May 2nd 2008
The New York Court of Appeals 1st Division recently upheld a lower court ruling that emails with signature lines “constitute ‘signed writings’ within the meaning of the statute of frauds, since plaintiff’s name at the end of his e-mail signified his intent to authenticate the contents.” At issue was the modification of an employment contract […]
May 1st 2008
Its been a cold winter for privacy advocates in the US. Some of the more remarkable privacy concerns to emerge include: The gutting of the nation’s privacy oversight board Comcast experimenting with home spying Companies swapping personal customer data The Protect America Act’s encouragement of domestic spying Spring Brings Increased Legal Support of Privacy for Citizens […]
April 28th 2008
As a result of a mandate by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), beginning September 2007, all cars and trucks sold in the US must have a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS). Here’s how it works: there’s a sensor, usually in the valve stem, that monitors information like pressure, temperature, and whether the tire is […]
April 25th 2008
Remember taking lecture notes in college? Did you ever think you were violating copyright law? Well, according to University of Florida professor Michael Moulton, you were. And you might just as well burn those CliffsNotes, too. Over the years, companies have sprung up to assist lazy or hung-over students with lectures by taking notes in their […]
April 24th 2008
Music giant EMI is demanding that music file storage company MP3tunes turn over all music stored on its servers. Apparently, EMI is demanding this irrespective of who owns, or published, the music. What is unclear is what “hand over” means in this context. Clearly, though, it does mean EMI seeks to violate the privacy and personal […]
April 23rd 2008
Universal Music Group (UMG) is suing Troy Augusto, owner of Roast Beast Music Collectables, who sells promotional CDs on eBay. UMG claims promo CDs are for personal use only and, according to the agreement contained thereon, cannot be redistributed —including being sold, given away, or even thrown away. The discs are usually sent out to […]
April 21st 2008
Has Google finally stepped over the “Do No Evil” line? Over the past few months, Google has invested in two DNA-mapping companies: 23andMe (a company created by Google co-founder Sergey Brin’s wife) and Navigenics, which maps genetic data and screens for anomalies. In theory, information of a predisposition towards a certain disease could be made […]
April 18th 2008
Currently, federal authorities can only collect DNA from convicted criminals. That may soon change, so that anyone arrested for a crime, or merely detained, can be forced to provide a DNA sample. Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) is fronting the legislation, which was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee recently. The argument is that the new […]
April 17th 2008
Are you curious about how lawmakers spend money on their own offices? The website LegiStorm publishes publicly available financial details, including salaries and expenditures on Congressional staffers, in an attempt to keep our complex government transparent to citizens. However, even public scrutiny shold have its limits. You might want to take a look at the […]
April 14th 2008
This week, Alaska and Idaho passed laws that prohibit the state from taking measures to comply with the REAL ID act of 2005. That now makes nine states who refuse to participate in the new federal identity system, which is due to start operation in about a month. My friend and former state government colleague, Dazza […]
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