über Does It Again & Other Stories You Need to Know

YAHOO! FOR YAHOO!: Yahoo was threatened with a fine of $250,000 a day back in 2008 if it refused to take part in the NSA's PRISM program, according to just-released court documents. Yahoo argued that the request was unconstitutional but ultimately capitulated when the secret FISA court ruled against the company, reports Craig Timberg at the Washington Post: And, with that victory, the US was able to "convince" other big tech companies to get in line. Convince, that is, as in the mobster "it-would-be-a-shame-if-you-didn't" cliché:

The ruling by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review became a key moment in the development of PRISM, helping government officials to convince other Silicon Valley companies that unprecedented data demands had been tested in the courts and found constitutionally sound. Eventually, most major U.S. tech companies, including Google, Facebook, Apple and AOL, complied. Microsoft had joined earlier, before the ruling, NSA documents have shown.

Yahoo's challenge to warrantless searches was first reported last year, as part of the coverage of Edward Snowden's revelations, Vindu Goel and Charlie Savage of the New York Times note. But the strong-arm tactics are news. They provide strong evidence that Yahoo went kicking and screaming into the program and clear up just how it became "the first of nine internet companies to fall to the government’s demands for customer data," writes Wired's Kim Zetter. "Each of the internet companies fell in line with the program at separate times in the wake of that ruling." None of these companies appear to have been punished by customers for their participation in PRISM, but it is always good to know who is a collaborator and who isn't. Again, from Wired:

The unsealing of FISA Court documents is extremely rare but, as [Yahoo General Counsel Ron] Bell noted, it was “an important win for transparency, and [we] hope that these records help promote informed discussion about the relationship between privacy, due process, and intelligence gathering.”

Mine may be simplistic view, but some things just need to pass a smell test. A secret court threatening companies for data about us — and even that being a secret — seems like a tremendous overreach in the sort of democracy the United States enjoys. And more than a tad hypocritical: With one hand, legislators taunt private companies like Apple and Home Depot about being lax about protecting their customers' privacy, and with the other, government entities blackmail private companies to systematically violate their privacy. Or am I missing something?

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TWO CAR LENGTHS FORWARD, ONE BACK: California's Public Utilities Commission has ruled that über can't let their customers car pool. Sound like — once again —the rules are not quite keeping up with the times? Welcome to über's world. In fairness, the CPUC says the rules can be changed. But for now, as Mark Rogowsky of Forbes writes, it's still silly season:

It has let Uber know that it can seek to change the law, but absent that it can’t continue offering a service where two distinct riders pay separate fares to share one car. In other words, one passenger: legal. Two passengers trying to reduce traffic and emissions while saving money: illegal. Only in California, arguably the greenest state in the U.S.

überpool, as the company calls is, tries to match you with a fellow rider going in roughly the same direction and gives you both 40% off. über — and Lyft, to whom this regulation would also to apply, have a rich history of doing what they want and dealing with the regulatory shitstorm later, as Liz Gannes of <re/code> notes:

The letter to Uber, which was obtained by Re/code, said that the company had not applied for any special designation for its new product. Needless to say, it is in keeping with these startups’ philosophy: Act first, figure out the regulatory situation later.

As crazy ways of impeding the inevitable go, California's is more funny than sad. For a real hoot about trying to stop the car service revolution read "Why the Taxi Drivers' Wife is Keeping You From Getting a Taxi," by David Ashton, founder of SnapCar.

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JUST SAY MAYBE: That two-point polling lead for Scot independence has been countered by a more recent survey which finds 52%-48% favor staying in the UK. Both of these were within the margin of error, which means — at best — that this is an incredibly close call which will likely only be decided in those solitary seconds when each Scot faces her destiny in the privacy of the polling booth. The YouGov 51%-49% poll looks a bit of an outlier now, write Reuters' Alistair Smout and Angus MacSwan (aren't those two of the best bylines you've ever seen? I also used to work at Reuters with Opheera McDoom and Grant McCool — no kidding). Also, official and establishment Britain brought out the big guns, they report:

The polls showing a large swing in support to the Scottish nationalists sowed panic in the British ruling elite. Cameron headed to Edinburgh on Wednesday where he begged Scots not to destroy the "family of nations" that makes up the United Kingdom.

In a hurried attempt to win back support for the union, the Labour Party rushed dozens of lawmakers to Scotland where it is the only political force that rivals the Scottish nationalists.

After two British banks - Edinburgh-based Lloyds and RBS - said they would shift their registered head offices to London if Scotland voted to break away, (secessionist campaign leader Alex) Salmond accused the British government of orchestrating a campaign by corporate lenders.

The vote is next Thursday. As far as US media coverage goes, expect a lot of TV B-Roll of men in kilts and "Beam me up, Scotty" references.

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EBOLA'S BIG ENEMIES: A second co-founder of Microsoft has made a huge donation to find a cure for Ebloa. Paul Allen has pledged $9 million, a day after the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation donated $50 million. In a blog post announcing his commitment, Allen said the money will be "put to work immediately by the CDC to establish emergency operations centers in the most-impacted countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. These centers will help to better establish and fortify a systematic response through data management and communication systems for disease and patient contact tracing, to detect and stop the disease from spreading."

On Wednesday, The Gates foundation said its $50 million would be used by "United Nations agencies and international organizations involved in the response to enable them and national governments to purchase badly needed supplies and scale up emergency operations in affected countries. More than 2,200 people have died in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. and there have been some cases in Nigeria and Senegal.

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