On the Net ... with UPI

SUIT: CREDIT CARDS PROFIT OFF NET FRAUD

Three merchants have filed suit against the major credit card companies, charging they profit from Internet fraud and don't do all they can to stop it, MSNBC reports. The suit -- filed last week against Visa, MasterCard American Express and Discover -- claims "merchants have paid virtually all of the costs associated with fraud and theft," while credit card associations and issuing banks make millions on fraud-related charges. Attorney Mark W. Ishman, who filed the complaint in U.S. District Court in Raleigh, N.C., says it could seek "hundreds of millions of dollars" in damages. "We have strong beliefs that will be supported through discovery that (credit card associations) have knowledge that certain cards have been stolen or compromised, but they don't ... share such knowledge," Ishman said. "Throughout these transactions, they had many opportunities in which they could have stopped (the fraud) or minimized damages."

BRITNEY ANTES UP ONLINE FOR CHARITY

Teen pop star Britney Spears is offering 169 items in an online auction to raise money for her charity foundation. The auction, available at gottahaveit.com through June 5, features numerous outfits from performances, including the "Slave 4 U" costume she wore at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards. However, the auction isn't just offering a chance at owning Britney's clothes -- among other items, the auction also includes a chance to attend her summer camp for the performing arts, the cover letter to her first recording contract, her mouse-ears Mickey Mouse Club hat and seven hand-written and signed junior high book reports. The Britney Spears Foundation is dedicated to raising money for children in need.

HOUSE NIXES NET TAXES

A permanent moratorium on new and discriminatory Internet taxes came a step closer last week when a House Judiciary subcommittee approved a bill to permanently extend the current Net tax moratorium, Internetnews.com reports. The current moratorium, passed in 1998 and extended in 2001, is scheduled to expire in November. It prevents taxes on Internet access, multiple-state taxation of a single item bought over the Internet, and taxes that treat online purchases differently from other types of sales. Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, chairman of the Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee, said Net taxes would be a blow to e-commerce, which counts for approximately 1 percent of U.S. retail sales. Similar bills also have been filed in the Senate. The House bill now heads to the Judiciary Committee for approval.

PLAYBOY: STEAMY AND STREAMING ONLINE

Hugh Heffner is taking Playboy to the Net, with a new "Playboy TV Club" of streaming videos available online, the Washington Post reports. The $25-a-month service, available through RealNetworks' paid video service, brings "Playboy's girls next door as you've never seen them before," according to a sign-up page at the RealNetworks site. The site also promises "parental controls" and "discrete (sic) billing." The new channel is part of Real Networks' new OpenPass program, which offers individual channels separate from its bundled $10-dollar-a-month subscription plan.

CALIFORNIA TOPS BROADBAND USE

California leads the country in broadband subscriptions, with 2.6 million in June 2002, according to a study by trade tech association AeA. The study, based on Federal Communications Commission data, found that broadband use has jumped 488 percent nationally from 2.8 subscriptions in December 1999 to 16.2 million in June 2002. But although California come out on top with subscription numbers, Massachusetts and New Jersey beat the West Coast giant in per household subscribers, with the District of Columbia and Alaska following as fourth and fifth, respectively. The study also found that while broadband technology is almost universally available in urban regions, 50 percent of rural areas also have broadband technology.

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