May 11, 2011, 9:56 AM — •Apple and Google execs dutifully appeared before Congress to hear questions from Al Franken about cell phone privacy and give vague but encouraging answers. Some might call this a "lively hearing"; others might call it "political theater." Congressional wheels grind slowly, so expect six to eight more scandals before any legislation is actually passed. [BW/ITw]
•Meanwhile, the European Union is set to pass much stronger privacy laws concerning browser cookies. This resulted in an anti-regulatory and anti-EU screed from Wired UK, which might have come across a bit more strongly if it didn't cite "users getting more relevant advertising shown to them" as cookies' #1 benefit to ordinary consumers. [Wired]
•In other European legal news, Google News is still forbidden from linking to Belgian newspapers. [Out-Law]
•Ousted Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci had big, big plans for the company, but now they won't get the benefits of his services, and they'll be sorry, some day. [All Things D]
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