CyberLaw Blog

Archive for the ‘USA’ Category

Data-Mining for Terrorists Not ‘Feasible,’ DHS-Funded Study Finds: “Searching for terrorists in masses of electronic data doesn’t work and will lead to unacceptable privacy invasions, a government-funded commission reported Tuesday. Instead, the government should carefully evaluate how it uses the same technology as book recommendation software, and update the nation’s privacy laws.

The report entitled Protecting Individual Privacy in the Struggle Against Terrorists: A Framework for Assessment is available through the National Academic Press pages.

(Via Wired News.)

Max Hardcore Sentenced to 46 Months in Federal Prison: “A federal judge today sentenced Paul F. Little — aka Max Hardcore — to 46 months in prison and fines of more than $1.4 million.”

(Via XBIZ.com | News & Articles.)

American ISP giants: If we Phorm, we’ll get consent: “

‘No need to legislate’

After months of controversy over ISP-level ad targeting systems from the likes of Phorm and NebuAd, three of America’s four largest ISPs have told Congress that such behavior-tracking shouldn’t exist unless web surfers give their explicit approval.…

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(Via The Register - Comms.)

Judge declares mistrial in RIAA filesharing case, sets aside $222,000 verdict: “

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

We always thought that the RIAA’s first-ever filesharing trial victory against Jammie Thomas was a little suspect since the labels weren’t required to prove that Thomas even had Kazaa installed on her machine or was the person using the account in question, and it looks like the court agrees — it’s just declared a mistrial and set aside the $222,000 judgment on the grounds that simply making copyrighted works available for download does not constitute copyright infringement. That’s a huge decision — the ‘making available’ theory is the basis for most of the RIAA’s legal arguments — and it means that the RIAA will now have to prove the unauthorized transfer of each song it wants to collect damages on at the new trial. We’ll see what effect this has in the broader sense — we’ve got a feeling we’re in for a slew of appellate decisions on both sides of the ‘making available’ debate — but for now it looks like the good guys are finally starting to score some points.

[Via ZDNet, thanks JagsLive]

Read - Wired article
Read - Decision [PDF]

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(Via Engadget.)

EFF reveals vastly expanded search policy at US borders: “

Probable cause a thing of the past

In a move that could affect millions of people around the world, the US government has quietly relaxed a two-decade-old policy that limited the reading and copying of papers and electronic data carried by travelers crossing into American borders, according to recently released documents.…

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(Via The Register - Public Sector.)

As US Looks To Re-legalize Online Poker, Germany Bans It: “Just as the US seems to be moving forward with efforts to relegalize online poker, it appears that Germany is moving in the opposite direction, passing a law to ban online poker — even to the point of allowing German authorities to put online poker players in jail (though, no one seems to think that’s likely to happen).

(Via Techdirt.)

Rejected From College Because Of Your Facebook Profile?: “We’ve all seen the stories about potential dates or employers scanning your social network profiles to decide what they think of you, but what about your potential university? Slashdot points us to a study suggesting that 10% of universities now examine social network profiles as part of their efforts to evaluate applicants. And, in some of those cases, the profiles hurt candidates to the point of having admissions directors change their minds. Other universities claim that they don’t think it’s right to view such ‘personal’ spaces, but you have to wonder if that view will change over time. Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with universities doing this. They’re used to just seeing a carefully controlled image of the student, and what’s on their social networking sites may reveal a lot more useful info. However, it seems like students should at least be aware that this public display of information is being added to their ‘permanent record’ for consideration at universities.

(Via Techdirt.)

Rights Group Sues NSA and Cheney for Spying: “The Electronic Frontier Foundation sued the government and top Bush officials over its warrantless wiretapping program Thursday. The suit comes just a day before the government tries using a new and powerful tool to dismiss the group’s surprisingly resilient suit against AT&T for helping with the program.

(Via Wired News.)

Bill seeks guidelines for US laptop searches: “

Some rules for border agents, please

US border agents can still snatch and search your laptop, mobile phone, or hard drive without reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing. But a bill introduced in Congress last week may enforce some guidelines on how the inspection is done.…

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(Via The Register - Public Sector.)

Anonymous web comments protected like journalists’ sources, rules Montana court: “A court in Montana has ruled that a newspaper does not have to reveal the identity of those who posted comments on its website. A state law that protects journalists from revealing their sources also protects a news site’s user comments, the court ruled.”

(Via OUT-LAW News.)