Category: Law
Feds Trying to Gain Wholesale Access to ISP Records Under Patriot Act – Again
The Federal government is arguing, despite rulings by the court to the contrary, that under the Patriot Act they are, or at least should be, allowed to demand customer records and information from ISPs (Internet service providers) in secret, and without a court order. In other words, the Feds are…
Yahoo Sued for Failure to Remove Dirty Pictures of User
According to Cecilia Barnes, men have shown up at her place of employment in Oregon expecting to be able to have sex with her. Which is odd, because she’s not a sex therapist or a prostitute. Perhaps less odd, though, when you learn that, at least according to Barnes, her…
Federal Law Enforcement Announces Operation D-Elite, Takes Down Elite Torrents (News Release)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Acting Assistant Attorney General John C. Richter of the Criminal Division, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement Michael J. Garcia, and Assistant Director Louis M. Reigel of the FBI’s Cyber Division today announced the first criminal enforcement action targeting individuals committing copyright infringement on…
Use Encryption – Go to Jail (And Watch that Search History Too!)
Just when you thought that the state of the law with regards to the Internet couldn’t get any more convoluted, a Minnesota appeals court has held that a defendant’s use of the PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) program can be admitted as evidence against someone accused of Internet wrongdoing. The case…
Federal Anti Spyware Law to Become a Reality
The nation is one step closer to having a Federal anti-spyware law, and all odds point to it becoming a reality before the year is out. At this very moment the House is working with two proposed anti-spyware laws, I-SPY (the Internet Spyware Prevention Act of 2005), and the SPY…
Deleting Email Leads to $1.45billion Judgement Against Company
Employees at Morgan Stanley may think twice before they delete their email, after a judge slapped a $1.45billion judgement on the financial giant because they just hit delete.
Institute for Social Internet Public Policy Advises Companies to Avoid Legal Trouble with Strong Email Handling Policies
The Institute for Social Internet Public Policy (ISIPP) is advising companies to take the $1.45billion email mismanagement judgement recently announced against Morgan Stanley as a wake-up call.
You’ve Got eWine – Court Says You Can Buy Wine on the Internet
In case you thought it was bad that teenagers can buy tobacco over the Internet, a court – make that the Supreme Court – has just ruled that you can buy alcohol, specifically wine, over the Internet, and that individual states shall not pass laws which forbid buying wine over…
Court Denies TigerDirect’s Injunction in Tiger Lawsuit Against Apple
The Federal Court in Florida has denied a request for an injunction by computer retailer TigerDirect in their lawsuit against Apple over the name for their latest version of OS X, “Tiger”. It seems that, like Aunty, the court believes that TigerDirect’s claims about the tiger in their tank is…
Federal Trade Commission Seeks Input On CAN-SPAM
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that they are seeking comments on several aspects of CAN-SPAM which they will be clarifying or modifying. According to the FTC, the proposed clarifications or modifications to CAN-SPAM include modifying the definition of “sender” to make it clearer just who is responsible for…
New Chicago Law Makes Illegal Holding a Cell Phone While Driving
A brand new law in Chicago makes it illegal to hold and use a cell phone while driving. The new law permits drivers to use headsets and other hands-free devices, but bans driving while holding a cell phone in your hand. Good for them! While the law generally requires the…
Breaking News! Court Strikes Down FCC’s Broadcast Flag!
In a surprise move today, a Federal appeals court struck down the FCC’s proposed “broadcast flag“. The broadcast flag is an anti-copying scheme for digital broadcasts which the FCC was trying to force on all consumers, and into all devices capable of receiving and recording a digital broadcast. The broadcast…
Connecticut Sues Vonage, Jumps on the ”Bad Vonage, No 911” Bandwagon
As many of Aunty’s readers know, the State of Texas sued Vonage recently for, they claimed, failing to provide adequate instructions for signing up for 911 emergency telephone services. Hogwash! Now the State of Connecticut is pulling the same thing, suing Vonage claiming that “Vonage’s lack of disclosure was a…
Employees Can’t Be Fired for Surfing Porn on the Job
Employees can’t be fired for surfing porn on the job. That’s the judgement of a court which has ruled that an employer who fired two employees caught surfing the web for porn on company time must not only reinstate them, but must pay each of them an award of $40,000…
New York AG Spitzer Labels Intermix “Spyware” in Lawsuit
New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has sued online marketing company Intermix, claiming that Intermix has been distributing spyware to unsuspecting users, and that users visiting the Intermix site would end up with ad-serving pop-ups displayed on their computers, or having their computers redirected to another website, often without th user’s knowledge.
