Ryan Singel writes: The number of wiretaps authorized by state and federal judges in criminal investigations jumped 26 percent from 2008 to 2009, according to a report released Friday by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Courts authorized 2,376 criminal wiretap orders in 2009, with 96 percent targeting mobile phones in drug cases, according to the report. Federal…
Category: Court
Record Labels Can Seek Download Info From ISP’s
Anne Youderian reports: Major record labels have the right to know who’s illegally downloading their music, the 2nd Circuit ruled Thursday. The court said a computer user’s right to remain anonymous does not trump the labels’ right to enforce their copyrights. The alleged infringer, identified only as “Doe 3,” asked a federal magistrate judge to…
Hacker of Sarah Palin’s e-mail found guilty
A college student who hacked into former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s e-mail account and posted some of its contents on the Internet was found guilty Friday. After four days of deliberations, a federal jury found David Kernell, the 22-year-old son of a Democratic Tennessee state legislator, guilty of obstruction of justice, a felony,…
Swedish man sues Google for defamation
A small business owner is suing Google Sweden for defamation, alleging that Google has long presented search results to blogs that portray him as a paedophile. Additional Google links have identified his company as one that has engaged in shady transactions. The 61-year-old man is seeking one million kronor ($137,200) in damages for the financial…