Internet Law

Some Facebook ads bought by Russian company may have violated US election law

Facebook revealed last week that it had discovered an operation likely based in Russia had spent $100,000 on political ads. The disclosure raises questions about whether the ad buys were illegal.

Sep 11, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Facebook photos mocking courtroom attire lead to job trouble for lawyers accused of posting them

State law in New York bars taking photographs in a courthouse without permission, but that didn’t deter some lawyers on Facebook from apparently posting unflattering photos of people in Queens family court along with snarky commentary about their attire. Four government lawyers allegedly posted the photos or added commentary, and…

Aug 31, 2017 11:40 AM CDT

Judge shouldn’t be booted from case because of Facebook friendship with lawyer, appeals court rules

A Florida judge isn’t disqualified from a case merely because she is Facebook friends with a lawyer who represents a potential party and witness in the litigation, a state appeals court has ruled.

Aug 25, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

Some data about anti-Trump website subscribers must be turned over to federal prosecutors: judge

A Washington, D.C., judge has turned aside First Amendment claims and ordered a web hosting company to give the U.S. Justice Department information about people connected to an anti-Trump website. Superior Court Judge Robert Morin ordered DreamHost to turn over information about subscribers to DisruptJ20.org, a website that organized inauguration…

Aug 24, 2017 12:25 PM CDT

Realign laws on evidence-gathering on the internet, Google GC says

For as long as we’ve had legal systems, prosecutors and police have needed to gather evidence. And for each new advance in communications, law enforcement has adapted.

Aug 24, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

Penn State frat prosecutor faces ethics hearing over fake Facebook page, texts to judges

A Pennsylvania prosecutor faces an ethics hearing over allegations of improper texting contacts with judges and a fake Facebook page. The hearing for Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller is scheduled for Nov. 29, report the Associated Press and the Centre Daily Times. Parks Miller won’t be running for…

Aug 22, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Magistrate judge retires after Facebook comments about ‘snowflakes’ and ‘nut cases’

A part-time magistrate judge in Georgia has resigned after his Facebook comments about “snowflake” counterprotesters and “nut cases” who tear down Confederate statues. Judge James Hinkle of Gwinnett County offered his resignation on Wednesday, report the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Law.com (sub. req.) and the Gwinnett Daily Post. Chief Magistrate Judge Kristina…

Aug 18, 2017 12:09 PM CDT

New ‘Great Gatsby’-inspired dating app screens users’ criminal histories

Updated: Kimberly Busch is “burned out” by dating apps. “There were too many creeps,” says the attorney and CEO of AskTheLawyers in Austin, Texas. “There were a few situations where I was talking to people and my gut instinct was ‘this isn’t a good person.’” While never a victim of…

Aug 9, 2017 11:51 AM CDT

Alleged retweet by judge doesn’t warrant retroactive recusal, 9th Circuit rules

A federal appeals court has refused to order the retroactive recusal of a federal judge accused of retweeting a news story about a case after he denied a motion. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that, even if U.S. District Judge William Shubb was the owner…

Jul 17, 2017 10:28 AM CDT

Airbnb host who canceled booking over race fined $5K, ordered to attend Asian-American studies class

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing has ordered an Airbnb host to pay a fine and attend an Asian-American studies class for breaking state fair housing laws, the Guardian reported Thursday. Host Tami Barker, whose racist comments to an Asian-American law student were widely reported in February, has…

Jul 14, 2017 12:58 PM CDT

Federal judge holds lawyers in contempt for posting links to banned videos by anti-abortion group

A federal judge in California said on Tuesday he is holding two lawyers in civil contempt for posting links to undercover videos recorded by an anti-abortion group. U.S. District Judge William Orrick said he would hold in contempt lawyers Steve Cooley and Brentford Ferreira, the Associated Press and Courthouse News…

Jul 12, 2017 1:09 PM CDT

Lawyer says judge’s Facebook comment about being ‘tortured’ by trial lawyer was just a joke

A Texas judge who wrote on Facebook that she was being “tortured” by a lawyer at trial was just joking, according to a lawyer’s statement. The statement by Judge Nancy Hohengarten of Travis County raised some eyebrows among Austin criminal defense lawyers, the Austin American-Statesman reports. Hohengarten had commented in…

Jul 11, 2017 4:47 PM CDT

Suit claims Trump violates the First Amendment by blocking critics from his Twitter feed

A suit filed on Tuesday contends President Donald Trump and his communications team are violating the First Amendment by blocking critics from his Twitter feed. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed the suit on behalf of seven people blocked from @realDonaldTrump, according to a press release. The…

Jul 11, 2017 11:44 AM CDT

Suit claims lawyer rerouted former partner’s emails to himself, violating electronic privacy law

A Pennsylvania lawyer is accused of violating federal and state law by rerouting a former partner’s emails to himself. The suit, filed in New Jersey federal court, claims lawyer Robert A. Mitchell of Doylestown violated the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and wiretap laws in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The laws…

Jul 10, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

EU announces $2.7B fine against Google for favoring its shopping service in search results

The European Union has fined Google a record $2.7 billion for using its search results to promote its comparison shopping service at the top of the search screen. EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said Google violated European antitrust rules and abused its market dominance, report the Washington Post and the…

Jun 27, 2017 8:18 AM CDT