When hackers breached the e-commerce firm Zappos in January, they may have compromised the personal information of as many as 24 million users. Legislatures in several states, including California, have responded to attacks such as this one by passing laws enhancing cybersecurity investigation and enforcement, and increasing requirements for disclosure…
An effective employee manual is an essential tool for any business or corporation that employs workers. It is a valuable way for businesses to communicate a company’s expectations to its employees. A well written employee manual will outline company procedures, policies, and expectations. A poorly written manual can create both…
Last year, the California State Legislature made various efforts to regulate commercial transactions on the Internet. These efforts provide interesting questions and concerns regarding practical and constitutional limits on a state’s capability to legislate or regulate transactions on the world-wide-web (i.e., the Internet) due to its intrinsic interstate character. One…
Megaupload.com was among the world’s biggest file-sharing sites with 150 million registered users and about 50 million hits daily. It was big enough that it earned founder Kim Dotcom $42 million in 2011. The movie industry objected that the site was making money off pirated material; even though, Megaupload is…
Michelle Obama is officially live on Twitter. The first lady’s Twitter feed went live on Thursday and her link is being managed by the president’s re-election campaign. The first two tweets came from the campaign staff and described the account as “a new way for you to connect with First…
In January 2011, the University of Minnesota filed suit alleging that a website operator violated copyright law by posting a widely-used psychological test online. The psychological test, which is known as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (“MMPI”), was developed to assess personality traits and help diagnose mental disorders. This test…
In California, a new Facebook feature which permits an advertiser to publish or broadcast a user’s “like” of its product to others in that individual’s circle is under scrutiny. The United States District Court in San Jose, California refused to grant a motion to dismiss which states that Facebook ads…
In the recent years, online harassment or cyberharassment has become an important issue. This is because the Internet has changed our lives on so many levels. Generally, the law prohibits harassment and our readers should consider taking certain precautions when being harassed. Cyberharassment is different from cyberstalking because it does…
In California, the stalking laws are included under Section 646.9 of the Penal Code, which states that any person who willfully and maliciously, and repeatedly follows or harasses another person and who makes a credible threat with the intent to place that person in reasonable fear for his or her…
If you use email in your day-to-day business operations the CAN-SPAM Act is a law that sets the rules for commercial email. It also establishes the requirements for commercial messages, provides recipients the right to have the sender stop emailing them, and mentions the penalties for related violations. The CAN-SPAM…