Internet Law

Texas Lawyer and His Wife Win Nearly $14M in Libel Suit over Online Comments

A Texas lawyer and his wife have been awarded $13.8 million in a libel suit against online commenters who accused the couple of sexual perversions, molestations and drug dealing. Tarrant County jurors awarded the money to Mark and Rhonda Lesher on Friday, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and ABC News report.…

Apr 25, 2012 2:13 PM CDT

Zuckerberg Reportedly Negotiated Instagram Deal Without Lawyers and Board Input

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg feared Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom would be put off if he approached him through lawyers. On April 5, Zuckerberg picked up the phone himself to call Systrom about buying the photo sharing service, the Wall Street Journal reports. In three days of meetings in Zuckerberg’s home, the…

Apr 18, 2012 1:34 PM CDT

Reporter’s Tweeted Photo Leads to Mistrial in Topeka Murder Case

A Topeka judge has declared a mistrial in a murder case because a reporter inadvertently tweeted a photo of one of the jurors. Reporter Ann Marie Bush of the Topeka Capital-Journal was allowed to take photos with a camera phone as long as no jurors were pictured, the Topeka Capital-Journal…

Apr 12, 2012 12:07 PM CDT

Former Prosecutors Sue Anonymous ‘Lawyer’ Commenter over Online Sex-for-Promotion Allegation

A couple in Las Vegas who once worked together as prosecutors have filed a defamation suit against an online commenter who goes by the name “Lawyer.” The suit by former prosecutors Mary and Phil Brown target Lawyer’s assertion that Mary Brown “had sexual relations in order to get promoted,” the…

Apr 11, 2012 2:52 PM CDT

9th Circuit Narrows Computer Fraud Law, Protecting Lying Homely People and Web-Surfing Workers

An en banc federal appeals court has tossed part of the criminal case against an executive headhunter accused of accessing a confidential database at his prior employer. The 9-2 decision (PDF) by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals narrows the reach of the Computer Fraud and Abuse…

Apr 11, 2012 12:38 PM CDT

New Md. Law May Be First in Country Banning Employers From Seeking Workers’ Social Media Passwords

In what could be the first such law in the country, Maryland has enacted a bill that would prohibit employers from demanding personal passwords to social media sites such as Facebook from job applicants and workers. State lawmakers last week almost unanimously approved making such information private, in response to…

Apr 10, 2012 9:12 PM CDT

Court to Monitor Reporter Tweets to Enforce Twitter Ban in Murder Trial re Jennifer Hudson’s Family

To prevent distractions, the judge overseeing the Chicago trial of a man accused of murdering three family members of singer and actress Jennifer Hudson has banned reporters from posting on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter while they are in court. And Judge Charles Burns isn’t taking any…

Apr 5, 2012 7:26 PM CDT

Chicago Bartender Fired for Racist Rant on Facebook

A bartender at a nightclub on Rush Street in Chicago has lost her job because of a racist rant on Facebook criticizing her customers. The bartender at Proof Nightclub used the N-word and made other pejorative remarks, report NBCChicago.com, the Chicago Sun-Times and CBSChicago.com. The bartender defended her posts after…

Apr 5, 2012 3:35 PM CDT

Legal Blogs Are Absolutely Outraged at April 1 Report of Anonymous Commenter Bill

The information about a senator’s proposal to eliminate protections for online commentary, posted on April 1, came from a blog with a name appealing to legal readers: McIntyre v. Ohio. The case is a Supreme Court free speech decision striking down an election law that banned anonymous leafleting. According to…

Apr 2, 2012 1:35 PM CDT

Wash. Governor Signs Bill Seeking to Stop Underage Escort Ads; Backpage.com Cites Federal Protection

Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire has signed a first-of-its-kind law that tackles child sex trafficking through regulation of advertising. The law requires websites and print publications that advertise escort services to get documentation that the escorts are at least 18, according to the Seattle Times and the New York Times. The…

Apr 2, 2012 12:09 PM CDT

Panelists: Web Branding Should Assure Potential Clients You Can Meet Their Legal and Nonlegal Needs

Want to expand your Web presence beyond your basic website? Here are a few tried-and-true techniques, courtesy of Jeff Lantz, an Oro Valley, Ariz.-based lawyer and website developer, and Robert Ambrogi, a lawyer, journalist and legal technology expert from Rockport, Mass. Lantz and Ambrogi offered several practical and ethical tips…

Mar 30, 2012 6:48 PM CDT

Union Asks NLRB to Determine If Grocery Chain’s Policy on Social Media Use Violates Workers’ Rights

Contending that a New York grocery chain’s restrictions on workers’ use of social media violates their collective bargaining rights, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500 complained this week to the National Labor Relations Board. It says Stop & Shop’s rules violate the National Labor Relations Act, Reuters reports. Among…

Mar 30, 2012 3:50 PM CDT

Elderly Couple Flees Home, Hires Lawyer After Spike Lee Retweets Wrong Zimmerman Address

An elderly Florida couple has hired a lawyer after movie director Spike Lee retweeted their home address in an apparently mistaken impression that they are related to the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. The couple, Elaine and David McClain, have a son named William George Zimmerman, who…

Mar 29, 2012 12:28 PM CDT

Supreme Court Marshal’s Office Shuts Down Lawyer’s Live Tweets on Obama Health Care Arguments

A lawyer who listened to Tuesday’s arguments over President Obama’s health care initiative in an overflow room of the the U.S. Supreme Court was posting live tweets, through an intermediary, until the marshal’s office at the nation’s top court got word of the reports and shut them down. Senior counsel…

Mar 28, 2012 3:54 PM CDT

Facebook, US Senators Say Employers Who Seek Job Applicants’ Passwords Could Be Violating the Law

Citing “a distressing increase in reports of employers or others seeking to gain inappropriate access to people’s Facebook profiles,” Facebook’s chief privacy officer warned in a Friday post on the social network’s website that the company could “initiate legal action” against employers who do so. The comment by Erin Egan…

Mar 26, 2012 5:55 PM CDT