Internet Law

Why a Computer Engineer Sued Over Government’s Spy Program

A 35-year-old computer engineer says he decided to sue over the government’s warrantless surveillance program because of the experiences of his father, a former short-wave radio enthusiast. Tash Hepting is a customer of AT&T, the company he sued with the help of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The action claims the…

Mar 6, 2008 12:02 PM CST

U.S. Watch List Snags a European Travel Agent

An English travel agent who lives in Spain and sells Cuban trips to Europeans has been snagged by the long arm of the U.S. Treasury Department, which put his websites on a terrorist blacklist. That led the U.S. domain registrar that that gave the agent website names such as www.bonjourcuba.com…

Mar 4, 2008 2:22 PM CST

Games Terrorists Play: US Seeks Suspects in Virtual Worlds

In an effort to identify terrorists before they are ready to carry out full-fledged attacks, U.S. authorities apparently are developing a protocol for infiltrating password-protected game-playing sites and pinpointing potential suspects based on their virtual-world behavior. “Using publicly available data, Reynard researchers will carry out observational studies to establish ‘baseline…

Mar 3, 2008 10:14 PM CST

Closely Divided Va. Supeme Court Upholds First Felony Spam Conviction

The Virginia Supreme Court has upheld the country’s first felony spam conviction in a 4-3 ruling, holding that the state’s groundbreaking anti-spam law did not violate the First Amendment. The majority rejected free speech arguments by Jeremy Jaynes, regarded as the world’s eighth most prolific spammer before he was sentenced…

Mar 3, 2008 1:29 PM CST

Judge Backtracks, Returns Wikileaks Whistle-Blower Web Address

Updated: Visibly frustrated by the way that Internet technology has outpaced traditional law, a federal judge today nonetheless acceded to First Amendment arguments and said Wikileaks could have its Web address back. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White, who sits in San Francisco, today reversed his decision earlier this month granting…

Mar 1, 2008 1:35 AM CST

Class Action Filed Against Comcast for File-Sharing Slowdowns

A class action lawsuit filed last week against Comcast claims the cable giant misled consumers when it ran ads touting its Internet connection as the fastest and its access to content as “unfettered.” The suit, filed on behalf of Washington, D.C., consumers, claims Comcast blocks or impedes access to peer-to-peer…

Feb 28, 2008 2:57 PM CST

Comcast Hit for Sending Seat Warmers to Hearing at Harvard Law

An organizer of a federal hearing held at Harvard Law School yesterday is criticizing a cable company for using “seat warmers” that prevented some people from attending. The hearing before the Federal Communications Commission concerned charges that Comcast Corp. was blocking file-sharing by some Internet users. The company contends its…

Feb 27, 2008 6:49 PM CST

Germany’s High Court Protects Computer Privacy

Germany’s highest court has ruled that the government may not use spy software to access information on personal computers absent a warrant and exceptional reasons to do so. The ruling by Germany’s Constitutional Court holds that government surveillance of information stored or exchanged on personal computers violates a right to…

Feb 27, 2008 3:14 PM CST

Pakistan’s YouTube Censorship Caused Wider Outage

YouTube was inaccessible to Internet users in many countries for as long as two hours on Sunday after Pakistan blocked access in protest of a video clip it deemed to be blasphemous to Islam. Pakistan’s telecommunications regulator filed a complaint with the website about a clip by a Dutch lawmaker…

Feb 26, 2008 4:07 PM CST

Judge Shutters Whistle-Blower Site; Major 1st Amend. Issue

In a move that could spark a major test of the scope of the First Amendment in the Internet era, a federal judge in San Francisco has closed down a website with a mission of providing a bulletin board for the posting of leaked material. A permanent injunction (PDF posted…

Feb 19, 2008 9:22 PM CST

Judge Blasts Recording Industry’s ‘Clever Scheme’ to Join File-Sharing Defendants

A magistrate judge has targeted what she calls the recording industry’s “clever scheme” to obtain discovery against multiple defendants accused of file sharing by joining them in single lawsuits. In a recent opinion (PDF posted by Internet Law and Regulation), Judge Margaret Kravchuk suggested a hearing on Rule 11 sanctions…

Feb 1, 2008 4:33 PM CST

The End of the Net Porn Wars

Despite big talk, federal efforts against adult obscenity online have withered

Feb 1, 2008 4:01 PM CST

N.Y. Bill Would Keep Sex Offenders Off MySpace, Facebook

New York’s attorney general is teaming up with social networking website on proposed legislation that would bar registered sex offenders from sites such as MySpace and Facebook. The law, if enacted, would require sex offenders to submit their e-mail addresses and other Internet identities, such as screen names, within 10…

Jan 30, 2008 8:11 PM CST

EU Countries Can Keep File Sharer Data Private in Civil Cases

The European Union’s top court ruled today that EU countries can refuse to disclose names of Internet file sharers in civil matters. This is a blow to copyright holders fighting digital piracy, reports Reuters. The European Court of Justice ruling comes in a dispute between a Spanish music rights holders…

Jan 29, 2008 9:15 PM CST

A Meaty Dispute: Subway Sues Quiznos Over Video Contest Entries

Subway has sued competitor Quiznos over the content of homemade videos submitted in a contest and posted to a website. Quiznos’ contest rules said its sandwiches had to be depicted as superior to Subway’s, the New York Times reports. Subway contends the videos make false claims about its sandwiches, and…

Jan 29, 2008 4:23 PM CST