The FTC Dings Twitter’s Security Practices — What Does This Mean for Everyone Else?
[Post by Venkat] In the Matter of Twitter, Inc. (FTC; June 24, 2010) (Consent Order) (FTC Press Release) Twitter recently agreed to a consent order with the FTC that requires Twitter to implement a variety of security measures with respect…
Judge Offers to Facebook ‘Friend’ Witnesses in Order to Resolve Discovery Dispute — Barnes v. CUS Nashville
[Post by Venkat] Barnes v. CUS Nashville, LLC, (M.D. Tenn) (June 3, 2010) I mentioned Barnes v. CUS Nashville in my post about Crispin v. Audigier, a case where a court found that production of private Facebook messages and postings…
Google Street View Litigation Mania–Seven Class Action Lawsuits and Counting
By Eric Goldman It appears that virtually the entire plaintiff’s bar saw Google’s blog post that it captured wi-fi payload data as part of its data collection for Google Street View. At least 7 class action lawsuits have been filed:…
9th Circuit Affirms Rejection of Data Breach Claims Against Gap — Ruiz v. Gap
[Post by Venkat with a few comments from Eric at the bottom] Ruiz v. Gap, Inc. (9th Cir. May 28, 2010) In a decision that does not bode well for plaintiffs bringing privacy-based claims against Facebook in California, the Ninth…
April-May 2010 Quick Links Part 1 (IP Edition)
By Eric Goldman [Note: I just got back from the Netherlands, where I had extremely limited Internet connectivity, so sorry for my absence in the last week (although you were in good hands with Venkat). I will be posting more…
Facebook Messages/Wall Posts, Civil Discovery, and the Stored Communications Act — Crispin v. Audigier
[Post by Venkat] Crispin v. Audigier, Case No. CV 09-09509 MMM (JEMx) (May 26, 2010) With the proliferation of the use of social network profile evidence, it was only a matter of time before a court dealt with the issue…
EFF Weighs in on Facebook v. Power Ventures — Facebook v. Power Ventures
[Post by Venkat] Facebook v. Power Ventures, Case No. 5:08-cv-05780 JW (N.D. Cal.) (Facebook Motion) (EFF Amicus Brief) Facebook and Power Ventures have been locked in a dispute over whether Power Ventures can access Facebook’s website and network outside of…
Beacon Class Action Lawyers Awarded $2.3MM in Fees — Lane v. Facebook
[Post by Venkat] Lane v. Facebook, Case No. 08-3845 RS (N.D. Cal.) (Order re Attorney Fees) The lawsuit over Facebook’s ill-fated Beacon program generated three lawsuits, a lot of wrangling by class action lawyers, and more than a few blog…
Web-based Email Bombardment Campaign Does Not Amount to a Violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act — Pulte Homes, Inc. v. LiUNA
[Post by Venkat] Pulte Homes, Inc. v. Laborers’ International Union of North America, et al. (E.D. Mich.) (May 12, 2010) Background: Pulte Homes, “the largest new home builder in the United States” terminated eight employees. Defendant Laborers’ International Union of…
FTC Busts Check-Issuing Website for Unfair Practices–FTC v. Qchex
By Eric Goldman Federal Trade Commission v. Neovi, Inc., 09-55093 (9th Cir. May 14, 2010) Qchex allowed registered users to create and send checks via a website. Initially, users could submit bank account information and payee information, and Qchex would…