David Canton writes: The U.S. Federal Trade Commission recently proposed new guidelines pertaining to transparency in blogging. Under the guidelines, bloggers who make an endorsement would have to disclose any material connections they share with the seller of the product or service. This would mean that any freebie a blogger receives would have to be…
EU and US Officials Examine Safe Harbor, Cross Border Data Flow and Privacy
From EPIC.org: Officials from the United States and the European Union are meeting in Washington this week to review “Safe Harbor,” a framework that allows the processing of data on EU citizens by US firms without traditional legal protections. Safe Harbor has been challenged by the European Parliament and questioned by academic experts. The Federal…
Appeals Court, Second Time Around, Dismisses Surveillance Suit
Mike Scarcella reports: Scott Tooley’s contention that the government started secretly watching him and his family members after a conversation he had with a Southwest Airlines employee about post-Sept. 11 security was dealt a severe blow today in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The appeals panel, calling the claims in the…
An Unpoular View of Google Books
Larry Downes writes: I’m starting to feel like the only person who thinks the Google Books settlement with authors and publishers is a good deal. One voice that seems not to be heard, however, over the din of Google competitors, panicky law professors, and regulators who wouldn’t know a workable solution to a copyright problem…