No Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Violation for Access of Facebook and Personal Email by Employee — Lee v. PMSI
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Lee v. PMSI, 8:10 cv 2904 T 23TBM (M.D. Fla; May 6, 2011) I blogged last week about US v. Nosal, a Ninth Circuit case where the Ninth Circuit held that access of a computer in…
Thoughts on the Lawsuit Over the @OMGFacts Twitter Account — Deck v. Spartz, Inc.
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Deck v. Spartz, Inc., 2:11-cv-01123-JAM-DAD (E.D. Ca.; Apr. 26, 2011) (Complaint) (Agreement) An Associated Press story reports on the lawsuit over the @OMGFacts Twitter account. (Here’s a link to the story with comments from Professor Goldman.)…
Facebook Scores Initial Win Against Privacy Plaintiffs Over Data Leakage Claims — In re Facebook Privacy Litigation
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] In re Facebook Privacy Litigation, 2011 WL 2039995 (N.D. Cal.; May 12, 2011) There are so many recent privacy class actions out there, it’s become tough to keep track of them all. One of the early…
Judge Refuses to Block Seattle’s Yellow Pages Opt-out Law — Dex Media v. Seattle
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Dex Media West, Inc. v. City of Seattle, C10-1857JLR (W.D. Wash.; May 8, 2011) I blogged a ways back about Seattle’s yellow pages opt-out law and a First Amendment challenge brought by yellow pages companies. I…
Twitpic Modifies Terms and Claims Exclusive Rights to Distribute Photos Uploaded to Twitpic
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] I posted about the dispute between a photographer and Agence France-Presse over images AFP allegedly downloaded via Twitpic and used without permission. AFP argued that the license terms of Twitter or Twitpic authorized its use of…
The FTC’s Proposed Settlement With Google Over Buzz Privacy Breaches
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with additional comments from Eric] [Eric’s note: This topic festered in my blogging queue for far too long, so we are finally posting this after the FTC’s comment window closed. Nevertheless, this is such an interesting…
Court Finds Webloyalty Rewards Program Disclaimers Sufficient to Defeat Misrepresentation Claims — Berry v. Webloyalty
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Berry v. Webloyalty.com, Inc., et al., 10-CV-1358-H (CAB) (S.D. Cal.; Apr. 11, 2011) This is another online membership program case. Plaintiff purchased tickets from movietickets.com using his debit card. He alleges that he was offered a…
9th Cir: Access of Computer in Violation of Employer’s Use Policy Violates Computer Fraud and Abuse Act — US v. Nosal
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] US v. Nosal, 10-10038 (9th Cir.; Apr. 28, 2011) The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court’s dismissal of an indictment under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, holding that an employee’s access of an employer’s protected…
Maryland Supreme Court Rejects “Circumstantial Authentication” Standard for MySpace Evidence — Griffin v. Maryland
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Griffin v. Maryland, No. 74 (Maryland; Apr. 28, 2011) I blogged last year about a case in Maryland where the court allowed prosecutors to authenticate a witness’s MySpace page merely by accessing it from the internet,…
Jury Rejects Lawyer’s Claims Under DC’s Anti-Spam Law — CyberLaw v. Thelaw.net
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Cyberlaw P.C. v. Thelaw.net, No 2009 CA 003615 (D.C. Sup. Ct. March 16, 2011) (complaint) (verdict form) Lawyers receive a fair amount of spam from service providers and companies who offer CLEs and other services. Most…