By IT-Lex Intern Joey Chindamo (LinkedIn)

In case anyone reading this doesn’t know, Yelp is an online directory service of local businesses that is integrated with social networking functions and user-generated reviews. A visitor could look up, say, their favorite restaurant and rate it on a five-point scale and write a review of the food. Businesses do not own their own Yelp listing pages.

It is because of these user-generated reviews that Yelp came under fire in California and Illinois courts recently. We’ll first look to the California trial court in Demetriades v. Yelp, Inc. In that case, the plaintiff, James Demetriades, alleged untrue or misleading advertising and unfair business practices against Yelp. Demetriades alleged that Yelp had falsely represented its comment filtering system.

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By IT-Lex Intern Shannon Allen (LinkedIn)

Government surveillance is in the news all the time.  This post recognizes the ongoing tension between the government’s national security mission and the reality that electronic devices, including laptops, are virtual extensions of individuals in society. A recent  Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) ruling determined that the DHS can search any electronic device for any reason.   To be fair, the decision only applies within one hundred (100) miles of the coast (according to DHS, a reasonable distance from the border).  According to Techdirt and FindLaw, approximately two thirds (2/3) of Americans live within that range (also known as the “Constitution Free” Zone). (see the Constitution-Free Zone Map above)  Should this be troubling?

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By IT-Lex Intern Karina Saranovic (LinkedIn)

Steve Carbone, who goes by the online handle “Reality Steve“, runs a blog that’s focused on reality TV. He has a network of insiders who feed him scoops, and he publishes spoilers about upcoming episodes of shows including ‘The Bachelor’ – particularly, the secret about which contestant is going to be eliminated in any given upcoming episode. Not surprisingly, producers of ‘The Bachelor’ aren’t too crazy about Reality Steve, and last year sued him for “attempting to induce contestants into breaching their confidentiality pledges”. That case settled in the summer, but last month, producers filed new papers against him, claiming a violation of the terms of the settlement.

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By IT-Lex Intern Joey Chindamo (LinkedIn)

Here’s a follow up to one of our stories from last month. Facebook won a decisive victory last week when a German administrative court held that the social networking behemoth was not subject to one of the country’s strict privacy laws. Section Four of Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities establishes its real name policy, mandating users to provide their real names and information when they register for the site; it essentially prohibits Facebook users from creating fake accounts, accounts under pseudonyms, or the like.
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By IT-Lex Intern Shannon Allen (LinkedIn)

A couple of lawyers tried suing Lexis and Westlaw on copyright grounds for reprinting opinions.  They were unsuccessful.  Is this a surprise? The two page order from earlier this month grants defendants’ motion for summary judgment. A full opinion, with the court’s reasoning, is to follow.

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By IT-Lex Intern Karina Saranovic (LinkedIn)

We are well aware of the commotion Instagram’s much-derided, and short-lived, privacy policy change caused late last year, and here’s an update to that saga. As you may recall, a class-action lawsuit quickly sprung up, and earlier this month, Instagram was in court, seeking to throw out the breach of contract and all other claims brought by Instagram user San Francisco native Lucy Funes.

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By IT-Lex Intern Joey Chindamo (LinkedIn)

A fascinating eDiscovery case out of Maryland federal court last month could be a game-changer in the area of electronically stored information (ESI).

The United States District Court for the District of Maryland released its opinion in Branhaven, LLC v. Beeftek, Inc. [PDF] on January 4. The court imposed sanctions against the Plaintiff, Branhaven, and also imposed sanctions on Plaintiff’s counsel, for discovery violations on multiple grounds after defense counsel complained about “discovery abuses intended to harass defendants, cause unnecessary delay, and needlessly increase the cost of litigation[.]”

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Late last week, CNN reported on a newly-released FBI Report, from the Bureau’s Office of Professional Responsibility. The report details all the “ethical pitfalls and other violations” faced by FBI employees over the last quarter. And oh man, this thing is a doozy. You have to read the whole thing [PDF], but below are some of the particulars that caught our eye.

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By IT-Lex Intern Eric Everson (LinkedIn Twitter)

A recent NY Times story has put cyber warfare literally on the front page.  For many years, the American legal system has battled with punishing hackers.  Some of the strong arm laws at the behest of Federal prosecutors include the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Stored Wired and Electronic Communications Act; these laws carry stiff felony penalties and these cases generally turn on hackers exceeding authorization.  Despite our nation’s love-hate relationship with hackers, our politicians finally seem to understand that hackers improve cyber security by finding vulnerabilities and have the skills to address them.  In a global economy driven by technology, cybersecurity is rapidly emerging as the new theater of battle.

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By IT-Lex Intern Shannon Allen (LinkedIn)

This month, an FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin was released, encouraging law enforcement officials to both monitor social media sites for illegal activity and simultaneously be careful about what the enforcement officials post to their own social media accounts.

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