job.

Vivek Kundra was appointed to the role by Barack Obama in March 2009, but was placed on leave almost immediately when the FBI raided his former employer, the District of Columbia. The FBI later cleared Kundra of any wrongdoing.

"When he began at the White House, Vivek Kundra brought the promise of good ideas and a hard-charging style focused on getting things done," said Jacob J. Lew, director of the US Office of Management and Budget.

"These were necessary qualities to tackle the difficult issues facing federal IT: an ageing infrastructure with rising operating costs, too many major projects failing to deliver, and increasing vulnerability to outside threats.

"Two and a half years after joining the administration, Vivek has delivered on that promise. He has cracked down on wasteful IT spending, saved $3bn in taxpayer dollars, moved the government to the cloud, and strengthened the cyber security posture of the nation while making it more open, transparent and participatory."

Kundra will take up a new post at Harvard as a joint fellow at the Kennedy School and the Berkman Center for Internet and Society.

The White House has not said whether it is looking for a successor.

A forthcoming Pentagon report on US cyber security has concluded that some online attacks will be considered acts of war, and could provoke a physical response.

The US military is expected to unveil plans in the next month to extend its reach into the online world with the publication of a review of online strategy.

A report in The Wall Street Journal cited a source as suggesting that a more forceful response to online attacks is likely to become US Army practice.

"If you shut down our power grid, maybe we will put a missile down one of your smokestacks," a military official is quoted as saying.

According to the source, the ideas being discussed are ones of proportionate response. If an online attack causes physical damage to people or property, the response must be no more damaging.

The full document will contain more details, but the military has been taking a much more forceful line on internet attacks of late.

US general Michael Hayden told the Black Hat security conference last year that the military considers the internet to be a new operational theatre, just like any other, and other states are already doing the same.

In the light of the Stuxnet attack, the US isn't the only one preparing for conflict. The UK has rolled out its cyber plans, and NATO is co-ordinating a group to respond against attacks on member states.

A former IT administrator for the city of San Francisco has been fined nearly $1.5m after locking down the city's government network for 12 days.

In 2008 Terry Childs, an IT administrator on the city's FiberWAN network, which carries 60 per cent of the local government's network traffic, reset passwords after a disagreement with management.

City officials were locked out of the network until Childs gave up the codes to Gavin Newsom, who was San Francisco's mayor at the time.

Childs claimed that he was asked to hand over confidential master passwords in front of staff without security clearance. He had spent the previous five years helping to build the FiberWAN network, and said he was trying to protect it from damage by unqualified staff.

The jury didn't buy it, however, and last year Childs was found guilty of tampering with the city's network, and was sentenced to four years in prison. He has recently been released, but has been handed a bill for $1,485,791. The figure represents the cost of repairing the network, which was considerably higher than first estimates.

As an initial cost, San Francisco Superior Court judge Teri Jackson ruled that Childs must forfeit the $11,000 he had on him when he was caught by police. IT administrator salaries are good, but not that good, and it could be some time before his credit score gets out of single figures.

The 2011 Google I/O developer's conference may be over, but here are some of the highlights in picture form.

Crowds started gathering quickly for the opening keynote at the Moscone West Center in San Francisco

Google kept the crowds waiting with a colourful countdown before the opening event

Over 600,000 people a day tuned in online from outside the venue to watch the keynotes

Vic Gundotra, Google's senior vice president of social, explained Android's plans for Apple with a simple graphic image.

Google also showed off its new Music cloud stroage system. The web site allows up to 20,000 songs to be recorded and played back to any compatible computer

The company will ensure that Google Music has the same look and feel on smartphones

The logo for the new Ice Cream Sandwich build of Android, due out by the end of the year. The new code will unify tablet and smartphone operating systems back into one 

Google showed the first pictures of a 12in laptop Samsung will release next month for use with Chrome OS

Acer too had hardware ready for next month's launch, with this 11in unit.

Sergey Brin was in a pensive mood at one of the breakout sessions

Among the systems on display was a walk-in viewing room where delegates could 'fly' around Google Earth

One of the more out-there ideas was an Android-enabled exercise machine that allows you to monitor progress and calories burned, and to play games while sweating off the pounds

The final thing every conference attendee needed was power, and thankfully there were sockets (and seating) to be had.