Internet Law

Teen Linked to Cyberbully Case in Psychiatric Hospital; No Charges Filed

Updated: New facts have emerged in the case of a 13-year-old girl who committed suicide after being romanced and then rejected by an online boy who had been made up. But the prosecutor reviewing the case still says no charges will be filed. St. Charles County Prosecutor Jack Banas said…

Dec 3, 2007 7:36 PM CST

Oregon ‘Ground Zero’ in RIAA Battle Against File-Sharing

Updated: Oregon’s attorney general is going to bat, yet again, for university students being targeted by the U.S. recording industry. In filings this week, Attorney General Hardy Myers’ office said the Recording Industry Association of America’s litigation tactics may violate his state’s data-mining laws, Bloomberg News reports. And his office…

Nov 30, 2007 8:47 PM CST

Feds Drop Request for Amazon.com Book Buyer Names

Unsealed court records reveal that federal prosecutors have withdrawn a controversial subpoena that sought the identities of 24,000 Amazon.com customers who purchased used books online. The about-face came after U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Crocker of the Western District of Wisconsin ruled the customers have a First Amendment right to shield…

Nov 27, 2007 10:07 PM CST

DOJ Warns of E-Mail Hoax

The U.S. Justice Department is warning about spam e-mail messages that claim the recipient is the subject of a DOJ complaint. The e-mails say a case has been filed against the recipients or their businesses by a Mr. Henry Stewart and include an attachment purporting to be a copy of…

Nov 27, 2007 5:26 PM CST

New Look at Case of Teen’s Suicide Over Web Bullying

Authorities in Missouri initially said no laws appeared to have been broken by at least one adult allegedly responsible for an Internet hoax that reportedly bullied a 13-year-old girl into committing suicide a year ago. But now prosecutors are looking into the situation further following a public outcry after recent…

Nov 21, 2007 12:09 AM CST

Law School Exam ‘MacGate’ Over, Non-PC Students OK

A truce has been declared in a computer war that pitted Macintosh lovers against administrators of American University’s Washington College of Law. Sparking the computer conflict was a mismatch between the law school’s preferred exam software and the beloved Mac computers that some students wanted to use to take their…

Nov 19, 2007 9:27 PM CST

Cyberbullying Suicide Can’t Be Prosecuted

Local and federal prosecutors say there is little they can do in the case of a Missouri couple accused of making up an online boy who romanced then taunted a 13-year-old girl until she committed suicide. Now authorities fear neighbors will take the law into their own hands, the St.…

Nov 19, 2007 3:13 PM CST

Suit: Comcast Web Service Lightning-Slow

Contrary to its advertising claims, a cable television company provides Internet service that not only isn’t lightning swift but intentionally slows to a snail’s pace on certain applications, a lawsuit filed this week in California state court contends. Comcast Corp.’s interference with Internet file-sharing thus contradicts the Philadelphia-based company’s advertising…

Nov 15, 2007 10:33 PM CST

Counterfeit Case Against eBay May Raise Web Policing Requirements

A federal judge in Manhattan has begun to hear a closely watched case between a renowned jeweler and an Internet auctioneer accused of turning a blind eye to the sale of fakes on its Web site. If Tiffany & Co. is successful in its trademark infringement claim against eBay, not…

Nov 14, 2007 9:46 PM CST

Execs Scammed on Internet Wild West

A lot of executives may be losing confidential information to Internet thieves, without even realizing it. Due to the widespread availability of specific information about individuals, particularly on social networking Web sites, sophisticated Internet scammers are able to target executives’ computers and send them seemingly legitimate personalized e-mail messages that…

Nov 9, 2007 8:50 PM CST

Are Planned Facebook Ads Illegal?

Innovative new advertising planned on the Facebook social networking Web site could be illegal, depending on how far it goes in linking targeted individual advertising to what the recipient’s friends do and say online. And the campaign certainly creates privacy issues, whether or not it creates potential causes of action,…

Nov 9, 2007 12:31 AM CST

Plaintiff to RIAA: Download This!

Accused of online music theft, Oregon woman strikes back

Nov 1, 2007 8:14 PM CDT

FTC to Create ‘Do Not Track’ List?

In a suggestion that should send a shiver down the spines of Web-based companies throughout the world, some are asking the Federal Trade Commission to develop an Internet version of its popular Do Not Call list. The fledgling idea apparently would involve a ban on companies using cookies and other…

Oct 31, 2007 11:27 PM CDT

Industry Pact Sets Video Clip Posting Rules

A coalition of Internet and mainstream media groups have agreed to a new system of preventing copyright violations concerning video clips posted on user-generated sites such as MySpace. Participating members will use special software to detect and block video postings on Internet sites that may violate copyright laws, reports the…

Oct 19, 2007 5:58 PM CDT

Hi-Tech Hunt Nabs Swirled Photos Suspect

Updated: A high-tech hunt featuring an unprecedented online Interpol appeal to the public for help has led to the arrest of a Canadian teacher who is allegedly the subject of photos posted on the Internet that show an adult male sexually abusing boys in Cambodia and Vietnam. Christopher Paul Neil,…

Oct 19, 2007 4:42 PM CDT