Internet Law

Possible Defense to Twitter Suits: Tweets Aren’t Taken Seriously

A few defamation suits are being filed and threatened over short 140-character rants posted to Twitter, spurring one First Amendment expert to suggest a defense: Tweets shouldn’t be taken so seriously. First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams suggested the possible defense in an interview with the New York Times. Abrams said…

Oct 8, 2009 12:48 PM CDT

Authorities Struggle to Cope With ‘Tsunami of Digital Evidence’

As cybercrime has exploded in recent years and even traditional crimes ranging from harassment to murder routinely involve Internet-related communication, authorities in many jurisdictions increasingly are struggling to keep up with what Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley calls a “tsunami of digital evidence.” Although his office, which handles state…

Oct 7, 2009 10:17 PM CDT

Record ‘Phish Phry’ Bank Cybercrime Bust Nets 100 in US & Egypt

Authorities have announced charges against 100 individuals in the United States and Egypt in what they say is the largest such case ever pursued in the U.S. Operation Phish Phry netted 53 defendants in the U.S. and 47 in Egypt. They are accused of stealing money from thousands of Bank…

Oct 7, 2009 9:46 PM CDT

Blog Response to Law Firm’s Demand for Photo Takedown: We’ll Mock You

When bloggers posted about a seemingly way-too-thin photo of a model featured in a recent Ralph Lauren advertisement, the company and its lawyers reportedly responded with a takedown demand, as far as the reprinted, copyrighted photograph is concerned. While at least one blogger and/or its Internet service provider has apparently…

Oct 7, 2009 8:35 PM CDT

FTC Bans Secret Swag Given to Bloggers & Celebrities for Testimonials

The golden era of undisclosed freebies may soon be over for bloggers and celebrities. Those who provide testimonials about products and services will now have to report, under new Federal Trade Commission rules that take effect on Dec. 1, the swag that they could formerly receive in secret. “For bloggers…

Oct 6, 2009 8:56 PM CDT

Phishing Scheme Nets ‘Enormous Haul’ of Hotmail Passwords, N.Y. Times Says

Got a Hotmail account? This is a good time to change your password, recommends the Gadgetwise blog of the New York Times. Microsoft has confirmed the validity of a list posted on pastebin.com recently of log-in information for 10,000 e-mail accounts on Hotmail that begin with the letters A and…

Oct 5, 2009 9:29 PM CDT

UK’s High Court OKs Serving Injunction on Anonymous Blogger Via Twitter

In what reportedly is the first such use of the Internet authorized by any court in the country, the United Kingdom’s High Court has permitted an injunction on an anonymous blogger to be served via Twitter. The injunction demands that the unknown blogger stop impersonating on the Internet a well-known…

Oct 2, 2009 5:29 PM CDT

Teen Wins $150K Over Amazon’s Kindle Clawback of Orwell E-Book

When Amazon eliminated a George Orwell book from users’ Kindles earlier this year, after discovering the electronic text had been sold without proper authorization, it also eliminated Justin Gawronski’s homework. His notes on the margins remained, but since the text of Nineteen Eighty-Four was gone they were undecipherable, reports the…

Oct 1, 2009 10:40 PM CDT

Could Your New Facebook ‘Friend’ Be a Bill Collector?

There’s yet another reason to be concerned about online privacy, consumer advocates say—potential bill collectors. For those who have unpaid debts—and even those who don’t but are erroneously identified as owing money—a presence on Facebook and other social networking sites can make it easy for those seeking to collect to…

Sep 28, 2009 4:12 PM CDT

Google Voice Violates Net Neutrality By Blocking Some Calls, AT&T Accuses

In a letter today to the Federal Communications Commission, rival AT&T Inc. complains that Google Voice is violating the agency’s so-called net neutrality rules that apply to telecommunication companies by blocking calls to some rural areas to cut its own expenses. The new aggregation service by the online search giant…

Sep 25, 2009 9:28 PM CDT

Reporter Who Survived Midair Crash Now on Risky ‘Libel Tourism’ Journey

On Sept. 29, 2006, Joe Sharkey survived a midair collision 37,000 feet over the Amazon between a Brazilian 737 and a business jet. All 154 aboard the 737 died when it reportedly may have nosedived after making an evasive maneuver. Sharkey and all six others on the damaged business jet…

Sep 25, 2009 6:32 PM CDT

Mom Sues, Says Fake Facebook Profile Used Son’s Name, Photo & Cell Number

An Illinois mom has filed a defamation suit over a fake Facebook profile in her teenage son’s name that included his photograph and real cell phone number. The profile on the social networking website included obscenities and racist information and described purported sexual encounters between the unnamed teenager and other…

Sep 25, 2009 4:39 PM CDT

Ever the Tough Editor, Am Law Founder Hits Publication’s Websites

The man who founded American Lawyer is still a tough editor. Steven Brill has launched a new venture called Journalism Online that will allow its publishing clients to charge readers for online stories through an automated system. In an interview with the ABA Journal’s Legal Rebels tour, Brill managed to…

Sep 23, 2009 2:06 PM CDT

Lawyer-Blogger Settles Defamation Suit After Favorable Ruling on Punitives

A former in-house lawyer sued for his blog comments about an intellectual property litigator has settled after a favorable ruling during his defamation trial in Texas. Rick Frenkel and his former employer, Cisco Systems, apologized for Frenkel’s anonymous statements on his Troll Tracker blog in a statement announcing the settlement,…

Sep 23, 2009 12:00 PM CDT

Google ‘Adwords’ Don’t Violate Trademark Law, Adviser Tells EU Court

In an opinion that could point the way for a first-of-a-kind court ruling in the European Union, an adviser to the European Court of Justice says the use of a competitor’s trademark as a keyword by companies advertising on Google doesn’t violate trademark law. The issue is at the heart…

Sep 22, 2009 8:42 PM CDT