Spam, Trojans, Law and Terrorism

  A new study suggests that certain phishing and spamming operations are filtering their proceeds directly into terrorist cells that plan to attack the United Kingdom and United States. The men behind the operation in the study used stolen credit cards, obtained via phishing schemes, to purchase necessary materials. The men then used the stolen credit cards to launder money through online gambling sites, Read More

Google and Doubleclick Questioned in Europe

  BEUC, Europe's major consumer group, is following the lead of the U.S. based Electronic Privacy Information Center in questioning the privacy effects of a proposed merger/acquisition between Google and DoubleClick. Bottom Line: More pressure on privacy matters will do little to help the acquisition which is already playing defense on privacy matters within the United States. While unlikely to stop the Read More

Taxing the Internet: Article by Attorney Eric Menhart

  CyberLaw's principal attorney, Eric Menhart, recently had an article published in the Journal of State Taxation. The article, entitled Taxing the Internet: Analyzing the States’ Plan to Derive Online Sales Revenue, explores the barriers that the states of the nation face in taxing Internet transactions. The synopsis of the article is as follows:   "On a typical day, millions of consumers Read More

FTC Urges Restraint On Internet Regs

  The FTC has come out against new legislation that would regulate pricing for high-speed Internet access. The primary issue is "net neutrality;" the idea that all customers should pay the same price for their Internet access, no matter how they use it. Major ISPs want the ability to charge customers more for higher bandwidth content or more reliably. The FTC says that they and the Department of Read More

Patent Reviews Now Public Domain

  The United States Patent and Trademark Office has unveiled its new program that allows the general public to provide feedback on pending patent applications. The program allows users to comment, support or oppose certain patent applications. The patent applications currently at issue are those in computer technology, which has become a “hot” area of patent law with the rise of the open source software Read More

CDA Immunity Further Weakened

More courts are recognizing that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (“CDA”) is a misguided and unworkable law and construing it accordingly. The 9th Circuit recently found in Fair Housing Council v. Roomates.com that when an ISP actively encourages or allows some damaging third party content, the ISP can face liability in spite of the CDA. Now the U.S. District Court for Connecticut has held that Read More

Bankruptcy Software Maker Practicing Law Without License

  A recent 9th Circuit decision has held that a software manufacturer was practicing law without a license. The matter, entitled Frankfort Digital Services v. Kistler (In re: Reynoso), involved a manufacturer of software for bankruptcy that advertised the software as able to determine the appropriate schedules and bankruptcy exemptions based on information provided by the user.   The court found that Read More

China Military Rising in Cyberspace

  Yet another example of the United States’ weakness in protecting its citizens from cybercrime and cyberwarfare is the Defense Department’s recent report on China’s growing ability to challenge the United States in "electromagnetic dominance" in conflicts.   China has (correctly) identified the power of viruses, denial of service attacks (DOS) and network security as critical in wars Read More

ICANN CEO Opines on Future of Internet

  Paul Twomey, President and CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers recently gave a presentation entitled “The Future of the Internet” which set out Twomey’s personal view of the future of the Internet including issues such as the IPv4 to IPv6 transition, new gTLDs, IDNs and more.   Bottom Line: The presentation is an interesting read for those interested in opinions as to the Read More

Google Challenges Vista on Antitrust

  Microsoft has returned to the antitrust spotlight based on a complaint filed by Google with the United States Department of Justice. The government response to the complaints, however, appears to be substantially less imposing than the Clinton administration’s battle of the late 1990s.   First, the “soap opera” reason is that Thomas O. Barnett, a top government official, sent a letter to many state Read More