Facebook is joining the Global Network Initiative, which monitors tech companies for human rights compliance worldwide.

Reminding us that Bing's heart still beats pretty strongly as it struggles against Google, Microsoft has added trending topics and related individuals to Bing News as well as bumping up the article index.

Samsung says its top-rank smartphone the Galaxy S4 has sold over 10 million units--beating the sales pace of the predecessor S3 device.

Samsung has invested $50 million into Pantech, the number three phone maker in South Korea, in return for a 10% stake. The move reinforces Pantech's finances and also gives Samsung a boost in its home market.

The firm's chief product officer, Kouji Kodera, left last week, joining a raft of former colleagues, some of whom are going to other tech companies. Added to that, poor sales of its One and First models are not currently making HTC the happiest of workplaces.

Twitter has patented the ubiquitous pull-to-fresh touch interface gesture as part of a new "Innovator's Patent Agreement" designed to discourage patent trolls from offensive lawsuits.

Google is closing its Checkout service, which allowed merchants to process payments, and instead is moving some of the functions into its Wallet service--which is also Google's vehicle for mobile consumer payments.

Ireland, where Apple has a local office as part of a complex international tax system, says it's not to blame for U.S. government failures to clawback Apple's tax.

The Internet firm professed itself "disappointed" with the verdict.