Barbara Leonard reports: A movie distributor can subpoena Internet service providers to identify 2,177 people who allegedly pirated the company’s film “Cornered!,” a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled. “Courts have broad discretion in discovery matters and, pursuant to that discretion, may allow parties to conduct expedited discovery where ‘good cause’ is shown,” U.S. District…
Category: Court
Latest metadata ruling may spark rush to close off info
More commentary, this time from Douglas Lee, on O’Neill v. City of Shoreline, previously reported here. Here’s a snippet: As it applies to Thwing’s e-mail, the decision in O’Neill is hardly breathtaking. If information in a public record — hidden or otherwise — discloses who prepared, sent and received that document, that information should be released….
Class Action Suit Targets Google, Seeks Elmination Of Search Query Sharing
Greg Sterling writes: On the heels the filing of a formal privacy complaint by former FTC employee Chris Soghoian targeting Google’s policy of disclosing search queries in referrer strings, a new class action lawsuit takes aim at the same thing. It seeks money damages and an injunction against Google’s sharing of search queries with third parties. Filed in…
Amazon wins fight to keep customer records private
Declan McCullagh reports: In a victory for the free speech and privacy rights of Amazon.com customers, a federal judge ruled today that the company would not have to turn over detailed records on nearly 50 million purchases to North Carolina tax collectors. The state had demanded sensitive information including names and addresses of North Carolina…