Balough
December 22, 2013
Cases involving alleged false advertising in cyberspace increased significantly in number in the past year, but success has been limited according to a legal survey article by Cheryl Dancey Balough. The article noted that “courts have recently found in favor of companies complaining of false advertising when a competitor’s website contains false or misleading statements. […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
A video clip from a policeman’s deposition may remain on YouTube because the city failed to justify why it should be taken down. The City of Collinsville, Illinois, sought a protective order to remove the video clip, which shows a portion of one of its policemen’s video deposition. The City argued that the video was […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
Websites will no longer be able to collect geolocation information or display photos or videos of children under 13 without parental consent under new rules adopted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The new rules amended the original rules adopted in 2000, which implemented the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The amendments expand the […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
The marital communications privilege does not cover emails sent by a husband to his wife using his workplace computer. A federal appeals court affirmed the conviction of a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates for bribery and extortion for securing state funding for Old Dominion University in exchange for employment by the university. […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
Mobile apps for children continue to leave parents in the dark as to what information is being collected and what is being done with that information, according to a new study by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The study, “Mobile Apps for Kids Disclosures Still Not Making the Grade,” is a follow-up to a February […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
An online advertising company has agreed to stop gathering sensitive data from millions of consumers and will cease its secret “history sniffing” activities, which revealed the websites users had visited in the past. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found that Epic Marketplace, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Epic Media Group, LLC, gathered data from customers […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
Facial recognition applications now link faces with other databases, allowing companies to identify anonymous individuals and obtain their personal information without the consumer ever knowing, thus raising privacy concerns. In an effort to give companies guidance and protect consumer privacy, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a pamphlet with Best Practices for Common Uses of Facial […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
The operator of websites for several music stars who appeal to tweens illegally collected information from children under 13 and agreed to a fine of $1 million. The websites for Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Demi Lovato, and Selena Gomez violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting the names, addresses, email addresses, birth dates, […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
Federal law enforcement monitoring of electronic communications in the United States has increased dramatically according to the most recent data obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The ACLU’s finding is based on documents produced by the Justice Department, which show the requests for both “pen register” and “trap and trace” surveillance requests. Pen registers capture […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
Google, Inc., is not required to identify anonymous bloggers who posted their opinions regarding a real estate developer on a blog hosted by Google. The company had been subpoenaed by the developer to disclose the names of the posters. The trial court quashed the subpoena. The New Jersey appellate court found that the bloggers comments […]
