As the Internet grows and develops, the law is fast on its heels — attempting to resolve difficult cases and seeking to regulate new and different online scenarios. The Year 2015 was replete with important and fascinating Internet stories.
Continue reading “Top Internet Law Story for 2015”
Holiday Present From Congress: No Internet Access Taxes
The holidays seem to be coming a bit earlier than expected, as Congress has delivered a gift in the form of no Internet access taxes going-forward.
According to SiliconValley.com, Senate and House members involved in negotiations announced last week that agreement has been achieved on bipartisan legislation to extend permanently a moratorium that bans states from taxing Internet access.
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Online, Seeing Is Believing for Kids
Unfortunately, there has been a sharp increase in the number of children who believe what they read on the Internet. This has been brought home by a recent study by Ofcom, as reported by The Telegraph.
This is significant because 8 to 15-year-olds now are occupying double their time on the Internet than they were one decade ago. These “digital natives” who have grown up on the Internet appear to lack the ability to differentiate online truth from fiction. Continue reading “Online, Seeing Is Believing for Kids”
Online Adultery Leads to Cyber Warfare?
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?”
FTC – the Federal Internet Cop
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”
The Perils of Online Dating
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”
Adultery Gone Awry on the Internet
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”
Mitigating Cyber Risks
Let’s face it, the Internet can be a scary place from a risk standpoint. Indeed, it seems that on practically a daily basis we hear about a massive security breach and the theft of sensitive and personal data.
So, what are companies to do to mitigate cyber risks? Of course, they should employ the best in class technologies that are designed to block cyber intrusions and attacks. They also should implement and enforce cyber security company-wide policies. Continue reading “Mitigating Cyber Risks”
Cyber Risks Are Here and Now
The Internet provides an abundance of benefits in so many aspects of our lives. We have information at our fingertips. We are in touch with our family and friends in myriad new and different ways. We can make purchases from our computers and our phones, without the hassle of having to go to out to the store. And the list of benefits go on and on.
But that is not the end of our story. No, indeed. The Internet, unfortunately, also creates many risks and liabilities for us as well. Recent data suggest the following disturbing trends. Continue reading “Cyber Risks Are Here and Now”
Your Shopping Experience Is About to Get Even Easier
Once upon a time, shopping was a time-consuming endeavor. We had no choice but to actually get out of the house and physically travel to different stores to buy what we needed.
Then, the online shopping revolution occurred. Rather than traveling out of the house, all we now need to do is move ourselves up to our computers, and the shopping world is at our fingertips. Practically anything can be purchased over the Internet from a multitude of different Web sites. And Amazon, for example, has sought to be a one-stop shopping site, where countless thousands of items are available for purchase at any given moment, from books, to apparel, to electronics, to furniture, to food, to toys — and the list goes on and on.
Continue reading “Your Shopping Experience Is About to Get Even Easier”