Once upon a time, long ago but not too far away, there was a law firm associate who was working up a case for a senior trial partner with the hope of delivering a well-prepared pre-trial and trial plan.
The associate proudly presented all the miscellaneous supporting legal authorities and the various favorable facts. But what was the senior trial partner’s response? “Stop!”
Is your personal data safe out there in cyberspace? This is the question so many people have been asking lately based on seemingly endless computer hacks. And, unfortunately, the answer to this question might not be what you want to hear.
In terms of recent noteworthy developments, unless you have been living in an isolated cave, you undoubtedly have heard about the Ashley Madison hacking disaster. The Ashley Madison hack does not only present a problem for the site’s users who thought that their personally identifiable information would be secure, but it points to a larger problem beyond this one specific site. Continue reading “Hackers Are Coming After Your Private Data”
People who go online likely consider the risks involved with using the Internet. People who contemplate extra-martial affairs probably consider the risks of those activities, too.
And, people who go online to seek out extra-marital affairs likely are mindful of the compounded risks of such endeavors. But do they envision that online adulterous activities could lead to a type of cyber warfare? Probably not, but at times reality can be stranger than fiction. Continue reading “Online Adultery Leads to Cyber Warfare?”
The Internet brings people together in all sorts of new ways. And when people come together, there can be all sorts of problems. So, is there a federal watchdog looking out for the rights of consumers in cyberspace? The answer is “yes” — the Federal Trade Commission (the FTC).
The FTC was created in 1914, long before the Internet, to prevent unfair methods of competition in commerce. The Federal Trade Commission Act later expanded the authority of the FTC to police unfair and deceptive acts or practices generally. Continue reading “FTC – the Federal Internet Cop”
Once upon a time, people didn’t require Internet access to find a date. The old-fashioned dating scene involved socializing with friends, attending community events, and spending Friday nights at parties and bars. That still happens, of course, but with the Internet, there are now unlimited hook-up options available right at your fingertips.
Dating sites like eHarmony and Match.com boast that many users have found loving, long-lasting relationships through ther dating services. Those couples likely would not have resulted without those web sites. Bravo — that is fantastic. Continue reading “The Perils of Online Dating”
Conflict has unfortunately been part of the human experience for thousands of years. In prehistoric times, rocks, sticks, and bones were some of the weapons of choice. Over time, humans became more sophisticated, utilizing knives, swords, bows and arrows, and eventually guns and cannons. Recent developments include nuclear threats and drone strikes.
There has been concern, rightly, that the Internet might provide a further means for waging war or dismantling the means of waging war by others. For example, a few years ago, Stuxnet, a computer worm, reportedly was launched by a U.S. and Israeli intelligence operation to attack and cause the tearing apart of programmable logic controllers of certain Iranian centrifuges that were designed for potential nuclear purposes. Continue reading “Cyberwar Happening Here and Now?”
Social media sites host many thousands of photos posted by people on a daily basis. An obvious issue arises as to whether and when these sites might be liable for copyright infringement with respect to any of the posted photos.
A recent case is worthy of consideration.
Kristen Pierson, a professional photographer who has won awards for her work, has filed legal action in California against Twitter, according to Wired, with respect to a copyrighted photo that was shared on Twitter. Continue reading “Twitter Faces Copyright Infringement Allegations”
The Ashley Madison site declares on its home page that “Life is short. Have an affair.” The home page goes on to state that “Ashley Madison is the world’s leading married dating service for discreet encounters.” The site also boasts “over 38,050,000 anonymous members!” But how anonymous are those members, really?
People engage in all sorts of communications and transactions on the Internet. Generally, they like to believe that their personal information is handled confidentially. For example, if someone buys an item from Amazon, she hopes that her name, credit card information, and address will not be publicly disseminated. Continue reading “Adultery Gone Awry on the Internet”
Internet service providers (ISPs) like to believe that in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) Congress afforded them broad immunity from any liability potentially caused by third-party content posted on ISP sites. But how secure is that immunity? Let’s explore a few important cases to explore the answer to that question.
Zeran v. America Online, 129 F.3d 327 (4th Cir. 1997), was an early case to address the scope of immunity provided to ISPs by CDA Section 230. In that case, an anonymous poster urged the public to call Kenneth Zeran to buy goods displaying disgusting expressions of celebration of the 1995 Oklahoma City federal building bombing. Continue reading “How Much Immunity Is Provided by CDA Section 230?”
Selfies — are you a fan or a hater? Either way, selfies may soon not only be personal, but they may also have a business function. Stay with me here.
Yes, there are people who take photos of themselves on their smartphones on practically a constant basis so that we can see them in every life activity imaginable on social media or mobile-friendly blogs. And yes, this can be annoying, even if some of these photos might actually be interesting if we were not otherwise inundated by mundane selfie photos. Continue reading “Selfies Going Business Mainstream?”
