Talk on Why State Legislatures Shouldn’t Regulate Internet Privacy
As regular readers know, I view state legislatures as currently the #1 threat to the Internet’s integrity. In the name of “protecting the kids” and “helping the Internet”, state legislatures are manufacturing a slew of anti-innovation laws that cumulatively threaten…
Daughter’s Celebratory Facebook Post Really “Sucked”–Gulliver Schools v. Snay
Patrick Snay was headmaster at Gulliver Preparatory School, a private school in the Miami area. The school didn’t renew his contract, so he sued for age discrimination and retaliation. The parties settled confidentially for $150k, broken down as $10k of…
Ninth Circuit Turns Out The Lights on California ‘Shine the Light’ Case
California’s “Shine the Light” statute is designed to facilitate transparency about the information collection and marketing practices of companies. The statute requires companies to disclose to customers the types of consumer information a company discloses to third parties for direct…
Revenge Porn Prosecution Stumbles In New York
The defendant: Posted naked pictures of [Jane Doe]*, who was then his girlfriend, on his Twitter account, and also sent those pictures to [Doe’s] employer and sister. Defendant was charged with (1) aggravated harassment; (2) dissemination of “unlawful surveillance images”;…
9th Circuit Says Plaintiff Had Standing to Sue Spokeo for Fair Credit Reporting Violations
Robins sued Spokeo alleging that Spokeo reported incorrect information about him—that he held a graduate degree and was wealthy—and this caused him difficulty in his job search and other harm. He alleged claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and…
H2 2013 Quick Links, Part 5 (Miscellaneous)
* Ars Technica: How the feds took down the Dread Pirate Roberts. A great story on how hard it is to remain anonymous online against determined federal agents. * Nice Reuters retrospective on Judge Rader. * DailyDot: The battle to destroy Wikipedia’s biggest sockpuppet army. Related: Is Wikipedia…
H2 2013 Quick Links, Part 4 (Social Media, Advertising, E-Commerce)
Facebook * MarketingLand’s coverage of Facebook’s increasingly complicated algorithm for ranking news feed stories. * People v. DeJesus, 2013 WL 6327657 (Cal. App. Ct. Dec. 4, 2013): As for defendant’s claim about an Internet posting to a group as potentially violating the trial court’s…
Sony PlayStation Data Breach Lawsuit Whittled Down but Moves Forward
We blogged previously about the claims resulting from the breach of the PlayStation networks. The claims did not receive a warm reception. (“Sony Network Data Breach Class Action Suffers Setback — In re Sony Gaming Networks”.) Plaintiffs were given a…
H2 2013 Quick Links, Part 2 (Privacy, Search Engines)
NSA * WaPo: The NSA seems to really enjoy exploiting high profile tech companies. * The Guardian: the Snowden incident portends the death of the Internet. * The Switch: Yes, there actually is a huge difference between government and corporate surveillance. * American Panopticon: How a…
Top Ten Internet Law Developments Of 2013 (Forbes Cross-Post)
A look back at the Internet law highlights of 2013: #10: Copyright Defendants Get High-Stakes Wins. 2013 saw several copyright defendants win long-running litigation affairs–and potentially crack open new markets, including (1) Google’s stirring win in its nearly decade-long Google…