Rohm and Haas Co., Philadelphia, Pa., completed its acquisition of Rochester, N.Y.-based Eastman Kodak Co.'s Light Management Films business, which produces advanced films that improve the brightness and efficiency of liquid crystal displays (LCD). The acquisition was finalized on Friday, June 15. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

  Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials develops and delivers innovative material solutions and processes to the electronic and optoelectronic industries. Focused on the circuit board, semiconductor manufacturing, advanced packaging, and flat panel display industries, its products and technologies are integral elements in electronic devices around the world.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo! Inc.'s Flickr is currently facing accusations of censorship from German users. The company is preventing users in Germany from viewing many of the images posted on its website, due to strict German laws requiring websites verify that visitors are old enough to see potentially sensitive content, reports The Associated Press.

  Flickr features a "SafeSearch" function which can typically be turned off by users interested in seeing all the photos available on Flickr, but that option isn't being offered in Germany. According to the FAQ section of the Flickr website, if a Yahoo username is based in Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong or Korea, that user will only be able to view safe content based on local terms of service -- and won't be able to turn "SafeSearch" off.

  "We're all getting really uncomfortable that the words 'Flickr' and 'censorship' are being jammed together with increasing frequency because that is so far from the direction we're trying to move in," Heather Champ, Flickr's community manager, wrote in a note posted on the Flickr blog. Champ suggested that the company decided to remain cautious rather than expose company employees in Germany to possible jail time for breaking the age-restriction laws, says the AP.

  "We should have handled this differently, and have been exploring many possible approaches which would allow us to do what makes sense while still operating inside the law," Yahoo said in a recent statement.

  Flickr is no stranger to this type of criticism. Some of its photos were blocked in the United Arab Emirates and China in the past. Parent company Yahoo has also faced accusations of censorship when access to some of its content was blocked and e-mail information was turned over that helped China's government convict dissidents. Two of the dissidents are currently suing Yahoo for its role in their convictions, reports the AP.

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