Articles Posted in Internet Law

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Cyber criminals are very skilled in singling out vulnerable targets for online schemes. For instance, senior citizens are ideal candidates for cyber fraud or Internet fraud because they are more likely to have large amounts of money saved up, and they tend to have better credit, making schemes more profitable for criminals. If you are a senior citizen, or you know of an elder consumer who was a victim of Internet fraud, please contact us today to discuss available legal remedies and protections.

Why Are Senior Citizens Ideal Targets for Internet Fraud?

Older American citizens are often not familiar with the methods available to report fraud. Also, they are hesitant to report fraud because they are worried their relatives will decide they are no longer able to handle their own finances. Unfortunately, failure to report cyber crime immediately leads to a loss of evidence, and makes it very easy for cyber criminals to disappear without a trace. Furthermore, the more time that passes between the crime and prosecution, the more details and evidence are lost to memory. Cyber criminals depend on elder citizens’ weakened memory because the loss of evidence also prevents effective prosecution, and cyber criminals are able to walk away without punishment.

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The spread of social media networks and social profiles has, unfortunately, made the potential for cyber harassment more common today. For instance, the phenomenon of revenge porn has sparked controversy in society, prompting California’s Legislature to enact a new law to help deter future acts of involuntary pornography. If you, or someone you know, has been a victim of cyber harassment, including revenge porn, please contact us today to speak to an attorney who can help explain the legal remedies.

What Laws Apply to Acts of Revenge Porn or Cyberharassment?

In October 2013, California’s governor, Jerry Brown, signed Senate Bill 255 (“SB 255”) a law into effect, which made revenge porn a criminal offense, allowing victims to seek legal remedies from perpetrators. Revenge porn, also known as involuntary pornography or “cyber revenge,” is the act of posting pictures and videos that contain sexually-explicit content of a former significant other without their knowledge or consent. Typically, former significant others will post this kind of content to harass or embarrass previous partners. However, in some cases, hackers can get a hold of this type of content and post the pictures on adult websites. And, often times, the party distributing the images will include personal information about the victim (e.g., name, address, and social media accounts). Posting this type of personal information increases traffic through Google and draws more online visitors. However, this information also poses a serious threat to the victims, some of whom have reported the unwanted attention that comes from strangers.

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In September 2013, California’s legislature enacted a new “Do Not Track” law–Assembly Bill 370 (“AB-370”)–that requires websites to disclose their practice of tracking consumers’ personal identification information. The new law may be the first step towards universal anti-tracking standards, which will provide greater protection over the Internet for online users and their personal information. According to the executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, Jeff Chester, at the very least the new law is a signal to websites that political bodies are mobilizing to protect online consumer privacy.

What Are the Provisions of California’s “Do Not Track” Law?

Under AB-370, any website that collects personal information from online users will have a duty to disclose the specifics of their tracking behavior to consumers. The “Do Not Track” legislation requires that websites inform consumers their protocol for responding to do not track signals (“DNT signals”). For instance, consumers who use Mozilla Firefox have the option to request that the browser not track the users’ personal information. However, Mozilla is still under no legal obligation to follow this request. AB-370 also addresses any practices that allow third parties and sites to access and use consumers’ personal information. Specifically, the new law requires websites to disclose whether they grant third-party access to personal information the website has gathered from online users. This law does not prohibit websites from continuing to track personal information, or grant access to this information to third parties. Instead, the law aims to improve disclosure standards, so that consumers are better informed of how their online activities can affect access to their personal information.

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The answer to many questions is an online search away. However, online searches are not free of all consequences. Indeed, search engines can track and store a user’s search history and even sell this personal information to third parties for profit. What someone types into a search bar then becomes part of a permanent link tied to that Internet Protocol (“IP”) address. This certainly raises several concerns regarding online and individual privacy. In a highly digitized era, this affects anyone with Internet access, a computer, and even a cellphone.

What are the Main Concerns of Search Engine Privacy?

Search engines track personal information using users’ search history, including a user’s IP address, search terms, name, and location. Websites, such as Google and Yahoo, can then use this information for their marketing, or they can sell users’ search history to marketing firms. Online search history generates an impression of the user, which the public can then use to its advantage–e.g., for criminal investigations, employment opportunities, and to fuel personal disputes. Public opinion in this area strongly disfavors this level of surveillance. As a result, websites have begun to compete in terms of which search engine provides the greater privacy protection. Efforts to improve search engine privacy consider, among other standards, how long a search engine stores user information, how a search engine deletes such information, whether the search engine engages in behavioral targeting (i.e. whether a site uses search history to provide targeted advertisements), and whether the search engine uses profile information to manipulate advertisements. Based on a recent survey by CNet, only Ask.com does not record search terms. Outside the circle of the large search engines, sites such as ixquick.com allege that they do not record IP addresses when users conduct searches through their website. According to the survey, Google also does not engage in behavioral targeting.

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Online sales markets are in a state of expansion as more consumers continue to conduct their purchases online. Indeed, the topic of an Internet sales tax has been in debate in the California Legislature for some time. And now, with the possibility that the federal government may pass the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013, online sales taxes could change across the country. If you are a consumer who makes purchase online, or a business that conducts sales online, the California Internet sales tax provisions apply to you. Please contact us today to speak with an attorney who can help explain how changing tax requirements could affect your online transactions.

What Is California’s Online Sales Tax Now?

Currently, the standard tax rule in California, and across America, is that online retailers must collect sales tax from customers who are located in states where the online retailer maintains a “physical presence.” Online retailers maintain a physical presence in states where they have a warehouse, a store, a corporate office, or a sales representative. In states where online retailers do not collect an online sales tax, customers nonetheless have a duty to report and pay a sales tax on online purchases. In this case, the tax is a “use tax,” not a “sales tax.” However, these standards differ between each state and for federal taxes. The federal government has also been considering the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013, which would allow businesses to collect taxes on sales in individual states, regardless of where the seller is located. However, any businesses that are not physically located in a state and make less than $1 million a year would not be required to follow this tax schedule. This law would also require states to reform their current sales tax laws to make online sales tax collection simpler. For California, this new law will not make a substantial difference because the largest online sellers, such as Amazon, already maintain a physical presence in California. Therefore, California online shoppers already pay an online sales tax for most of their online purchases.

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A celebrity’s image is the most vital marketable quality in the business of entertainment. Indeed, this image, like other forms of intellectual property, is very much the product that a famous personality offers into the economy for a profit. However, while other forms of intellectual property enjoy protection under copyright and trademark laws, an image is vulnerable to all sorts of cyber attacks that can cause severe and irreparable damage. Nonetheless, a celebrity can prepare and prevent cyberspace threats by speaking with an attorney to establish a plan to monitor online activity and prevent harm. Furthermore, acting immediately at the first sign of an attack can prevent on-going and permanent harm to reputation.

What is the Threat to Celebrities In Cyberspace?

Since a famous personality’s name, image, and reputation make up the underlying fame and fortune, any attack can harm the ability to work successfully. However, taking steps to secure a reputation is especially difficult in the case of public figures. For example, First Amendment free speech protections allow for public discussions involving public figures. Accordingly, it can be even more difficult to bring defamation claims where the victim of offensive remarks is in the public eye. Unfortunately, this harmful publicity can limit a celebrity’s capacity to secure future employment. Musicians face the added threat of the unauthorized use of their work product, especially over the Internet. While some use, even though it is unauthorized, provides free publicity over the Internet, this use can prove to be harmful to economic viability. Also, leaking new music allows users to learn about an artist’s new work, but it takes away from the artist’s ability to make a profit.

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A business’s trade secrets are an essential component of its foundation, growth, and development. A trade secret is any sort of confidential and proprietary information that a company seeks to protect from unauthorized access.  For example, a trade secret, includes a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, or process (e.g., computer algorithm).  By definition, a trade secret is only valuable so long as it remains a secret.   In recent years, as businesses conduct more transactions over cyberspace, there is a higher probability of trade secret theft or loss. However, the constantly changing nature of cyberspace, and the anonymity users enjoy over the Internet, make protecting trade secrets a complex issue.

What is the Threat to Trade Secrets in Cyberspace?

Trade secrets in cyberspace, which involve software and digital information, can be misappropriated or wrongfully taken and used without detection.  It is also known as “cybertheft.”  For example, an online user has the capacity to view and distribute trade secrets without detection within minutes.   Online message boards allow users to post trade secrets over the web anonymously.  By concealing their identity, it is possible to steal a trade secret without detection.  Indeed, the courts continue to issue decisions that recognize individual privacy rights in digital trade secret misappropriation cases, preventing the trade secret owner from seeking legal remedies. Furthermore, in the past, trade secret theft was intended to secure an economic advantage between competing companies. However, recent cases, such as Ford Motor Co. v. Lane, illustrate that trade secrets are vulnerable to dissatisfied employees who distribute trade secrets only to harm an employer.  On a side note, hackers may even steal and distribute trade secrets simply to show off their technical skills.

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In the aftermath of the Snowden scandal, and an on-going concern for cyber-surveillance practices, the United States Congress and the American people are increasingly concerned that their online privacy is at risk. The government continues to wrestle with the possibility of including mandatory data retention standards for Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”). While this poses a serious threat to individual privacy, supporters of data retention argue that these standards are essential to national and personal safety.

What Is Data Retention?

Data retention is the practice of ISPs monitoring and storing information tied to an IP address, including, but not limited to, browsing history. ISPs that also provide email services may store email logs, but not the content of those emails. ISPs also have the capacity to identify which third-party email service providers are tied to an IP address. Law enforcement agencies could require ISPs to turn over this information in the course of a criminal investigation. PRISM, the National Security Agency’s avenue of access to online data, is similar to traditional data retention practices, except that PRISM targets cloud-based services. Currently, there are no mandatory data retention policies in America. However, governmental pressures and international influences may be pushing America to join Europe in its data retention practices. In March 2013, James Sensenbrenner, Republican House representative from Wisconsin and the author of the Patriot Act, argued that America should adopt ISP data retention laws similar to those in Europe. Indeed, the Justice Department has fully supported data retention policies. The Justice Department argues that the lack of data retention policies dramatically hinders law enforcement efforts. However, regardless of whether the government implements policies requiring ISPs to store personal data, ISPs currently maintain the freedom to monitor and track online activity. Indeed, Time Warner currently retains user data for six months, and Verizon retains data for eighteen months. Then, under the Stored Communications Act, which is codified under 18 U.S.C. § 2701 et seq., the government may access this data.

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In January 2012, the European Union (“EU”) introduced a draft regulation that would make it more difficult for companies within the EU to gather personal data from consumers. In the wake of recent developments that the National Security Agency has been involved in questionable surveillance practices in the United States, the European Union is certainly taking steps to provide greater individual privacy protections.

What Are the Terms of the New EU Personal Data Directive?

The right to privacy is an important component of the European Convention on Human Rights, a highly developed area of law in Europe. According to the new regulation, institutions may only access personal data if the purpose for gathering the personal data falls within three categories. First, a company or agency may collect and process personal data if the individual is first informed. For example, among other preliminary requirements, the individual must initially be aware of the purpose for gathering personal data. Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, has urged the EU to adopt additional restrictions to require internet companies to reveal details about the companies they will be sharing personal data with. Next, a company or agency may collect personal data if the data is “adequate, relevant and not excessive” in relation to the purpose for the collection. Additional restrictions may apply if the data is more personal, such as when the data goes to religious beliefs, political affiliations, sexual orientation, or racial association. Finally, personal data may be gathered and processed for a “legitimate purpose.” However, this is a very narrow category and the reasoning behind the data collection must be very specific. As an added safeguard, any data collected within the EU may only be transferred to countries outside the EU if those countries provide substantial levels of personal privacy protection as well. This requirement would pose an obstacle for social media websites, such as Facebook, that exist across the world and gather information from users to share with companies that operate under different privacy-protection standards.

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On August 14, 2013, the FBI confirmed its investigation regarding a sextortion case involving several women, including the recently-crowned Miss Teen USA, Cassidy Wolf. While the FBI did not release any information regarding the investigation or potential suspects, they did say the investigation has been going on for several months. Do you store personal information and photographs on your computer? Do you or your children use computers with webcam capabilities? If so, you might be at risk for cyber-stalking and sextortion. At the Law Offices of Salar Atrizadeh, an attorney with experience and knowledge in the most recent cyberspace law can help you learn how to protect yourself against cyber attacks such as these.

What Is the Extent of the Sextortion Threat In the Community?

Cassidy Wolf had said in an interview that she had received an email from an anonymous source who claimed to have nude pictures of her. The anonymous source then attempted to extort her, threatening to make the pictures public otherwise. Apparently, a hacker was able to break into Cassidy Wolf’s computer, turn on her webcam, and take pictures of her. For Miss Wolf, this controversy came after the hacker cyber-stalked her through her computer.

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