Top Stories of 2009

TOP STORIES OF 2009 ZERO HOUR APPROACHING ON  PRIVACY; NINTH CIRCUIT SHUTS DOOR TO LITIGATION MILLS & NEGATIVE OPTION CRACK DOWN Zero Hour on Privacy Throughout the year, the FTC ratcheted up the rhetoric that… Read More →

FTC Privacy Roundtable Background And Summary

Background and Summary of December 7th FTC Privacy Roundtable. Click here to see slides.

Asis Internet Services v. Azoogle (D.C. No. 3:05-cv-05124-JCS) – Excerpt of 9th Circuit Opinion

Excerpt of 9th Circuit Opinion in Asis v. Azoogle

TOP STORY: SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE SLAMS POST-TRANSACTION WEB OFFERS

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller released the report of his Committee’s investigation into post-transaction web offers which found that consumers often do not know these companies have their credit card numbers until they start seeing charges on their bank statements while 88 e-commerce companies have made over $1 million by partnering with Affinion, Vertrue, and Webloyalty

AMAZON WARS: 2010 COULD PROVE DECISIVE

The fate of the “Amazon tax,” which extends the definition of retailers doing business in a state for sales tax purposes to include online retailers paying commissions to in state affiliates, could be determined as early as January when the New York Appellate Division is expected to announce a decision on Amazon and Overstock’s challenge to the New York law.

Amazon Wars Extra: States to Watch

The map below depicts the projected FY2011 deficits for states as a percentage of the 2010 budget according to a report by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.  Click thumbnail for full… Read More →

EU WTF? RECENT EUROPEAN ACTIONS RAISE CONCERNS

The European Union recently passed legislation that would establish an opt-in standard for all cookies.  Users must be provided with “clear and comprehensive information” and offered the right to refuse in a “user-friendly”… Read More →

Privacy Update

The FTC has released the agenda of the first of three public “Exploring Privacy” roundtables to be held on December 7th at the FTC Conference Center and announced that the second roundtable will be held on January 28th at UC Berkeley Law School.

IN THE COURTS: SLAMMER FOR SPAMMER, FINES FOR CONTINUITY SCAMMERS & HARBORMASTERS

Spammers Alan Ralsky (“Godfather of Spam”) – 51 months in federal prison for fraud and CAN-SPAM violations Sanford Wallace (“Spam King”) – $711 million in damages to Facebook for CAN-SPAM violations Lance Atkinson… Read More →

US Drops Appeal in MySpace Mom Case

Judge Wu set aside the verdict set aside by the trial judge explaining that creating a criminal offense out of violations of a website terms of service “makes the website owner – in essence – the party who ultimately defines the criminal conduct . . . [Which would give] too much discretion to the police and too little notice to citizens who wish to use the [Internet].” Prosecutors have now decided to withdraw their appeal and let Judge Wu’s ruling stand.