Internet Olympic Battles: USA’s King vs. Russia’s Efimova

The United States and Russia are superpowers and have potential and actual conflicts in various realms. And the Olympics are no exception when it comes to conflicts between the two countries. Let’s set the stage:

At first, it appeared the International Olympic Committee was going to ban all Russian athletes from competing in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games because of doping concerns. Indeed, the World Anti-Doping Agency issued a report that concluded that dozens of Russian athletes were doping during the Winter 2014 Sochi Olympic games, and on top of that, the Russian government had been complicit in a cover up of that doping scandal.  Continue reading “Internet Olympic Battles: USA’s King vs. Russia’s Efimova”

Twitter Faces Copyright Infringement Allegations

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 Low-Tech U.S. Supreme Court

Gone are the days of non-electronic, hard-copy communications, right? Not so fast! According to The Associated Press, the Justices of the United States Supreme Court are still very low-tech — almost to the point of being no-tech.

When communicating with each other about pending cases under consideration, the Justices tend to send each other formal memoranda printed on ivory paper. This was revealed by Justice Elena Kagan during an interview by Ted Widmer, a Brown University historian and librarian.

Continue reading “The Low-Tech U.S. Supreme Court”

White House Enlists Help To Get Hip To Cyber Legal Issues

Back in the day, President Bill Clinton touted the development of the “information superhighway,” and Vice President Al Gore not entirely accurately was reported to have stated that he had invented the Internet.

Since then, the Internet has exploded and grown exponentially. There have been many benefits, such as the potential to purchase a tremendous number of goods and services online, as well as the ability to communicate freely via social media portals such as Facebook and Twitter.

Continue reading “White House Enlists Help To Get Hip To Cyber Legal Issues”

The Legal Ethics of Social Media and the Cloud

Social media no longer is the province of only those who are college-aged or younger. Indeed, businesses of all types now seek to capitalize on social media connections, and law firms are no exception. Many firms now have their own Facebook pages, for example, and many lawyers are seeking to attract attention through a variety of other social media sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter. Also, more and more, information is being stored in the cloud.

Notwithstanding this gravitational pull toward clouds and social media, lawyers need to remain mindful of ethical and practical constraints, so that they do not feel more pain than joy in this context.

Continue reading “The Legal Ethics of Social Media and the Cloud”

Twitter Transparency Reveals Government’s Social Media Demands

Is the information you post via social media of potential governmental interest? Probably not, but still, it’s possible.

To bring home the point, Twitter just issued its first Transparency Report. That report details the number of government demands it has received for user information in the first six months of 2012.

What do the numbers reveal?

Continue reading “Twitter Transparency Reveals Government’s Social Media Demands”

FBI’s Social Media Monitoring Plan Must Balance Privacy, Security

A few weeks ago this blog pointed out that the Department of Homeland Security’s command center regularly monitors social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, popular sites like Hulu, controversial sites including WikiLeaks, and news and commentary sites like The Huffington Post and Drudge Report, according to a government document.

Now, there is an indication that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is developing a web application that will have the ability to monitor social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Such an application supposedly will give the FBI intelligence about potential security threats.

Continue reading “FBI’s Social Media Monitoring Plan Must Balance Privacy, Security”

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.

Continue reading “Is Homeland Security Watching You Online?”

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The opinions expressed on this blog are those of the author and are not to be construed as legal advice.

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