A new law in Maryland will protect employees from having to disclose passwords to employers. The new law is likely to be followed by a similar one in California and Senate has a bill- the Password Protection Act 2012. Thomas Bartlet’s article “Online Privacy Laws Can Cause Discovery Woes, ” looks at why too much information in Discovery is neither helping the system nor individuals.
Pinterest is the hot new social networking site that allows users to “pin” pictures in a series of “albums” that they create. Pictures can be taken from one’s own personal library or from anywhere – almost – on the internet. Numerous questions about the copyright legality of this practice have lead to sites like Flickr, Yahoo and Facebook adopting Pinterest’s “kill switch” which disables users ability to pin pictures from those sites. Christopher Mims explores “The Genius of Pinterest’s Copyright Dodge.” And here are three articles on how Flickr is responding:
*David Murphy “Flickr Adopts Pinterest ‘Kill Switch’ to Prevent Photo Sharing.”
*Jennifer Van Grove “Flickr Disables Pinterest Pins on Copyrighted Images.”
*Dylan Love “Flickr Is Fighting Copyright Theft On Pinterest.”
The rules for online defamation may be a matter for individual courts to determine according to “Online Defamation: Is it Any Different?” by Steven Price. Like many issues in cyberspace, defamation is still being defined and refined in the online environment.
The US government wants to be able to mine all social media more efficiently in the name of national security. In addition to privacy concerns, are issues with finding software that can accurately determine risks. Marcus Wohlsen of the Associated Press reports in “US Government Seeks to Mine Social Media to Help Predict Future.”
The Chief Justice of the Canadian Supreme Court recently spoke to a group of university students about the important role social media could play in the justice system. The Chief Justice comments on the role social media can play within courts and as an integral part of what we now think of as media in a larger context. Read all of her remarks in Mike Blanchfield’s article: “Chief Justice Muses About the Impact of Tweets, Facebook, and Others.”
It may seem like a lot of work to track all the changes in social media law with so many stories and cases emerging every day, but it’s money and time well spent. Jon Chavez’s article, “Law’s Stance on Social Media Fluid, Firms Told, ” points out why. It’s important that a company’s social media policies keep pace with changes in the law.
Cyberbullying of children through social media continues to be a persistent danger to children. However, attempts to curb it also continue to run up against defenders of First Amendment rights. Sam Stockard’s article, “Ketron to Reword Online Bully Law, ” looks at Senator Ketron’s attempts to strengthen online bullying legislation in Tennessee.
Once again, the Department of Homeland Security is being urged to increase its monitoring of Social Media sites for “threats”. Should you be worried about your privacy the next time you tweet or post to Facebook? Mark Hosenball examines the issue in “US Lawmakers Press for Internet Monitoring.”
It’s likely not surprising to anyone that social media is playing a part in Occupy Wall Street. Here’s an article on just one instance of how social media is being harnessed.
By Drew Grant, “Occupy Wall Street’s Media Team Arrested, Secretly Film Events in Back of Police Van.” New York Observer.
Here’s an interesting article examining the role of social media in coordinating crowds and the implications for First Amendment protections.
By Noah Feldman, “Twitter Can Start a Party but Can’t Keep It Going.”