California Supreme Court Holds that ZIP Codes are “Personal Identification Information” In a broadly-worded unanimous ruling, the California Supreme Court recently overruled lower court decisions to hold that businesses cannot request and record ZIP codes as a condition to credit card transactions, because ZIP codes are “personal identification information” under…
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and the companies that sell software for the iPhone and iPod touch at the App Store have lost over $450 million to piracy since the store opened in July 2008 according to an analysis by 24/7 Wall St. There have been over 3 billion applications downloaded since the…
Introduction On December 1, 2010, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) released its highly anticipated consumer privacy protection framework titled “Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change” (“Privacy Report”). A copy of the Privacy Report may be obtained on the FTC website: http://www.ftc.gov/os/2010/12/101201privacyreport.pdf. The FTC seeks public comment on…
For over a year, the news media has reported extensively on proposed rules from the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) concerning “net neutrality.” Today, the FCC released its anticipated order placing “network neutrality” requirements on broadband internet access providers. In this e-bulletin we provide a background on developments leading up to…
NEW YORK (AP) – Google Inc., the top Web search provider, said Tuesday it will allocate about $8.5 million to Internet privacy and policy organizations as part of a class action settlement involving its Buzz social hub. The lawsuit had been filed by users of Google’s free e-mail service, Gmail.…
NEW YORK (AP) – If you use Facebook to “check in” to your favorite restaurants or shops, you can now expect to see rewards and discounts from companies looking to drum up business and lure in loyal customers. Facebook is looking to bridge online advertising with people’s offline behavior as…
Jammie Thomas-Rasset has been dealt another setback in her long-running court battle over sharing 24 songs illegally online. CNet reports that she has lost her latest court battle, with a Minneapolis jury decided that Thomas-Rasset is liable for $1.5 million in copyright infringement damages to Capitol Records. This breaks down…
The Data Security and Breach Notification Act of 2010 To help protect personal information on the Internet and elsewhere, California enacted seminal legislation in 2000, which was significantly strengthened with the passage of SB 1386 in 2002. Since then, other states have enacted similar legislation. State activity, however, may be…
Earlier, a post on this blog noted the jurors in the corruption trial of former Governor Rod Blagojevich had informed the judge they had only reached a decision on two of the 24 charges in the case. Now, the news comes that the jurors have reached a final verdict: on…
The Internet has made life easier in so many ways, including the ability to shop and conduct financial transactions online. Of course, just like in the world of bricks and mortar, criminals also lurk in Cyberspace, seeking to steal identities, data and money. While Cyber criminals, of course, are responsible…