Balough
December 23, 2013
Mobile devices made by HTC America, Inc. contain serious security flaws, which allow the phones to send their own text messages, send personally identifiable information to third parties, and even activate the microphone to listen to conversations, according to a proposed HTC America consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC’s complaint against HTC America noted that […]
Balough
December 23, 2013
The outtakes from a documentary film produced by Ken Burns and others on the Central Park Five are protected from discovery under the First Amendment. In 2012, Florentine Films released The Central Park Five, a documentary film. Florentine Films group includes Ken Burns, David McMahon, and Sarah L. Burns. The Central Park Five were convicted for the 1989 […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. has sliced it a bit too thin for Kraft and its Cracker Barrel cheese. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC has asked a Chicago federal court to find that Cracker Barrel Old Country Store crossed the line when it announced in November 2012 that it will begin selling luncheon meats, […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
The law of geolocational privacy continued to evolve in 2012 even though the Supreme Court sidestepped the issue in a potential landmark case. Despite the lack of clarity from the Supreme Court, there will be more attention to geolocational privacy in 2013 both in courts and through legislation, according to a legal survey article appearing […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
Today’s cars are computers on wheels, open to hackers who can infect cars with malware and take control of a car’s speed, braking, and other vital systems. Whether today’s laws are applicable to these cyber-threats was the focus of a presentation to the American Bar Association’s Cyberspace Law Institute by Richard C. and Cheryl Dancey […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
Mobile apps should disclose in easy-to-understand language what data they collect and how the data is used, and they should consider a do-not-track mechanism, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommended in a staff report adopted by the FTC. The report, “Mobile Privacy Disclosures Building Trust Through Transparency,” noted that “mobile technology presents unique privacy challenges. First, more […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
An Indiana statute prohibiting most registered sex offenders from using social networking websites is unconstitutional because it is an overly broad infringement of First Amendment rights. The Indiana law prohibited certain sex offenders from using a “social networking web site” or “an instant messaging or chat room program” that “the offender knows allows a person […]
Balough
December 22, 2013
A third party may not use images posted on Twitter’s TwitPic for commercial purposes without the poster’s permission, a federal district court ruled. On January 12, 2010, following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Agence France Presse (AFP) sought pictures from Haiti by searching TwitPic. Several of the images AFP found and forwarded to its clients, […]
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
Requiring a high school student to carry an identification card with an RFID chip does not violate the student’s First Amendment religious and free speech rights. The Northside Independent School District in San Antonio started a pilot program at two schools that requires students to carry an identification badge. The badge displays the student’s name […]
