FSU College of Law Research Center Blog

A "Digital Scarlet Letter" Hat-trick

                                                

Remember the plight of Nathanial Hawthorne's fictional Hester Prynne?  She was condemned to wear a red "A" for adultery as a shameful reminder of her past sin.  George Washington University Law Professor and internationally known privacy expert Daniel J. Solove has written that:

          "The Internet is bringing back the scarlet letter in digital form -- an
            indelible record of people's misdeeds... We must protect privacy  to
        `  ensure  that the freedom of the Internet doesn't make us less free."
                                              (The Future of Reputation, p.11)                     

Chances are you remember reading about the young South Korean girl riding on the subway with her little dog.  The dog did what dogs do, and things got ugly when she refused to clean up after him.  Indignant fellow passengers posted pictures of the "incident" on a popular South Korean blog, and the girl was soon identified, parodied and ridiculed in media around the world.

How many of us have seen the numerous "humorously" doctored videos of the repeatedly-humiliated high schooler dirisively called "Star Wars Boy" on You-Tube?

And hasn't everyone heard horror stories of pictures and descriptions of long-ago youthful indiscretions surfacing via a Google search when the transgressor applies for a job or professional license?

Today anyone can post anything about themselves or others, good or bad, true or untrue via blogs, e-mail, social networking Websites, and photo and video sharing Websites that invite any and all submissions.  Where does my need to express myself end, and your right to privacy begin?   Now that I have the potential for a worldwide audience, should I still have the freedom to share information that may prove to be of perpetual humiliation to others?  To again quote Professor Solove:

             "What makes the issues so complex is that there are important values on both
             sides.  Protecting people's privacy sometimes can be achieved only by
              curtailing free speech...The difficulty is that we often want both...There is
              no clear winner in the battle between privacy and free speech.  Both are
              essential to our freedom."     (The Future of Reputation, p.12) 

The College of Law Research Center has three of Daniel Solove's books on privacy --

• The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet (Yale Univ. Press, 2007)

• The Digital Person: Technology and Privacy in the Information Age (NYU Press, 2004)

• Information Privacy Law  (Aspen Publishers, 2006)

Check them out to read what Solove has to say about establishing a balance between privacy and free speech.  You can also read Professor Solove's  musings on "The Law, the Universe, and Everything " on his blog  "Concurring Opinions."

Posted by Patricia Bingham-Harper

MySpace

Be careful what you post to MySpace.com.  Stacy Snyder was denied an education degree and teaching certificate by Millersville University in Pennsylvania due to a picture of her drinking out of a yellow Mr. Goodbar cup, and wearing a pirates hat.  The photo had the caption "drunken pirate."
A federal law suit has been filed: Snyder v. Millersville University et al.  Documents  for this case can be found on Justia.com here.
Good overviews of the case can be found here and here.

Posted by Jon Lutz

Microsoft Corp. v. AT&T Corp

The US Supreme Court ruled on April 30 that Microsoft cannot be forced to pay for patent infringement which has occurred when copies of Windows are made or installed on computers abroad.
    Excerpt:

It is the general rule under United States patent law that no infringement occurs when a patented product is made and sold in another country. There is an exception. Section 271(f) of the Patent Act,adopted in 1984, provides that infringement does occur when one “suppl[ies] . . . from the United States,” for “combination” abroad, apatented invention’s “components.” 35 U. S. C. §271(f)(1). This case concerns the applicability of §271(f) to computer software first sentfrom the United States to a foreign manufacturer on a master disk,or by electronic transmission, then copied by the foreign recipient for installation on computers made and sold abroad.

Read the opinion here.
See an overview of the case here.

Posted by Jon Lutz

Internet Research, Uncensored

Computer scientists use social networking to help foreign scholars bypass their governments' Web filters.

From the March 23, 2007 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education.  Read the article here.

Posted by Jon Lutz

Email paranoia?

The U.S. attorney general doesn’t send e-mails—and he’s not alone.  From government to business, many powerful people are choosing not to use email.  President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, CEOs and others do not use email.  Is this due to a desire not to leave an electronic trail?  Are they simply too busy to spend time emailing?  While it's true that senders of email should be careful about what they send in email, it makes little sense to make a blanket decision not to use such a powerful business tool.  Think before you click is still the best course of action.

Posted by Faye Jones

Castles in the Air

 

With the burgeoning popularity of online roleplaying in the virtual societies of Second Life, Ultima, Entropia Universe, World of Warcraft and others, there is money to be made, and not just in Linden Dollars (the currency of Second Life).  Where there is commerce, can the IRS be far behind?  In his new book, "Play Money: or, How I Quit My Day Job and Made Millions Trading Virtual Loot " Julian Dibbells  discusses his success in the business of selling make-believe commodities, and on his blog recounts his statement to the IRS "My primary source of income is the sale of imaginary goods."

               Real tax on un-real estate?
               Valuation of non-material goods?
               Tax policies for fantasy worlds?
               Tax on the transfer of virtual assets?

Interesting questions.  After all, Section 61 of the U.S. Tax Code states that all income "from whatever source" is taxable.   For more information on virtual property taxation, there are many interesting discussions on the Video Game Law Blog.

It's a whole new (virtual) ball game out there.

Posted by Patricia Bingham-Harper

McGruff Goes Cyber to Stop Crime

Eveyone's favorite crime dog is making special appearances throughout New York City to take a bite out of cybercrime!  McGruff's website lists tips for adults and children alike in a series of tip sheets aimed at adult computers users, homes with children, places of business, and mobile users.  Check out the Frequently Asked Questions page for Questions and Answers for Adults that get to the heart of usual questions fast!

Posted by Marin Dell

The Google Print Controversy: A Bibliography

Charles W. Bailey, Assistant Dean for Digital Library Planning and Development at the University of Houston Libraries, has posted this bibliography on his blog, DigitalKoans.  The publications listed are freely available on the web and many of them focus on the legal issues surrounding the Google Print Project.  The Project is working with publishers and several major research libraries in order to scan books and make the content searchable through Google.

Posted by Anne Bardolph

OpenDocument Format in Massachusetts

The State of Massachusetts has proposed a policy that would mandate Open Document Format be used for all office documents within government agencies.  An economic stimulus bill that went before the Massachusetts Senate on November 3rd had amended text that would require Governement  IT standards be set by a special task force. 
Specifically :

An executive agency or department shall not adopt or implement a policy, practice or standard concerning information technology standards or systems or the procurement or use of hardware, software, and cellular phones and other electronic devices, without the affirmative approval of the task force by majority vote. (S. 2256, the Commonwealth Investment Act)

Bill drops bomb on OpenDocument Format in Massachusetts
Politics and the perversion of standards
S. 2256, the Commonwealth Investment Act
Information Domain - Enterprise Technical Reference Model v.3.5

Posted by Jon Lutz

Lawyers in Blogland

Florida lawyers are joining the blogging bandwagon, and they're finding that it enhances their work.  See Lawyers in Blogland in The Florida Bar News October 15, 2005 issue.

Posted by Faye Jones