Balough
December 23, 2013
Today’s cars are computers on wheels and are subject to hacking and infection by malware. The legal implications of this technical vulnerability have yet to be adequately addressed, according to the attorneys at Balough Law Offices, LLC. Today’s cars are controlled by complex computer systems, which include millions of lines of code connected by internal networks. […]
Balough
December 23, 2013
The legal issues created by allowing employees to bring their own devices to the office and connect to the network were examined by Richard C. Balough at the Southeastern Business Law Institute 2013. Mr. Balough explained that while over 66 percent of businesses allow employees to bring their own devices to the workplace and connect […]
Balough
December 23, 2013
Some franchisees of Aaron’s, Inc., the rent-to-own retailer, leased computers with programs that spied on their customers with the franchisor’s knowledge and assistance. Aaron’s, Inc. agreed to a consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission acknowledging that it played a direct and vital role in surreptitiously tracking customers, mining personal information, and even taking pictures […]
Balough
December 23, 2013
The use at a seminar on internet safety of a picture of a 17-year-old bikini-clad student taken from her Facebook page by a school district technology director did not violate the student’s right to privacy under federal law, a Georgia District court ruled. The school district’s director of technology services pulled the student’s image from […]
Balough
December 23, 2013
Those insurance company apps that track an individual’s driving habits in exchange for lower rates also can determine the car’s physical location even without global positioning capabilities, a new study finds. Some car insurance companies offer discounts if the driver allows a data collection device to be plugged into the on-board diagnostic port of the […]
Balough
December 23, 2013
In a win for privacy rights and a setback for Google, the Ninth Circuit agreed that unencrypted Wi-Fi is protected from outside snooping under the federal Wiretap Act. When Google sent vehicles out to take pictures for its Street View search feature, the vehicles not only captured the street images but also captured data from […]
Balough
December 23, 2013
A publicly accessible website may selectively block users from using the website, and attempts by a blocked user to access the site may be a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). A federal district court ruled that Craigslist, Inc. had the right to block 3taps, Inc. from accessing the advertising site. Craigslist […]
Balough
December 23, 2013
Banning two middle-school students from wearing bracelets with the slogan “I ♥ boobies! (KEEP A BREAST)” in school violates the students’ right to free speech, a divided en banc panel of the Third Circuit found. The bracelets are part of a nationally recognized breast-cancer-awareness campaign sponsored by the Keep A Breast Foundation. The bracelets were […]
Balough
December 23, 2013
The U.S. government can get historical cell phone records, including geolocational information, from cell phone providers without a warrant, the Fifth District Court of Appeals ruled. The appellate court reversed the trial court, which found that, under the Stored Communications Act (SCA), the government had to seek a warrant and show probable cause before the […]
Balough
December 23, 2013
Fox Broadcasting Company can’t maintain a copyright action against Dish Network’s product that enables Dish customers to skip over commercials because Fox doesn’t own the copyright to the commercials, an appellate court found in affirming a trial court ruling. In addition, the appellate court said, while it is a “much closer” question, the trial court […]
