Things aren't looking good for the American public. While Americans generally love the idea of being tough on crime, I doubt grandmothers want to ardently police the online habits of their grandchildren. But surprise, surprise, the negotiators hammering out the details on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) have placed a three-strikes Internet ban on the agenda. This move essentially threatens users with Internet death if anyone uses their connection for ill. This is not a good sign.
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BlogLet's Make A Deal! Will ACTA Force an End to Executive Agreements?Posted February 9th, 2010 by Andrew MoshirniaBookmark/Search this post with:
The Borings Are Back! Lawsuit Against Google Revived on Trespassing TheoryPosted February 8th, 2010 by David OBrien
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Just Say No to the Sewer: Section 230 No Obstacle to Editing CommentsPosted February 5th, 2010 by CMLP Staff
This is all well and good, of course — it's up to Engadget to decide whether and how it will offer a commenting function. Some of the coverage of Engadget's decision, however, didn't quite get this right. Wired's Epicenter blog suggested that Engadget was forced to disable commenting completely in order to avoid legal liability for what its commenters posted. “The one thing publications can't do,” he wrote, “is edit comments.” Fortunately for online publishers of all stripes, Epicenter was mistaken. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (“Section 230”) shields website operators who exercise normal editorial control over their users' content, and this includes editing the content of the comments themselves. read more » Bookmark/Search this post with:
Denying Anti-SLAPP Coverage, Massachusetts High Court Draws Activist/Journalist BoundaryPosted February 4th, 2010 by Eric P. Robinson
Earlier this week, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled in Fustolo v. Hollander, SJC-10485 (Mass. Feb. 1, 2010), that the writer of newspaper articles on a local development controversy could not use the state's anti-SLAPP statute to get defamation claims by a developer dismissed, even though the writer was also involved in the story as the co-founder of a community group that opposed the development. The writer's involvement in the community group did not make her articles an exercise of her "right to petition" on the development issue, the high court said, because the articles were objective journalistic accounts that did not advocate a particular position or disclose the writer's involvement. From Participant to Observer read more » Bookmark/Search this post with:
Pete Bouchard and the Battle Against Bogus TakedownsPosted February 3rd, 2010 by Justin Silverman
I'm not one for local news broadcasts. When I do watch, it's to enjoy the unintentional humor brilliantly parodied by those like the Onion News Network. But WHDH-TV's Pete Bouchard
recently made me reconsider the comedic opportunities of local news, delivering an instant classic one-liner that quickly
found its way onto YouTube. Bookmark/Search this post with:
Wikileaks Needs Financial HelpPosted February 2nd, 2010 by Arthur Bright
Of course, such a system is completely unrealistic—people value privacy too much to accept such a thing, and there are simply too many practical obstacles to the free flow of information. Still, the whistleblower site Wikileaks stands as an example of how we can break down some of the barriers to greater transparency. While not without controversy, some of it probably well deserved, the three-year-old site has made a valuable contribution to journalism and to public debate more generally, a contribution recognized on both sides of the political spectrum, from The Economist to Amnesty International. read more » Bookmark/Search this post with:
Online Media Legal Network Announces Partnership with National Freedom of Information CoalitionPosted February 1st, 2010 by CMLP Staff
From the press release: read more » Bookmark/Search this post with:
Each Man an Island? Record Industry Denies that Three Strikes Ban Will Be Collective PunishmentPosted January 29th, 2010 by Andrew Moshirnia
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Open Government Data Presents New Journalism Opportunities and Legal ChallengesPosted January 28th, 2010 by Helen Fu
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EMI/Vimeo Lawsuit Leaves Lip-Dubbers SpeechlessPosted January 27th, 2010 by Justin SilvermanA group of friends gathered after work a few years ago to record what may be now the most popular performance of Harvey Danger's "Flagpole Sitta." In a video that has since been viewed more than 2 million times on Vimeo, the 30 or so friends took turns lip-syncing, dancing and then ultimately falling to the floor as a group at the song's end. Sean Nelson, the frontman for Harvey Danger, wrote to Vimeo's co-founder Zach Klein: "That Flagpole Sitta video made me incredibly happy, just when I thought there was NOTHING that could make me listen to that song again. A thousand thank you’s." read more » Bookmark/Search this post with:
Did the US Enable Chinese Hackers to Crack Google?Posted January 26th, 2010 by Arthur Bright
Google apparently discovered that Chinese hackers had broken into various Gmail accounts, including those of human rights activists. Google, remembering that China also liked to censor the hell out of Google searches and that this didn't really jive with Google's "Don't be evil" motto, decides to publicly withdraw from the Chinese market. China gets bent out of shape by the accusations of hacking and censorship. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton weighs in, drawing a comparison between Internet censorship and the Iron Curtain. Surprisingly, China doesn't like this comparison and calls the US a pot to China's kettle. read more » Bookmark/Search this post with:
Courts In Maryland, New Jersey, Florida Declare Mistrials After Juror Internet ResearchPosted January 25th, 2010 by Eric P. Robinson
I wrote about the issue of jurors' use of social media back in May, and reported: "there do not appear to be any cases in which courts overturned a jury verdict or ordered a new trial because of use of social media by jurors during trial." [More courts, however, are adopting rules and jury instructions to curb this growing problem. See this blog post and associated comments for details.] Maryland Cases It turns out that the Maryland Court of Special Appeals had done just that two weeks prior to my post, and did it again seven months later. read more » Bookmark/Search this post with: Florida Court Restricts Reporter's Use of Laptop During Murder TrialPosted January 22nd, 2010 by David OBrienAs if there hasn't been enough judicial scrutiny of live media coverage during ongoing trials recently, last week a Florida court banned a Florida Times-Union reporter from live-blogging during a high-profile murder trial in the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court of Duval County, Florida. An appeals court reversed the trial judge's ruling on Wednesday, but restrictions on the use of media in the courtroom remain in place. read more » Bookmark/Search this post with:
Landlord's Defamation Suit Against Tenant Over Moldy Apartment Tweet DismissedPosted January 21st, 2010 by Sam Bayard
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Diane J. Larsen found that Bonnen's tweet wasn't capable of supporting Horizon's claim because it was "too vague to meet the legal standards of libel." Ruling from the bench, the court also apparently indicated that the tweet could be construed innocently or as a statement of opinion, according to Wang's article. read more » Bookmark/Search this post with:
The Free Citizen as a NuisancePosted January 20th, 2010 by Justin Silverman
Orson Welles said these words in a 1955 BBC program called Sketchbook, during which he spoke of, among other things, the role of police. In light of a string of arrests made by Massachusetts police under the state's wiretapping law, his words seem especially relevant. The free citizen—in this case, the individual recording public law enforcement—is unfortunately considered a nuisance, and a law created to protect the free citizen is now being used against him. read more » Bookmark/Search this post with: The Digital Riddle: When Sex Laws Meet the Internet, Confusion ReignsPosted January 19th, 2010 by Andrew Moshirnia
So its more than a little disturbing that courts cannot decide whether or not an individual’s criminal acts can justify a ban from the entire Internet. While Circuit splits on the interpretation of criminal statutes are par for course (see, e.g., disagreements as to what constitutes a "violent felony" under the ACCA), the debate over Internet bans rages within one Circuit Court of Appeals. The latest ruling by the Third Circuit appears to be its third change of course in the last decade, undermining our understanding of and confidence in Internet prohibitions. Like its sister Circuits, the Third Circuit has been struggling with the idea of banning Internet access for sex offenders. The logic goes something like this: because convicted sex offenders might use the Internet to exploit children, sentencing courts may simply outlaw their access to the Internet. Of course, an offender might also use a car or a telephone to exploit a child, but these tools haven’t come into the crosshairs just yet. read more » Bookmark/Search this post with: The Double-Edged Sword of Online Free SpeechPosted January 18th, 2010 by Arthur BrightFrom a functional perspective, I think that the First Amendment is the most important amendment in the bunch, because it ensures that the people can denounce any injustices the government perpetrates. To be sure, various other amendments bar greater evils than censorship—the Thirteenth Amendment ban of slavery springs to mind as an obvious example. But I'd argue that, without the First Amendment, banning such evils would be harder to do as a practical matter without a legally sanctioned watchdog function of constitutional proportions. But that said, free speech without any limits imposed by government, private party, or simple civility has its drawbacks. Such is the topic of an interesting post by Gene Policinski, the executive director and VP of the First Amendment Center. Mr. Policinski, clearly no foe of open discourse, points out that while the Internet has brought unparalleled ability to the masses to speak their peace on every topic known to man, it also seems to have brought about an amazing level of vitriol, unfiltered by either law or simple civility, as well.
Bookmark/Search this post with: Commentary on Obama/Palin Image Generates Questionable DMCA Takedown NoticePosted January 14th, 2010 by David OBrien
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Supreme Court Blocks Video Streaming of Prop 8 TrialPosted January 13th, 2010 by Sam Bayard
The Justice split 5-4 down familiar ideological lines, with the conservative majority ruling that Judge Walker's order was invalid on procedural grounds because "the courts below did not follow the appropriate procedures set forth in federal law before changing their rules to allow such broadcasting." This despite the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council's mid-December approval of a pilot program allowing limited use of cameras in district courts within the Circuit. According to the majority, the district court did not give the public sufficient notice and opportunity to comment before revising a local rule that prohibited the broadcast at the "eleventh hour." read more » Bookmark/Search this post with: Will This Revolution Be YouTubed?Posted January 12th, 2010 by Justin Silverman
The Justices should take comfort in these laws. They are significant because the opportunity to view what could be a watershed case for gay rights is being prevented by a concern for the safety of witnesses. Ironically, those witnesses do not happen to be the persecuted homosexuals of bygone days, but instead those who now support a state measure to deny same-sex couples the right to marry. The trial began yesterday in San Francisco, and U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker originally agreed to a delayed broadcast of each day's proceedings on YouTube. But yesterday the Supreme Court issued an order (.pdf) temporarily stopping the broadcast at the request of Prop 8's supporters. read more » Bookmark/Search this post with:
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Of all the
A ruling by the highest court in Massachusetts could impact the methods that activists use to advocate their causes, by setting a boundary between activism that is protected by the state's anti-SLAPP statute and factual reporting, which is not.
I have a pet theory that perfect informational transparency would make the world a more civil place. Sure, it might be embarrassing to reveal our personal secrets and foibles to the world, but the tradeoff would be that you'd know when someone was talking out of both sides of their mouth. In such a world, maybe that senator wouldn't be quite so holier-than-thou when the public knows about 
No man is an island, no man stands alone
If you're a regular user of the Webtubes—and if you're reading this blog, you probably are—you're well aware of the kerfuffle that ensued after Google's decision to cease its search-engine operations in China. And naturally, it's now become a political issue between the US and China. A recap, in brief:
Appeals courts in Maryland
and New Jersey appear to be the first to reverse jury
verdicts because of social media use by jurors during trial.
Andrew Wang of
Predictability is important when it comes to the law. Citizens should know what sort of punishment they should expect for engaging in criminal behavior. If offends our notions of justice when wildly different sentences are handed down for similar crimes.
Last Friday, political commenter and blogger Patrick Frey of
This afternoon, the Supreme Court 



