Duane Morris TechLaw

January 18, 2012July 19, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Is Homeland Security Watching You Online?

Are George Orwell’s fears of a governmental “Big Brother” from his novel 1984 coming true now? Well, let’s hope not, but read on.

Recent press has reported on a particular government document: a Privacy Compliance Review issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in late 2011. The document reveals that the DHS command center regularly monitors social-networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, popular sites like Hulu, controversial sites including WikiLeaks, and news and commentary sites like Drudge Report and The Huffington Post.

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January 10, 2012July 19, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Long Live Tech In 2012

Happy New Year! We’re just a week into January, but 2012 seems to be firing on all tech cylinders.

The other night, I went to a shopping mall with my family. While most of the traditional retail stores were not terribly busy, the Apple store was an amazing hive of activity.

In the one room that makes up the store, I literally counted as many as 40 Apple employees who were swamped fielding questions from and helping a never-ending parade of customers. It seemed that everyone and their kid brother and sister was hunting for the latest iPad, iPod, and Apple computer.

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December 20, 2011July 19, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Will Your High-Tech Holidays Be Naughty Or Nice?

Well, it’s that holiday time of year again. Have you been naughty or nice?

If you have been naughty, perhaps we will give you the low-tech equivalent of a lump of coal — a broken typewriter.

That’s right, we are talking about an old machine that actually requires some finger strength when you push down on the keys. And you are correct, this baby is so wireless that it is not connected to anything, not even an electric outlet. To add insult to injury, not all of the keys even work.

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December 14, 2011July 19, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

The Truth About Teen Cell Phone Use

Most of us have heard about sexting — the practice of people sharing naked pictures of themselves online. Indeed, there have been press reports that suggest texting has become the latest teenage craze. Fact or fiction? Perhaps a bit of both.

Recent studies by the journal Pediatrics show that 1% of children between the ages of 10 to 17 have engaged in sexting. About the same percentage have shared less explicit but still suggestive photos of themselves. And 7% report that they had been the recipient of either type of photo.

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December 7, 2011July 18, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Fake News Websites Touting Weight Loss Shut Down By FTC

The FTC is intent on stopping online deceptive health claims. It has been especially interested in shutting down sites that make false and misleading dietary claims.

As part of its crackdown efforts, the FTC, along with the State of Connecticut, filed a complaint that sought to stop a specific operation based on Connecticut.

And the FTC has now announced that the parties have agreed to a court order that temporarily halts the allegedly illegal conduct.

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November 17, 2011July 18, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Major Computer Hijacking Revealed By Indictment

There is so much good about the Internet. It allows us to communicate instantly, freely and widely for business and personal purposes. Unfortunately, whether there is good, the forces of evil also lurk.

This point is driven home by an international plot to hijack millions of computers, as has been reportedly disclosed by a recently unsealed New York indictment. The aim of the plot has been to use malware to hijack computers in various countries such that people visiting common Web sites such as Netflix, ESPN, Amazon and IRS.gov are rerouted to other sites. These other sites have generated millions of dollars of wrongfully gained profits.

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November 9, 2011July 18, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Technology and the Internet By the Numbers

Back in the 1990s, there was talk of the coming “information superhighway.” Now we are traveling at warp speed on that highway. Take a look at some of these jaw-dropping stats:

Facebook

Facebook now boasts more than 800 million active users, with 350 million gaining access from mobile devices.
Roughly 70 percent of Facebook users are located outside of the United States.
Every month about 30 billion content links are shared on Facebook.
Remarkably, Facebook users install 20 million apps every day.
Almost half of 18-34 year-old users check Facebook when they wake up, with more than a quarter of users doing so before they even leave the bed.

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November 1, 2011July 18, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Controlling E-Discovery Costs In Patent Cases

Electronic discovery can be time-consuming, burdensome and expensive. Indeed, at times, e-discovery can be the tail that wags the litigation dog.
As a consequence, Chief Judge Randall Rader of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, on behalf of an E-Discovery Committee, recently introduced a Model Order for Patent E-Discovery.

The Committee’s discussion underpinning the Model Order notes that federal district courts have inherent power to control their dockets in the interests of time and economy. Accordingly, it is the Committee’s view that the Model Order may be a “helpful starting point for district courts to use in requiring the responsible, targeted use of e-discovery in patent cases.”

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October 25, 2011July 18, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Sesame Street Website Hacked with Explicit Videos

Is nothing sacred? Apparently not, as CNN has reported that the YouTube channel for Sesame Street recently was hacked with pornographic content. Indeed, instead of showing material suitable for children, the channel briefly was reprogrammed with sexually explicit videos.

As a result of the porn hack, the Sesame Street channel went offline for a short time. Visitors were informed that there had been “repeated and severe violations of our community guidelines.”

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October 11, 2011July 18, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Foreigners’ Email On Domestic Servers Protected, Ninth Circuit Rules

Foreigners can be protected by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). The parts of the ECPA that prevent ISP’s from revealing electronic communications apply to foreigners when their emails are stored on a domestic server, the Ninth Circuit has ruled.

In Suzlon Energy v. Microsoft, the plaintiff had directed a subpoena to Microsoft seeking the substance of emails between a citizen of India with respect to fraud litigation in Australia. Microsoft did not comply with the subpoena, taking the position that to do so would violate the ECPA. The federal trial court agreed and quashed the subpoena.

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