Privacy
And your passwords, too!
Utah’s state sex-offender registry appears to be getting an upgrade: A new state law, which took effect Tuesday House Bill 34, requires Utah’s nearly 7,000 registered sex offenders to turn over certain Internet information, including screen names and passwords to social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace. Passwords, too? While I can sympathize with [...]
ESPC: Simplicity is so complicated
Ken Magill has a new article with quotes from the ESPC’s Trevor Hughes including this gem: The FTC’s opt out clarification “complicates things in that it demands simplicity when simplicity may not be the status quo,” said Hughes. The FTC is demanding simplicity? Well, DUH! CAN-SPAM is a law that is supposed to protect consumers [...]
How to Lose Your Job in 1 Simple Email
Just do what this guy did and circulate a copy of someone’s check (for her “right arm and no dollars” no less) without removing the banking information.
When Privacy and Law Collide
On a mailing list I’m on there is currently a long, drawn out discussion regarding suppression lists. One of the interesting points that has come up has come from a privacy angle. What if someone wants you to completely remove their data from your possession? By that, I mean that they request that you remove [...]
Let’s Look Like We’re Doing Something!
The Illinois General Assembly is working on HB4198. It’s an update to their anti-harassment law to cover: harassment through electronic communications including electronically communicating directly with another person with the intent to knowingly intimidate or cause emotional distress to another person or with the intent that physical harm would result from the communication I wonder [...]
Israel Gets A Spam Law (With Teeth)
There are news reports of tough anti-spam legislation coming out of Israel: The bills passed yesterday allows persons to sue advertisers for compensation without the burden of proof of harm, for any spam sent without prior consent in writing. Violation of the law is now a criminal offense carrying a fine of up to NIS [...]
It’s hard being in court so much
If you’re the owner(s) of Usenet.com, you must really feel in a pickle. One the one hand, you might feel really good. This month, Sierra Corporate Design, Inc., managed to take to trial a lawsuit against David Ritz alleging that the use of DNS is illegal in the state of North Dakota. It’s been a [...]
Et tu, AOL?
I think AOL’s free accounts are great. They’re great enough that I don’t mind a bit of marketing sent my way in exchange for the service. But, when I got a credit card offer I drew the line and decided to find out what I could opt-out of. Those things have gotten me in enough [...]
Fun, fun, fun
Today was the first day of the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group general meeting in San Francisco. I had to sign an NDA to get in today, so I can’t really discuss what was talked about today. I’m sitting in the Abuse Reporting Format Birds of a Feather (ARF BoF for those of you who like [...]
Misconduct Probe in Colonie, NY
Two Colonie, NY, paramedics have filed a federal lawsuit accusing officials in the Albany suburb of retaliation for issuing faux criminal subpoenas to Time-Warner Cable. The Albany County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit has also launched its own investigation. The lawsuit accuses the town of Colonie, Supervisor Mary Brizzell, emergency services Chief Jon Politis, town [...]
