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We're running out of words, February 7, 2018
Help fight information pollution, January 31, 2018
Privacy infographic-palooza, January 24, 2018
Another great reason to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., January 17, 2018
Bye-bye, Fourth Amendment: Spy agencies feed tips to law enforcement, January 10, 2018
Bring virtue to the internet by keeping trackers at bay, January 3, 2018
Can artificial intelligence give the tech industry a heart and save us from capitalism run amok? December 21, 2017
Your email use is being tracked, and not just by marketers and spammers, December 13, 2017
Time to let others do the talking, December 6, 2017
Our front-row seat for the crashing and burning of the internet, November 29, 2017
Your location location location means money money money for trackers, November 16, 2017
YouTube: Unsafe for all ages, November 8, 2017
Birthday wishes, November 2, 2017
That Weekly when everything was pretty good, or at least not so bad, October 25, 2017
Addiction by design: Don't let tech products run your life, October 19, 2017
Essential internet privacy tips, 2017 edition, October 4, 2017
Unreported news story: 'Algorithmic takeover' of journalism, September 27, 2017
The door slams shut on the open internet, September 22, 2017
The best response to the Equifax breach: Don't deal with Equifax, September 13, 2017
In business and government, the bullies are calling the shots, September 6, 2017
There's no stopping tech giants' surveillance for profit, August 30, 2017
How to deter 'fingerprint' trackers from identifying your computers and devices, August 23, 2017
That was the week that was, 2017 revival, August 16, 2017
Find the internet security level that's right for your needs, August 9, 2017
Internet Media 101: The bigger the lie, the greater the profit, August 3, 2017
Cyber-crimestoppers: How individuals and companies help nab internet crooks, July 26, 2017
A free press: The antidote to authoritarianism, July 19, 2017
A novel concept: Let consumers decide which personal data to share with trackers, July 12, 2017
We're in the midst of the third American Civil War, and democracy is losing, July 5, 2017
Keep online trackers at bay without breaking a sweat, June 28, 2017
Pleas for civility meet with... incivility, but that's okay, June 21, 2017
The price we pay for unbridled digital surveillance, June 14, 2017
Privacy protections may form the basis of antitrust actions against internet giants, June 7, 2017
Privacy tips for the most vulnerable: Children and seniors, May 31, 2017
Applying Fourth Amendment search protections to data in the cloud, May 24, 2017
Just when you thought you couldn't be tracked any closer..., May 17, 2017
Facebook addiction turns users into marketing guinea pigs, May 10, 2017
America: A tale of two countries, May 3, 2017
The internet: Destroyer of truth, justice, and the American Way, April 26, 2017
The death and ultimate rebirth of the public internet, April 19, 2017
An internet dinosaur spits in the eye of extinction, April 12, 2017
Trust Busters 2.0: Dismantling modern monopolies, April 5, 2017
Simple, free ways to lock down your private data, March 29, 2017
Let big data benefit consumers, not marketers, March 22, 2017
Gig economy changes what it means to be an employee, March 8, 2017
Privacy: There's just no percentage in it, March 1, 2017
The Rough Beast's lies indicate his intentions - Just like the Nazis, December 6, 2016
Government phone searches: Return of the 'general warrant,' November 29, 2016
You can't hide from facial-recognition systems - Or can you? November 16, 2016
No consent needed for ISPs to scan email and create ad-targeting profiles of non-customers, August 30, 2016
Supreme Court throws 'fruit of the poisonous tree' doctrine under the bus, August 16, 2016
Silly questions: Who 'owns' video captured by police? And does Facebook really 'enhance' privacy? August 2, 2016
It's official: No expectation of privacy on the internet, June 28, 2016
How to wrest control of our government away from corporations, June 21, 2016
The fight against privacy smaers continues, June 14, 2016
Publishers are losing the battle against their ad-blocking visitors -- So what's next?, May 31, 2016
Tech companies resist government attempts to broaden definition of 'personal information,' May 25, 2016
Privacy threats on parade, May 17, 2016
Government goes dark as private lives are exposed, May 10, 2016
The great online-advertising swindle, May 3, 2016
Modern news media: Too big not to fail?, April 26, 2016
Internet Confidential: How to create a privacy right on the public Internet, April 20, 2016
The new browser wars: Thou shalt not block our ads and trackers, April 13, 2016
FCC to regulate ISP data collection, but Facebook, Google off the hook, April 6, 2016
How we lose ourselves in private data collection, March 15, 2016
People tracking is about to get even creepier, March 8, 2016
Silicon Valley's long-standing connections to the U.S. government, March 2, 2016
How to build the future of work, February 24, 2016
Why it's a bad idea to trust private companies with the job of protecting our rights, February 16, 2016
Your Internet life is an open book: The dark side of online-ad profiling, February 9, 2016
Why don't Americans care as much about privacy as Europeans do? February 2, 2016
New fronts open in the battle against privacy-invading online ads, January 26, 2016
'Hey, gang, let's put on a government!', January 5, 2016
The appropriate response to living in a surveillance state: Ignore it, December 22, 2015
Re-reinterpreting our constitutional right to bear arms, December 10, 2015
How open data can help save the world, December 2, 2015
Fair use stages a comeback: New protections against copyright abuse, November 10, 2015
Welcome to the Age of 'Existential Despair,' November 10, 2015
Do we have a right to know what they know about us? October 20, 2015
Campaign 2016: Where's the love?, September 15, 2015
Reclaiming our government starts with universal Internet access, August 25, 2015
Upon further review, times three, August 4, 2015
The connection between poverty, hunger, and obesity, July 14, 2015
Obamacare: A misstep in the right direction, July 7, 2015
Obamacare decision imposes limits on executive power, June 30, 2015
It's time to get serious about prosecuting Internet threats, June 23, 2015
Worst. Supreme. Court. Ever. June 16, 2015
Five indications that we are currently between regimes, June 9, 2015
More examples of judges clueless about technology... and one that gets it, April 21, 2015
What would George Washington think of his country now? February 16, 2015
What's the best way to fix the broken U.S. political system? February 3, 2015
Why you should care about your loss of privacy, January 27, 2015
The battle against data thieves heats up, January 20, 2015
How to combat hate and harassment on the Internet, January 13, 2015
'The Interview' and 'I Can't Breathe': Connecting the dots, December 29, 2014
Cyberwar? Fuhgeddabouddit! There are plenty more serious threats to fret over, December 16, 2014
Telephone tech-support scams are on the rise -- November 24, 2014
Trading privacy for the public good -- November 18, 2014
Tor breach shows there's no such thing as Internet anonymity -- November 11, 2014
Comcast battles Netflix, and everybody loses -- November 4, 2014
Sexting has become part of growing up (gulp!) -- October 28, 2014
Help fight information pollution, January 31, 2018
Privacy infographic-palooza, January 24, 2018
Another great reason to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., January 17, 2018
Bye-bye, Fourth Amendment: Spy agencies feed tips to law enforcement, January 10, 2018
Bring virtue to the internet by keeping trackers at bay, January 3, 2018
Can artificial intelligence give the tech industry a heart and save us from capitalism run amok? December 21, 2017
Your email use is being tracked, and not just by marketers and spammers, December 13, 2017
Time to let others do the talking, December 6, 2017
Our front-row seat for the crashing and burning of the internet, November 29, 2017
Your location location location means money money money for trackers, November 16, 2017
YouTube: Unsafe for all ages, November 8, 2017
Birthday wishes, November 2, 2017
That Weekly when everything was pretty good, or at least not so bad, October 25, 2017
Addiction by design: Don't let tech products run your life, October 19, 2017
Essential internet privacy tips, 2017 edition, October 4, 2017
Unreported news story: 'Algorithmic takeover' of journalism, September 27, 2017
The door slams shut on the open internet, September 22, 2017
The best response to the Equifax breach: Don't deal with Equifax, September 13, 2017
In business and government, the bullies are calling the shots, September 6, 2017
There's no stopping tech giants' surveillance for profit, August 30, 2017
How to deter 'fingerprint' trackers from identifying your computers and devices, August 23, 2017
That was the week that was, 2017 revival, August 16, 2017
Find the internet security level that's right for your needs, August 9, 2017
Internet Media 101: The bigger the lie, the greater the profit, August 3, 2017
Cyber-crimestoppers: How individuals and companies help nab internet crooks, July 26, 2017
A free press: The antidote to authoritarianism, July 19, 2017
A novel concept: Let consumers decide which personal data to share with trackers, July 12, 2017
We're in the midst of the third American Civil War, and democracy is losing, July 5, 2017
Keep online trackers at bay without breaking a sweat, June 28, 2017
Pleas for civility meet with... incivility, but that's okay, June 21, 2017
The price we pay for unbridled digital surveillance, June 14, 2017
Privacy protections may form the basis of antitrust actions against internet giants, June 7, 2017
Privacy tips for the most vulnerable: Children and seniors, May 31, 2017
Applying Fourth Amendment search protections to data in the cloud, May 24, 2017
Just when you thought you couldn't be tracked any closer..., May 17, 2017
Facebook addiction turns users into marketing guinea pigs, May 10, 2017
America: A tale of two countries, May 3, 2017
The internet: Destroyer of truth, justice, and the American Way, April 26, 2017
The death and ultimate rebirth of the public internet, April 19, 2017
An internet dinosaur spits in the eye of extinction, April 12, 2017
Trust Busters 2.0: Dismantling modern monopolies, April 5, 2017
Simple, free ways to lock down your private data, March 29, 2017
Let big data benefit consumers, not marketers, March 22, 2017
Gig economy changes what it means to be an employee, March 8, 2017
Privacy: There's just no percentage in it, March 1, 2017
The Rough Beast's lies indicate his intentions - Just like the Nazis, December 6, 2016
Government phone searches: Return of the 'general warrant,' November 29, 2016
You can't hide from facial-recognition systems - Or can you? November 16, 2016
No consent needed for ISPs to scan email and create ad-targeting profiles of non-customers, August 30, 2016
Supreme Court throws 'fruit of the poisonous tree' doctrine under the bus, August 16, 2016
Silly questions: Who 'owns' video captured by police? And does Facebook really 'enhance' privacy? August 2, 2016
It's official: No expectation of privacy on the internet, June 28, 2016
How to wrest control of our government away from corporations, June 21, 2016
The fight against privacy smaers continues, June 14, 2016
Publishers are losing the battle against their ad-blocking visitors -- So what's next?, May 31, 2016
Tech companies resist government attempts to broaden definition of 'personal information,' May 25, 2016
Privacy threats on parade, May 17, 2016
Government goes dark as private lives are exposed, May 10, 2016
The great online-advertising swindle, May 3, 2016
Modern news media: Too big not to fail?, April 26, 2016
Internet Confidential: How to create a privacy right on the public Internet, April 20, 2016
The new browser wars: Thou shalt not block our ads and trackers, April 13, 2016
FCC to regulate ISP data collection, but Facebook, Google off the hook, April 6, 2016
How we lose ourselves in private data collection, March 15, 2016
People tracking is about to get even creepier, March 8, 2016
Silicon Valley's long-standing connections to the U.S. government, March 2, 2016
How to build the future of work, February 24, 2016
Why it's a bad idea to trust private companies with the job of protecting our rights, February 16, 2016
Your Internet life is an open book: The dark side of online-ad profiling, February 9, 2016
Why don't Americans care as much about privacy as Europeans do? February 2, 2016
New fronts open in the battle against privacy-invading online ads, January 26, 2016
'Hey, gang, let's put on a government!', January 5, 2016
The appropriate response to living in a surveillance state: Ignore it, December 22, 2015
Re-reinterpreting our constitutional right to bear arms, December 10, 2015
How open data can help save the world, December 2, 2015
Fair use stages a comeback: New protections against copyright abuse, November 10, 2015
Welcome to the Age of 'Existential Despair,' November 10, 2015
Do we have a right to know what they know about us? October 20, 2015
Campaign 2016: Where's the love?, September 15, 2015
Reclaiming our government starts with universal Internet access, August 25, 2015
Upon further review, times three, August 4, 2015
The connection between poverty, hunger, and obesity, July 14, 2015
Obamacare: A misstep in the right direction, July 7, 2015
Obamacare decision imposes limits on executive power, June 30, 2015
It's time to get serious about prosecuting Internet threats, June 23, 2015
Worst. Supreme. Court. Ever. June 16, 2015
Five indications that we are currently between regimes, June 9, 2015
More examples of judges clueless about technology... and one that gets it, April 21, 2015
What would George Washington think of his country now? February 16, 2015
What's the best way to fix the broken U.S. political system? February 3, 2015
Why you should care about your loss of privacy, January 27, 2015
The battle against data thieves heats up, January 20, 2015
How to combat hate and harassment on the Internet, January 13, 2015
'The Interview' and 'I Can't Breathe': Connecting the dots, December 29, 2014
Cyberwar? Fuhgeddabouddit! There are plenty more serious threats to fret over, December 16, 2014
Telephone tech-support scams are on the rise -- November 24, 2014
Trading privacy for the public good -- November 18, 2014
Tor breach shows there's no such thing as Internet anonymity -- November 11, 2014
Comcast battles Netflix, and everybody loses -- November 4, 2014
Sexting has become part of growing up (gulp!) -- October 28, 2014
Deregulating the legal profession: Only a matter of time, October 6, 2014
Nonlawyers outperform lawyers in employment, disability, and other administrative matters. The lawyer monopoly does poor people in particular a disservice.
Internet companies' transparency reports indicate trademark abuse is on the rise, September 25, 2014
Trademark holders are overreaching in their takedown requests and using them to censor opinions and speakers they disagree with. Electronic Frontier Foundation's Parker Higgins explains in a September 17, 2014, article. They may also be trying to get an edge in the market by discouraging competition. A baked-goods company targeted people using the term "derby pie," which is a common dessert in the South. Denied by WordPress. (read more)
Sundries of legal note: September 25, 2014
Throwing out one FRCP Rule 84 form could take a big bite out of patent abuse
The Judicial Conference of the United States was expected to vote at its meeting last week on whether to recommend that Congress and the Supreme Court repeal Rule 84 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Forbes' Daniel Fisher explains in a September 12, 2014, article. The rule dates back to 1938 and allows a set of forms to be used to file a patent-infringement suit in federal courts. Patent trolls (a.k.a. "non-practicing entities") can thus assert patent claims against dozens, hundreds, even thousands of people by listing only the name of the patent holder, the date of the patent, and the name of the party accused of infringement. That's about all the trolly entities need to survive a motion to dismiss.
If the form in question, Form 18, is abolished, the courts may use the stricter guidelines for suit as determined by the Supreme Court in the Ashcroft v. Iqbal (2009) and Bell Atlantic v. Twombly (2007) decisions (referred to as "Twiqbal"). A federal court in Virginia has already dismissed parts of a patent-infringement claim for lack of notice to the defendant about how the patent was infringed. If the change is enacted as expected, plaintiffs' complaints alleging patent infringement will need to identify the defendants' infringing products, state the specific patents being infringed, and explain how the products infringe.
Currently patent holders often file suit in hopes of collecting money from defendants who simply want to avoid the higher costs of an ongoing legal battle. Now they'll have to spend more money up front and will have a lower chance of a quick payday. Add this change to the tighter restrictions of the AIA, and you got a good start on patent reform.
(Bonus #1: Filing a motion to amend a patent claim in AIA trials: How to improve your slim chances of winning the right to amend your claim. National Law Review, September 25, 2014)
Campaign finance disclosure laws can backfire
In a September 19, 2014, post on the Global Anticorruption Blog, Professor Michael Gilbert of the University of Virginia Law School explains how campaign contribution disclosure laws can backfire. A congresswoman used the disclosure information to solicit campaign contributions from a corporation that had contributed to other Congress members on one of her subcommittees. That subcommittee was working on legislation that directly affected the company from which she was soliciting "campaign contributions." Ugh!
Damage a reputation in a blog comment, get sued for defamation
A Canadian court ruled that a comment to a blog post can damage a person's reputation sufficiently to qualify as defamation. The case in question is Baglow v. Smith. Mark A.B. Donald and Grant Buckler report in an April 9, 2013, article on Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. The case is also examined by Jameel Mahdany and Brian Radnoff in a September 17, 2014, article on JDSupra Business Advisor.
For a statement to be defamatory, 1) it has to be published; 2) the person posting has to know it's untrue, should know it's untrue, or have blatant disregard for the truth; and 3) the statement has to damage the target's reputation. The comment in question accused the writer of being "one of the Taliban's more vocal supporters." The trial court ruled the comment qualified as "published" but granted the defendant's summary judgment motion because there was no damage to the writer's reputation. Appellate overruled and said whether there was reputation damage was up to the trier of fact.
(Bonus #2: Global data residency rules conundrum: Here's a vote for using Binding Corporate Rules, which make it simpler to comply with data protection laws such as the European Union's Data Protection Directive. There are now 125 countries that restrict movement of data outside their boundaries. Phil Lee, FieldFisher Privacy and Information Law Blog, September 13, 2014.)
The Judicial Conference of the United States was expected to vote at its meeting last week on whether to recommend that Congress and the Supreme Court repeal Rule 84 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Forbes' Daniel Fisher explains in a September 12, 2014, article. The rule dates back to 1938 and allows a set of forms to be used to file a patent-infringement suit in federal courts. Patent trolls (a.k.a. "non-practicing entities") can thus assert patent claims against dozens, hundreds, even thousands of people by listing only the name of the patent holder, the date of the patent, and the name of the party accused of infringement. That's about all the trolly entities need to survive a motion to dismiss.
If the form in question, Form 18, is abolished, the courts may use the stricter guidelines for suit as determined by the Supreme Court in the Ashcroft v. Iqbal (2009) and Bell Atlantic v. Twombly (2007) decisions (referred to as "Twiqbal"). A federal court in Virginia has already dismissed parts of a patent-infringement claim for lack of notice to the defendant about how the patent was infringed. If the change is enacted as expected, plaintiffs' complaints alleging patent infringement will need to identify the defendants' infringing products, state the specific patents being infringed, and explain how the products infringe.
Currently patent holders often file suit in hopes of collecting money from defendants who simply want to avoid the higher costs of an ongoing legal battle. Now they'll have to spend more money up front and will have a lower chance of a quick payday. Add this change to the tighter restrictions of the AIA, and you got a good start on patent reform.
(Bonus #1: Filing a motion to amend a patent claim in AIA trials: How to improve your slim chances of winning the right to amend your claim. National Law Review, September 25, 2014)
Campaign finance disclosure laws can backfire
In a September 19, 2014, post on the Global Anticorruption Blog, Professor Michael Gilbert of the University of Virginia Law School explains how campaign contribution disclosure laws can backfire. A congresswoman used the disclosure information to solicit campaign contributions from a corporation that had contributed to other Congress members on one of her subcommittees. That subcommittee was working on legislation that directly affected the company from which she was soliciting "campaign contributions." Ugh!
Damage a reputation in a blog comment, get sued for defamation
A Canadian court ruled that a comment to a blog post can damage a person's reputation sufficiently to qualify as defamation. The case in question is Baglow v. Smith. Mark A.B. Donald and Grant Buckler report in an April 9, 2013, article on Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. The case is also examined by Jameel Mahdany and Brian Radnoff in a September 17, 2014, article on JDSupra Business Advisor.
For a statement to be defamatory, 1) it has to be published; 2) the person posting has to know it's untrue, should know it's untrue, or have blatant disregard for the truth; and 3) the statement has to damage the target's reputation. The comment in question accused the writer of being "one of the Taliban's more vocal supporters." The trial court ruled the comment qualified as "published" but granted the defendant's summary judgment motion because there was no damage to the writer's reputation. Appellate overruled and said whether there was reputation damage was up to the trier of fact.
(Bonus #2: Global data residency rules conundrum: Here's a vote for using Binding Corporate Rules, which make it simpler to comply with data protection laws such as the European Union's Data Protection Directive. There are now 125 countries that restrict movement of data outside their boundaries. Phil Lee, FieldFisher Privacy and Information Law Blog, September 13, 2014.)