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IAC chief Barry Diller: Google-Verizon deal is a sham. Diller said this week that a policy proposal from Verizon and Google on how Internet traffic management should be regulated “doesn’t preserve ‘net neutrality,’ full stop, or anything like it.” He said some companies are keeping quiet about the Google-Verizon agreement because they stand to gain from a less open Internet. Diller is the former boss of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, who used to work at IAC, an Internet company that owns such brands as Ask.com and Evite. Diller, who also oversees Expedia.com, made the comments to the New York Times.

Broadband stimulus funding cut by $302 million. Some stimulus funds designated for the National Telecommunications & Information Administration will be rescinded and used to pay teachers, according to the NTIA, the telecom arm of the Commerce Department. The agency said the money was repurposed to avoid layoffs and supply states with emergency funding. The Recovery Act included a total of more than $7 billion aimed at increasing the adoption and availability of broadband Internet access.

Democrats amp up Web organizing for general election. The Democratic National Committee is beginning its push towards the general election Thursday by sending organizing materials to hundreds of thousands of activists across the country via e-mail, social networks and the Vote 2010 website. "These resources — downloadable talking points and pockets cards — will inform voters and activists about the choice in this election and what is at stake," said DNC communications director Brad Woodhouse. The site also contains a video of clips from President Obama's speeches where he takes shots at the Republican party. Woodhouse said the DNC is hoping to capitalize on the momentum from Tuesday's primaries. http://bit.ly/96ktev

Google asks if text ads are subject to campaign finance disclosures rules. Google filed with the Federal Election Commission on Aug. 5 to ask if its text ad platform, Google AdWords, is subject to campaign finance disclosure rules. The company floated the possibility that these ads meet the “small items” exception to the rule, which covers item such as pens and bumper stickers. If the exemption doesn’t apply here, Google wants to know if displaying the candidate’s URL would meet the requirement. Check out the filing here.

FCC meeting: Change the date. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has pushed back the date of its next meeting to Sept. 23, a week after it was previously scheduled. An FCC spokesperson said the change came due to a scheduling issue. The meeting agenda is circulated three weeks in advance of the meeting. The date change, though unrelated to reclassification, means that staff will have more time to wade through the deluge of comments it has received in its controversial reclassification proceeding, which could boost the agency’s authority over Internet service providers. The commissioners could vote on reclassification as soon as the next meeting — if the agency puts the proceeding on the agenda. Another possibility is the FCC will abandon reclassification and look for a consensus on its authority from industry stakeholders. http://bit.ly/b2cDX6

Clinton makes birthday wish on Facebook for charitable donations. Former President Clinton announced on Wednesday that he is using the "birthday wish" feature on the Facebook Causes application to ask for donations to the Clinton Foundation. His birthday is Aug. 19. http://birthdays.causes.com/clinton

Former federal privacy official moves to Sprint. Sprint announced Wednesday it has hired former federal privacy official Maureen Cooney to serve as deputy chief privacy officer. As acting chief privacy officer and chief Freedom of Information Act officer for the Department of Homeland Security, Cooney was the highest ranking privacy official in the federal government at the time, according to Sprint.

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Can't-miss news

Industry notes

Cox, TiVo reach video On Demand deal. Cox Communications, the nation's third-largest cable provider, struck a deal with digital video recorder pioneer TiVo that will make Cox's On Demand content available through TiVo's DVR boxes. The deal represents a victory for TiVo, which has been forced to compete against the set-top boxes provided by cable companies. The agreement with Cox negates the need for two separate cable boxes and paves the way for similar deals with other cable and satellite providers. http://bit.ly/bNHvZx

Web photos may reveal user locations. Users who upload photos from their mobile phones to the Internet may be sharing more than they bargained for: geotags embedded in the files could reveal exactly where the photo was taken, according to the New York Times. The tags are embedded in all photos taken with GPS-enabled smartphones, but are invisible to the casual user. In order to disable the feature a user must generally navigate several menus, and doing so may disable all GPS features on a phone. http://nyti.ms/dgxXOj

Cisco sounds cautious note. The company “provided more evidence of the recent rebound in corporate technology spending, but its quarterly results also reinforced jitters that the pace may be slowing,” according to the WSJ. The company reported a 79 percent profit increase in its fiscal fourth quarter, while revenue rose 27 percent. http://bit.ly/9RGF3R

Number punch

15 — The number of patches Microsoft has issued in August in security updates, according to Next Gov. This is a monthly record for the company. http://bit.ly/clk1a6

Watercooler

GARDEN STATE — Where do you go when your life is thrust into the headlines and taken over by one of the largest controversies to hit the technology world this year? New Jersey. WSJ reports that Jodie Fisher, “the woman at the center of the [HP] scandal, has traded a life in Hollywood to work as a branch manager at a New Jersey staffing agency run by her mother.” She has alleged she was sexually harassed by the company’s chief executive Mark Hurd, who resigned. http://bit.ly/bPwrco