Internet Law

New Suits Challenge Online Cookies that Defy or Inhibit Deletion

At least six new lawsuits are challenging online cookies that track Internet users’ browsing habits, claiming the modern tracking tools defy or inhibit deletion. Court rulings in 2001 and 2003 found that cookies were legal, the Wall Street Journal reports. The new suits, filed in U.S. District Court for the…

Sep 20, 2010 2:13 PM CDT

Lawyer Gives Examples of Husbands’ Divorce Cases Undone by Facebook

One man who claimed to be unemployed was getting alimony from his soon-to-be ex-wife. On his Facebook page, however, he identified himself as a business owner and described his vacations to exotic destinations with his new girlfriend. Another man in the midst of a divorce claimed he couldn’t afford to…

Sep 17, 2010 5:36 PM CDT

Columnist Says Shutdown of Craigslist Sex Ads Won’t Have Intended Effect

Maybe the attorneys general of 17 states were a bit too hasty when they campaigned to shut down sex ads on Craigslist. Last week, Craigslist posted a “censored” box over its adult services ads, an apparent response to 17 attorneys general who called for the company to close down the…

Sep 9, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

ISPs Reportedly Raided in 14-Country File-Sharing Bust Targeting P2P Sites

Following a two-year investigation by Belgian police, authorities have reportedly raided Internet service providers in approximately 14 European countries, in an effort to shut down websites that violate copyright laws by facilitating illegal peer-to-peer downloading of games, software and, in particular, movies. The raids, which focused on “The Scene” in…

Sep 7, 2010 10:22 PM CDT

Lawyer Files Defamation Suit Against Opposing Counsel in Teen Runaway Case

A lawyer who represented the Muslim parents of a teenage runaway last year in a high-profile case that captured the attention of Christian fundamentalists is now suing his opposing counsel for defamation. Attorney Omar Tarazi contends in a federal lawsuit filed Friday in Columbus, Ohio, that attorney John Stemberger, who…

Sep 7, 2010 9:15 PM CDT

Defense Lawyers & Others Sue Feds Over Border Searches of Laptops, Other Electronic Devices

A coalition of civil rights groups and criminal defense attorneys has sued the Department of Homeland Security over its alleged border searches and seizures, without reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing, of the laptop computers, cell phones and other electronic devices of some 6,600 people. About half of those subjected to such…

Sep 7, 2010 7:19 PM CDT

Adult Content Producers File Mass Tort Against Alleged Downloaders

Another lawyer has waded into the mass tort fray over alleged illegal downloading of copyrighted material. Attorney John Steele of Chicago is representing three adult content producers in separate federal court claims against hundreds of unidentified “John Doe” individuals accused of using BitTorrent to pirate material created by the plaintiffs,…

Sep 7, 2010 5:22 PM CDT

Optional Online Bookmaking Operation Still Illegal, WA Court Rules

Online bookmaking operations are illegal, even if they make it optional for losing betters to pay off wagers, the Washington Supreme Court has held. The court, in a unanimous ruling (PDF) Thursday, said Betcha.com, a Seattle-based online bookmaker, qualifies as an illegal bookie because it arranged bets and took a…

Sep 3, 2010 5:34 PM CDT

Oops. Juror Calls Defendant Guilty on Facebook, Before Verdict

Updated: A Michigan juror who indicated in a Facebook post that she believed the defendant in her case is guilty—before the case went to verdict—wound up on the hot seat, too, in the Macomb County trial. The defendant was convicted of resisting arrest after an alternate was substituted for juror…

Sep 2, 2010 7:28 PM CDT

Lawyer’s Legal Fight with School Is ‘Cautionary Tale of the Internet Age’

An estate planning lawyer in New York has rewritten his will and sued his son’s school over the suspension of the teen due to topless photos found on the youth’s laptop. Lawyer Herbert Nass claims it was unfair for the Horace Mann School, his own alma mater, to punish his…

Sep 1, 2010 3:21 PM CDT

Un-Google That

Google’s new pact may have crisscrossed copyright law

Sep 1, 2010 7:40 AM CDT

Lawsuit Claims Facebook’s ‘Like’ Button Misappropriates Teen Photos

A potential class action lawsuit claims that Facebook’s “like” button converts teens into product endorsers, violating a California law that bars the use of minor’s names or photos without parental permission. When teens hit “like,” their opinion is transmitted, along with their photos, to their Facebook friends. Such an endorsement…

Aug 31, 2010 1:55 PM CDT

Germany Ponders Possible Ban on Using Facebook Info for Hiring Decisions

As part of a new draft law that sets standards to protect worker privacy, Germany is considering a ban that would prevent employers from using social networking sites such as Facebook to make hiring decisions. Employers could still search the Internet for information about applicants and access public information on…

Aug 26, 2010 5:51 PM CDT

Woman Who Put Cat in Lidded Trash Bin is Found, Threatened on Facebook

It remains to be seen whether Mary Bale could face any legal repercussions from admittedly putting a family’s cat into a lidded outdoor trash container, where it was reportedly trapped for 15 hours but eventually rescued unharmed. However, the 45-year-old British bank worker has already been tried and found guilty…

Aug 25, 2010 11:54 PM CDT

Music Downloader Appeals $67.5K Award, Calls It ‘Equally as Insane’ as Earlier $675K Verdict

A Boston University physics graduate student has announced that he will appeal a reduced $67,500 award for downloading copyrighted music, calling the amount “equally as insane” as the $675,000 jury verdict he originally faced after a federal trial last year. Joel Tenenbaum, 26, says he will have to declare bankruptcy…

Aug 25, 2010 11:16 PM CDT