Balough
May 15, 2014
Google, as well as other search engines operating in the European Union, must delete old search results when requested by an individual under the right to be forgotten doctrine, the European Union’s highest court ruled. The European Court of Justice granted a request by a Spanish citizen that Google erase from its search results connected […]
Balough
May 14, 2014
A county board candidate is entitled to the name of an anonymous poster who wrote that the candidate “is a Sandusky waiting to be exposed,” an Illinois appellate court ruled. The appellate court affirmed a trial court’s order requiring Comcast Cable Communications, LLC to provide the name of a subscriber who posted the comment as […]
Balough
May 9, 2014
Apparently there is nothing more permanent than a Snapchat disappearing image and the app’s ability to collect all the names and phone numbers on the user’s mobile devices. The mobile messaging app has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charges that it deceived consumers by stating that the user’s “Snapchat” image or video would […]
Balough
May 3, 2014
Google, Inc. has changed its privacy policy and no longer will scan kids’ accounts set up through their schools to give data to advertisers and to place ads with emails and search results. Previously, Google scanned both the Gmail accounts and Google Search for kids established through the Google Apps for Education program in order […]
Balough
April 25, 2014
It may not be easy to change a website’s privacy policy, especially as part of an acquisition. WhatsApp., Inc., an instant messaging service that is being acquired by Facebook, Inc., makes representations in its current privacy policy that it does not collect names, email addresses, or location data and that is does not archive messages. […]
Balough
April 15, 2014
Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner is no second banana to the Banana Lady. Not only did Judge Posner write an opinion affirming the dismissal of the Banana Lady’s copyright infringement lawsuit, but he also pealed back her long history of filing frivolous lawsuits and failure to pay judgments against her. Catherine Conrad is a self-employed […]
Balough
April 9, 2014
The operators of jerk.com may be the real jerks—and may be violating federal law—according to charges levied by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in an administrative complaint. The FTC accused Jerk, LLC, the operator of jerk.com, with harvesting personal information from Facebook to create profiles labeling people as a “jerk” or “not a jerk,” and enabling […]
Balough
April 2, 2014
Two provisions in eBay’s User Agreement are not enforceable contract provisions but simply general descriptions of how eBay operates. The Ninth Circuit affirmed a trial court’s dismissal of a case involving eBay’s automatic bidding system. The Plaintiff had argued that eBay breached its User Agreement and violated California’s Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law. […]
Balough
March 30, 2014
How long does it take three appellate court staff members to change into and out of protective clothing for a poultry processing plant? Not long, so the appellants lost their appeal in the Seventh Circuit. The novel experiment conducted in chambers and privately videotaped was apparently conducted by Judge Richard Posner and detailed in a […]
Balough
March 21, 2014
The Illinois Supreme Court found in two separate cases that the state’s eavesdropping statute is unconstitutional. The statute makes it illegal to use an “eavesdropping device” to hear or record any conversation without the consent of all parties to the conversation. It also makes it illegal to use or divulge the conversation obtained using the […]
