Zusha Ellison reports: Lawyers pushing a Facebook privacy settlement are trying to fend off critics by suggesting in a Thursday filing (pdf) that privacy organizations are raising objections because they didn’t get a piece of the action. Facebook settled a class action in September over its controversial Beacon advertising program that broadcast to friends what…
Category: Court
Employee Misuse of Computer Access Ruled Not a Crime
Mary Pat Gallagher reports: Using a password-accessed workplace computer in violation of company rules or policies may get you disciplined, but it’s not enough to be prosecuted in New Jersey, says a Mercer County judge in a published case of first impression. Superior Court Judge Mitchel Ostrer threw out an indictment against Princeton Borough police…
Feds push for tracking cell phones
Declan McCullagh reports: Two years ago, when the FBI was stymied by a band of armed robbers known as the “Scarecrow Bandits” that had robbed more than 20 Texas banks, it came up with a novel method of locating the thieves. FBI agents obtained logs from mobile phone companies corresponding to what their cellular towers…
You Bought It, You Own It: Vernor v. Autodesk
Fred von Lohmann of EFF writes: You bought it, you own it. That’s a concept we’ve been fighting to defend for years against erosion at the hands of patent and copyright owners, in contexts as diverse as printer cartridges, promo CDs, and software. The answer should be simple—if you bought it, a copyright or patent…