Category: Legal
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Judge Rules Google Illegally Monopolized Search Market, Setting Stage for Potential Industry Shakeup
In a landmark decision that could reshape the internet landscape, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta has ruled that Google illegally maintained a monopoly over internet search. The verdict, delivered on Monday, marks a significant victory for the U.S. Justice Department in its most substantial antitrust case in 25 years. The…
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Facebook Threatens to Stop Allowing News Sharing over Pending Legislation in Australia
Facebook is publicly ramping up the battle with the Australian government over pending legislation that would force it to pay royalties for use of copyrighted news content. It’s a battle being watched closely in both media and tech circles because the implications go farther than just what’s happening in Australia.…
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California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA): First Warning Letters Are Being Sent
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) went into effect on January 1st, but enforcement efforts were put on hold until July 1, 2020. Now that the deadline has passed, CA AG Xavier Becerra has issued warning letters to companies over alleged violations as reported by MediaPost. It’s the toughest law…
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Data Privacy: What Defines “Personal Information”
Weeks before new privacy rules go into effect, California AG is asking for significant changes to CCPA California’s Attorney General Xavier Becerra has proposed revisions to the regulations implementing the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The law itself went into effect on January 1, 2020 with an enforcement deadline of July…
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Facebook Being Investigated by 47 Attorneys General
47 Attorneys General are now investigating Facebook for possible antitrust violations. When the probe was first announced in September, 8 states were behind the effort. 45 states have now signed on along with AGs in the District of Columbia and Guam. The AGs say it is a bi-partisan effort. “After…
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GDPR vs CCPA: How Privacy Regulations Affect Businesses
New privacy laws on the world stage are impacting businesses that have any online presence and capture personally-identifiable data. GDPR The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has already had a significant effect on companies doing business in the EU or doing business with EU residents. It’s affected most U.S.…
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Is It Time to Break Up Facebook?
The Electronic Privacy Information Center and a host of advocacy groups have written to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that it’s time to seriously consider breaking up Facebook. “The companies should be reestablished as independent entities and Facebook should be required to disgorge the personal data unlawfully acquired from those…
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Can public officials block citizens on social media? Nope.
The law is playing catch-up with many facets of digital technology and social media. The latest battle has been over whether government officials can block people on Facebook. The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeal has upheld a lower court ruling that said it was unconstitutional for publicly elected officials…
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Google wins, Facebook loses in lawsuits over use of Facial Recognition
Two different ruling in privacy cases over use of biometric data called “faceprints.” A federal judge threw out the lawsuit against Google. The judge ruled that the Illinois consumers that sued were unable to prove any damages. Lindabeth Rivera and Jospeh Weiss were the named plaintiffs in a class action…
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French regulators hit Google with $57 million fine for violations of GDPR
Google has been hit with a $57 million fine for violations of the EU’s GDRP privacy regulations. CNIL (French data protection regulators) concluded that Google had failed to comply with the law. Lack of Transparency When setting up Android phones, the regulators said Google did not disclose “essential information” to…
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Is Facebook facing record fines for violating its FTC privacy agreement?
The Federal Trade Commission is looking at what could be record-setting fines against Facebook, according to the Washington Post. It has to do with the binding agreement the social media company signed in 2011 to protect personal data. The fine would be for violating that agreement. The biggest fine to…
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Does Facebook Facial Recognition Violate the Law? Class Action Suit Moves Forward
The case against Facebook for use of biometric data is moving forward. An Illinois judge dismissed Facebook’s plea to toss it. The class action suit –ispotentially worth billions if successful. Illinois law can tag each violation with fines up to $5,000. Illinois has a law called the Biometric Information Privacy…
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Facebook Facing Charges of Fraud, Inflating Video Views by as Much as 900%
The folks suing Facebook for inflating video views now say it’s worse than they thought. Originally, the group said FB was jacking up video metrics by as much as 80% higher than they actually were by the way they were reporting them. Now, they say the real number is somewhere…
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Own a Vizio TV? You might be entitled to a 62 cent settlement
Vizio has agreed to pay some $17 million in an effort to settle a class action suit over privacy laws, according to the terms filed in court. The case revolved around consumer complaints that Vizio was tracking TV viewers by default, without getting consumer permission, and sharing data with third-parties. …
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Sunshine Law request results in $82,000 bill for public records search
Group seeks information on how dogs are being used in research by Universities The Beagle Freedom Project is an animal rights activist group that’s filed a lawsuit against the University of Missouri. The suit has to do with its claim that the University is violating the state’s Sunshine Laws. The group’s been…
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Google hit with $5 Billion fine by EU regulators
Can a software maker require a hardware maker to pre-install its software apps on a device as a condition of doing business? We’ll find out. The European Union, which is taking digital privacy seriously, is now attacking on another front. With a whopping $5 billion fine against Google, added to…
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California just passed one of the toughest data privacy laws in the country
The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 is set to dramatically change how businesses handle data in the most populous state. Companies that store personal information — from major players like Google and Facebook, down to small businesses — will be required to disclose the types of data they collect,…
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Facebook, Google hit with multi-billion dollars lawsuits on first day of GDPR privacy and consent rules
On day one of the new GDPR privacy and consent rules in the European Union, Google (and its Android operating system) and Facebook (including WhatsApp and Instagram) were served with lawsuits that allege the companies “coerce users” into sharing personal data in violation of the law. The lawsuits are asking…
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California Supreme Court rules defendants have right to access public social media content
The California Supreme Court ruled this week that social media companies can be forced to hand over content to criminal defense prepping for trial. Specifically, the attorney in a murder trial was trying to get info from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Previously, Facebook has pretty much just ignored the request…
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Class Action Suit Alleges Facebook’s Facial Recognition Violates Privacy Act
Facebook is catching it from all sides these days. In the crosshairs now is FB’s practice of using facial recognition software. It used to throw me a bit when I would post a picture and, somehow, Facebook would know who was in the picture and prompt me to tag them. …
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How Tom Brady, Danny Ainge, and Kevin Durant changed everything on the internet
You may remember the story at the heart of this legal case: NBA Superstar Kevin Durant was a free agent before joining the Golden State Warriors. The Boston Celtics GM Danny Ainge was pulling out all stops to get Durant to head East and joint he Celtics. Ainge had called…
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Google and Facebook face potential anti-trust claims
Germany is the latest to level potential anti-trust violations at Facebook and Google. Germany’s anti-trust regulator has started a formal investigation into online advertising. Google and Facebook have said they will cooperate, according to Reuters. When you are an international company, it can be tricky to navigate different laws in…
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Millions of Twitter followers disappear after NY Times investigation
Have you bought Twitter or Facebook followers? Federal and state investigations are underway into the sellers of fake followers and bot engagement. More than a million followers of famous people – who presumably bought the fake followers to pump up their numbers – have literally disappeared in the past few…
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Making Sure Your Social Media Contests Stay Legal
This article details how to comply with Facebook’s contest rules within the United States and Canada. It is not a substitute for, nor intended to be, legal advice. If you have questions, consult with a legal professional or use a managed Facebook contest platform. Facebook contests and sweepstakes can be a…
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If you share it on social networking websites, does it become public or can access by limited? (UPDATE)
Taking on LinkedIn and Microsoft, hiQ turns to crowdfunding for help with legal costs It’s one of those David vs. Goliath battles: LinkedIn’s 8,000 employees, a company that Microsoft bought in 2016 for $26,5 billion dollars, vs. hiQ Labs, which has 13 employees. So when they two tangle in court,…
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If you share it on networking websites, does it become public or can access be limited?
It’s a battle over privacy rights that has constitutional law implications. At the heart of it if a simple question with an incredibly complex answer: If you share it on social networking websites, does it become public or can access by limited? Right now, the case features two companies going…
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Can public officials block citizens on social media or is it a violation of their constitutional rights?
Here’s an interesting debate: If you’re a public official, should you have the right to block people from your social media page? A number of public officials are being sued, including Governor’s in Maryland, Kentucky, and Maine, by state ACLU chapters. Kentucky Governor Sued In Kentucky, the ACLU there filed suit…
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Canada’s Supreme Court rules Google must block some search content worldwide
Can one country really tell Google what it can and can’t show in its search results for the rest of the world? Read on. Canada’s Supreme Court made a startling ruling that has broad-reaching impact around the world. In a 7-2 ruling, the court decided to grant an injunction preventing…
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Social media companies facing fines for failing to remove hate speech, illegal content quickly enough
Social Media is under attack again in Great Britain as government officials debate fines if Facebook and Twitter don’t remove illegal content fast enough. Britain’s home affairs committee unleashed a scathing report, going so far as to suggest the social media companies pay for policing. They compared it to a…
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FCC takes first step towards repealing net neutrality
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) took a big first step in overturning net neutrality rules. In a 2-to-1 vote, the Commission began the rule-making process. That’s the first step in replacing the Open Internet Order adopted in 2015. The net neutrality rules prevent ISPs (Internet Service Providers) from giving preferential…
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FTC cracks down on Zombie Cookies that track your online behavior even after you opt-out
The Federal Trade Commission has finalized a settlement with Turn over its use of Supercookies (also called Zombie Cookies). The FTC has accused Turn of deception by tracking consumers for ads even after people tried to opt out. While not admitting any wrongdoing, the settlement will prohibit Turn from misrepresenting…
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When is a sale not a sale? Amazon under fire for inflated “regular prices”
A Consumer watchdog group is calling out Amazon for what it calls deceptive practices by posting inflated list prices and leading consumers to believe they’re getting a better deal than they really are. The aptly named group, Consumer Watchdog, has petitioned the California Attorney General to investigate Amazon. John…
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Social Media sites under increasing pressure to police themselves – or risk huge fines and prosecution
It’s not just advertisers putting increasing pressure on social networks and platforms that share user-generated content. In Germany, the government is considered legislation that would fine Facebook, Twitter and the like fines of tens of millions of dollars for failing to remove hate speech quickly enough. In the UK,…
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Cable company hit with $25 million penalty, $8 million legal bill for not cracking down on music piracy
Known fact: people pirate music online. It’s hard to track down each offender, and even taking individuals to task, it’s like the little boy sticking his finger in the dam only to have another leak pop up. Music publishers have tried to put the burden on internet service providers (ISP’s)…
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Are restaurants that don’t accept cash the next trend?
Sweetgreen restaurant chain is in the “fast casual” category, serving up healthy food choices. What won’t be on the menu in 2017 is… cash. Starting mid-January, they will stop taking cash at 64 locations. The company says it will speed up transactions by as much as 15%. Employees touching cash…
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Can one country tell the world what it can and can’t see online?
That’s what’s being examined by Canada’s Supreme Court as it looks at a court decision that ordered the censorship of content on Google even outside the country’s borders. Google appealed, as you can expect, and the SupCo is hearing the case now. It stems from a Canadian company (Equustek) that…
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What I learned about firing people… from the time it happened to me
I remember being fired for “philosophical differences.” It was an ugly time for me and my family. It wasn’t about my performance, I was told, they just wanted to “go in a different direction.” Just a few months earlier, everything had been great. Our company was performing at a high…
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Comcast gets caught charging customers for stuff they never ordered and hit with largest FCC fine ever given
Comcast hit with the largest civil penalty ever given to a cable operator about consumer complaints and ordered to put in place a compliance plan “In some complaints, subscribers claimed that they were billed despite specifically declining service or equipment upgrades offered by Comcast. In others, customers claimed that they…
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Sunshine Law request results in $82,000 bill for public records search
Group seeks information on how dogs are being used in research by Universities The Beagle Freedom Project is an animal rights activist group that’s filed a lawsuit against the University of Missouri. The suit has to do with its claim that the University is violating the state’s Sunshine Laws. The group’s been…
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If a town has social media pages, does it have the right to remove comments that are critical?
We may soon find out. The ACLU of Indiana is suing Beech Grove (an Indianapolis suburb) on behalf of two people who say the city deleted their critical comments on the PD’s FB page. The lawsuit says it violating the two women’s First Amendment rights.
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Amazon suing businesses that post fake reviews
Look out! If you’re one of the businesses writing fake glowing reviews about yourself, or buying reviews, you may have big problems ahead. Not only has Amazon been cracking down on this and sending warning letters, but now they are suing companies.
Paul Dughi.com 