Web 2.0: The Social Web

Finkel v. Facebook: Online Defamation Case Tests the Limits of Defamation Law

March 26th 2009

Recently we’ve seen an employer charged with defamation for making true disclosures that would hurt a former employee, and Medical Justice which seeks to prevent online defamation by prohibiting patients from participating in social media. Now, a New York teenager has sued Facebook and a handful of its users for discussing her in a private […]

US Cyber Defense is a Mess: British and French Fleets Infected by Computer Virus

March 8th 2009

Last week, the Telegraph reported that French fighter planes were grounded because they were unable to download mission data from ships infected with the Conficker virus. The same article notes that most of the British fleet was also infected. Microsoft has offered a bounty of $250,000 for the arrest of what appears to be an […]

Jim Sokolove 2.0: PR & Web Signal New “Sokolove Law” Brand

March 5th 2009

Sokolove Law: Both Entrance and Exit In January the Law Office of James Sokolove turned the media spotlight on itself. It issued a press release that Mr. Sokolove was making media appearances on a local rock station and PBS. Then there was the long-format feature in Boston Magazine, with the tag line “They’ve also created […]

Facebook: Lead, Follow or Gimme a Hug

February 27th 2009

Hot off the erm… screen: Another Facebook note concerning their change in the Terms of Service: they’re soliciting user input on how to shape it. So go ahead, all 175 million Facebook users. Flood Facebook central with your grocery list of demands, desires and dreams. That’ll work. Today we announced new opportunities for users to […]

ICANN’s Greed and Excess: Stock Losses and Staff Gains

February 26th 2009

Just a few months ago, an International Trademark Association (INTA) panel described ICANN’s gTLD policy as a “pending trainwreck” driven by greed and ambition. One member even discussed organizational ambitions for ICANN to relocate to Switzerland and build a substantial headquarters. The Non-Profit with Better-than-Commercial Pay It seems the trademark experts got it right.  The […]

Facebook Reverses Its ToS Change

February 18th 2009

The folks over at Facebook seem overwhelmed by the response they have received since Sunday, when the website The Consumerist posted an article about a change in Facebook’s Terms of Service. About-Face (Book) Notice of their reversal was available on their service today: Over the past few days, we have received a lot of feedback […]

Rebel Efforts to Liberate the Law

January 13th 2009

Tim Stanley, Carl Malamud, and the the team at Altlaw.org are tenacious, creative and on a mission. Individually, each is finding creative ways to make America’s vast quantity of legal documents available over the Internet at no charge to the public. Together, they are opening up America’s legal system to the public through the Internet. […]

RIAA: “Making Available” Argument’s Failure Results in Voluntary Dismissal

January 12th 2009

Some time back, Usefularts reported on the failure of the RIAA’s “Making Available” Argument – which stated that simply having files that could be downloaded is the same as if they had been, ignoring any concept of intent. Well, the other shoe has fallen. The RIAA has filed for a voluntary dismissal for the first […]

Crime on The Most Popular Mobile Site in the US: Craigslist

December 1st 2008

Loved by browsers – despised by newspapers What’s the top destination for mobile browsing in the US? Craigslist. US mobile users averaged a whopping one hour and 39 minutes per month on Craigslist alone. Though Craigslist doesn’t have much of a business model (no ads, mostly free posting, few staff) it has absolutely transformed print […]

Lori Drew Convicted of Lesser Charges in MySpace Hoax Leading to Teen Suicide

November 27th 2008

The Missouri mother on trial in the landmark cyberbullying case that originated from the MySpace-related suicide of Megan Meier has been found guilty of three misdemeanor violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. I began writing about the tragic suicide of Megan Meier just under a year ago. The post questioned the widely reported […]