A California district judge recently ordered infamous spammer Sanford Wallace to pay $711 million in damages to Facebook for his extensive spamming activity on the site. Wallace is bankrupt, so the price tag may not be very tangible to him, but that doesn’t mean he’s in the clear; the district judge has also requested that Wallace be prosecuted for criminal contempt, which could result in jail time from which no degree of poverty can save him.
Privacy Law
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Can Google Earth Keep a (Trade) Secret?
It seems that almost everyone who can use a computer is familiar with Google Earth, the Google software featuring satellite imagery from around the globe. Perhaps one of your less tech-savvy relatives has called you to the computer to look at satellite images of your house. If researchers at Georgia Tech have their way, you may eventually be able to watch yourself looking at those satellite images on Google Earth.
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Statistical Reporting of Abortions: Unwanted-Pregnancy Preventative or Undue Burden?
The tension between a state’s interest in preserving human life and a woman’s right to obtain a pre-viability abortion without undue burden from the state is at th
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High School Administration Coerces Students to Hand Over Facebook Log-In Info
On September 10, 2007, high school cheerleader coach Tommie Hill allegedly coerced Miranda Jackson, one of her cheerleaders, to hand over her Facebook log-in information. That information was later provided to “fellow Pearl High School teacher, dance and cheer sponsor Tiffany Durr, cheer trainer Corey Byrd, Principal Ray Morgigno, Superintendant John Ladner, and other unknown individuals.” The student’s information allegedly led to her being “punished and humiliated.” Jackson was then bar
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Recent Development: IMS Health, Inc. v. Ayotte: Small Step For Privacy, Giant Leap Still Needed for Prescription Data Privacy
NC JOLT Online Edition, Volume 10, Page 96 (May 2009)
Abstract
Electronic data use in United States industries provides a means by which businesses aggregate, track, and manage consumer information. In the health care industry, data mining companies, pharmacies, and pharmaceutical manufacturers have adopted electronic data use with prescription information. The use of electronic prescription data as a commodity raises privacy concerns which have prompted the formation of state laws restricting its use. Data mining companies recently challenged a New Hampshire law restricting the commercial use of prescription data. In IMS Health, Inc.
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In the face of Privacy Concerns and National Security Threats, Google continues to Show us the World
On February 17, 2009, the Western District Court in Pennsylvania dismissed a couple’s complaint against Google Earth for (1) invasion of privacy; (2) trespass; (3) negligence; and (4) conversion. The couple, Mr. and Mrs. Boring, were appalled when they “discovered that ‘colored imagery’ of their residence, outbuildings, and swimming pool, taken ‘from a vehicle in their residence driveway . . . without . . . waiver or authorization,’ had been included on Street View.” (Boring v. Google, Inc., 2009 U.S. Dist.
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Article: Tag! Now You’re Really “It” What Photographs on Social Networking Sites Mean for the Fourth Amendment
North Carolina Journal of Law and Technology, Volume 10, Issue 1, Page 171 (February 2009)
Abstract
Now that mobile technological devices like camera phones pervade our world, allowing people to capture images and scenes in places and at times never before possible, serious privacy concerns inevitably arise. The fact that users of social networking sites, which are growing rapidly in popularity, frequently and commonly propagate these easily captured images, as well as traditional ones, throughout cyberspace with startling ease only serves to bolster such threats to personal privacy.
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Article: “Do You Really Need My Social Security Number?” Data Collection Practices in the Digital Age
North Carolina Journal of Law and Technology, Volume 10, Issue 1, Page 1 (February 2009)
Abstract
No abstract available.
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“Free” Online Commercial Personal Health Records: Too Good to be True or Just Savvy Opportunistic Business Strategy?
Within the last year, several non-health care companies have begun electronically storing personal health data for U.S. consumers. These companies are commonly known as Personal Health Record (PHR) vendors. According to the U.S.
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Nationwide Health Information Technology Adoption: How Much Does It Impinge on Patients' Privacy?
Electronic data use in U.S. industries, such as banking, retail, and telecommunications, provides a means by which entities track, store, and manage consumer data. Most Americans do not hesitate when they use their debit or credit card, grocery store saver card, or cell phone; these play a key role in the everyday lives of people. More so, with the increased use of social networking websites and online public blogs, self-generated data regarding people’s daily lives is available electronically.
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Getting a DWI May Also Entail Getting a New Car Accessory in a Few States
Advances in technology are frequently adapted to assist law enforcement in detecting and preventing criminal activity. Few motorists are unfamiliar with the use of breathalyzers by law enforcement officers for sobriety testing. Once more, new technologies are continually finding new applications in this area. For example, the use of ignition mechanisms—which function in a similar way to a police breathalyzers—have been around for many years; yet, their use has generall
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Blogging About Class: Uproar at NYU School of Journalism
Earlier this semester, NYU student Alana Taylor wrote a posting for the PBS blog MediaShift critiquing the professor of her “Reporting Gen Y” class for not being up to date with new technology.
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License Plate Scanners Make Stealing More Difficult
Law enforcement agencies across the country have begun using license plate scanning systems to help in the recovery of stolen vehicles and to capture criminals. The devices, placed on the roof of police cars, use optical character-recognition technology to read license plates from up to four lanes away and take pictures of just the lower section of the vehicles.
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Nevada’s Encryption Law: How Much Does it Help?
The Wall Street Journal recently reported on a Nevada law that went into effect on October 1, 2008 requiring businesses “doing business” within the state to “encrypt” their customer’s “personal information.” While this law does represent an important development in the effort to protect consumers from crimes suc
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Search, Seizure, and Cell Phones?
Customs officials and police officers, in a small but increasing number of cases, have been carrying out warrantless searches of the contents of laptops, mobile phones, and other wireless devices. Additionally, courts have said that police officers, in the course of an arrest, can legally search a person’s cell phone photos, text messages, and call lists. A prominent court case dealing with warrantless searches comes from the Ninth Circuit U.S.
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The Prisoner’s Dilemma of the Digital Age
South Carolina’s state prison chief, John Ozmint, recently announced his wish to jam cell phone signals in prisons to prevent further crime and inmate escapes. Unfortunately, Mr.
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Anti-Vaccination Movement Takes a Turn for the Worse
On September 3, 2008, the journal PLoS ONE published a case-control study examining a potential link between the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism. The study's results suggested that there is no merit to a contention, common in some circles, that the live measles virus contained in the MMR vaccine can cause gastrointestinal distress that would then cause autism.
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GPS: Global Police Stalking?
Eric Hanson was recently convicted of fatally shooting his parents and bludgeoning to death his sister and brother-in-law. David Lee Foltz, Jr. is currently charged with abduction and sexual battery, and is suspected of eleven other attacks on women in the area.
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Article: You Can Run, But You Can't Hide: Protecting Privacy from Radio Frequency Identification Technology
North Carolina Journal of Law and Technology, Volume 8, Issue 2, Page 249 (July 2007)
Abstract
RFID technology is a highly effective means of tracking products and people, and it is ready to be employed on a massive scale. Without regulation, RFID will be used to track both products and people. There is currently no government oversight of the use of RFID. Instead, the Federal Trade Commission allows companies that use RFID to self-regulate. Increasingly, RFID-tagged products are entering the stream of commerce without any notice to alert consumers to their presence. Moreover, with the development of miniscule tags, detection may become impossible unless labeling is mandated.
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