In today’s NewsDesk news roundup: Facebook Home gets poor reviews on Android despite massive download numbers; Twitter and Comedy Central team up; Silicon Valley tech companies work together to fight off Internet Privacy Bill; Nintendo embraces digital game distribution; Groupon profit continues to rise with CEO change; CBS accuses SEA of Twitter hack; Watsi joins Y-Combinator’s startup accelerator program; 300+ websites protest CISPA with content blackout; and Girl Scouts now have a merit-badge for designing video games.

Facebook Home gets poor reviews despite massive download

Facebook Home has been available for little over a week, and has just passed the five-hundred-thousand download mark. In addition, Facebook Home is also getting poor user reviews with an average rating is 2.2. It’s too early to write-off the social media company’s first attempt at a more immersive Facebook experience. Home is currently only compatible with a small number of the latest Android phones.

Twitter and Comedy Central team up

During a five-day interactive comedy festival, Comedy Central will post video snippets of live routines on TV using the hashtag #ComedyFest, effectively allowing viewers to use Twitter as a second screen while watching live television. Part of the festival will include a Vine Dining party, where the host will use Twitter’s latest acquisition, Vine, to tell stories in six-second bits. For Comedy Central, this partnership with Twitter is all part of a strategy to become an entertainment company that’s less reliant on nightly viewers.

Silicon Valley tech companies work together to fight off Internet Privacy Bill

Silicon Valley tech companies are working behind the scenes to kill California’s new Internet Privacy Bill. The Right to Know Act would require companies to show customers the personal data they’ve collected, and who that data is being shared with. If passed, it would be the first of its kind in the nation, but rest assured, the tech industry protests haven’t fallen on deaf ears.

Nintendo embraces digital game distribution

Nintendo is going to embrace digital distribution as a viable way to sell games to their loyal fanbase. Nintendo’s newest console, the Wii U has yet to gain significant traction in the market but for now, Nintendo is focused on their 3DS. Their devotion to make games first and add-ons second is definitely a contributing factor to the sluggish rise in console sales.

Groupon profit continues to rise with CEO change

In the two months since Andrew Mason was let go from the CEO position at Groupon, their stock has risen 40.4%. Mason was let go after the online-deal company suffered a profit loss of about twenty-five percent, missing their revenue and profit forecasts for the last quarter of 2012. Investors seem reassured that Groupon will thrive under the new management, even though there has been little to no proof of an actual change towards business operations.

CBS accuses SEA of Twitter hack

CBS confirmed over the weekend that their Twitter account has been hacked, and CBS suspects the Syrian Electronic Army, who was responsible for several Twitter break-ins of news-media organizations. The Syrian Electronic Army has since taken credit for the hacks through a tweet on their own account.

Watsi joins Y-Combinator’s startup accelerator program

Watsi, the Kickstarter for life-saving medical procedures, has the honor of being the first non-profit company accepted into Y-Combinator’s startup accelerator program. Adam explained a case where a twelve-year old girl in Nepal needed heart surgery that her family couldn’t afford. The case was referred to Watsi, and within days, twenty-four donors from around the World had signed up as sponsors, enabling her to receive the life-saving procedure. Unlike Kickstarter, Watsi doesn’t take a cut of the money donated, though it does accept tips.

300+ websites protest CISPA with content blackout

Over three-hundred websites are participating in a content blackout to protest CISPA. It allows the government to extract private information from the Internet without first seeking authorization from a court. Protests to overreaching government regulation have a track record of success. In January of 2012, the internet blackout was used by more than seven-thousand websites, including Wikipedia, Reddit, and Google, to protest the similar SOPA and PIPA acts..

Girl Scouts now have a merit-badge for designing video games

The Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles have created a new merit-badge for designing video games. The goal is not to teach programming, but rather it’s to get young girls excited in technology and science. Specifically, they want girls to know that they can have a career in the video game industry. This initiative follows shortly after the Boy Scouts of America revealed a similar merit badge program last month, and follows in line with President Obama’s Women in STEM initiative.