Internet Governance
Australia Passes Law On Violent Posts: The legislation obligates content providers to “expeditiously” remove “abhorrent violent material” and imposes fines and criminal penalties for violations; the law is being criticized for being hastily drafted and passed without either consultation with industry experts or public input.
Privacy
Where Everybody Knows Your Login: After facing backlash from security experts, Facebook has stopped its practice of asking some new users to share their email login password to verify their account; users asked for their login information were those who used email clients that did not support the OAuth standard security protocol.
Information Security & Cyberthreats
Over 540 Million Facebook User Records Exposed: Cybersecurity firm UpGuard discovered that the Mexico City-based news website Cultura Colectiva stored the user records, which included comments, reactions, and account names, openly on Amazon servers; Facebook said in a statement that it has worked with Amazon to take down the data and that the company’s policy prohibits information being stored on public databases.
Restaurant Group’s Customers’ Credit Card Information Stolen: From May 2018 through March 2019, hackers used point-of-sale malware to steal the card numbers and expiration dates of over 2 million customers of restaurants such as Bucca di Beppo, Earl of Sandwich, and Planet Hollywood; Earl Enterprises, the restaurants’ owner, has said the breach has been “contained” and that customers should not be at risk when eating at one of its landmark locations.
Intellectual Property
Blogger’s Screenshot Found To Be Fair Use: The Southern District of New York granted a motion to dismiss in Clark v. Transportation Alternatives, Inc. on the basis that a blogger’s use of a screenshot of a New York Post article about dockless bicycles to critique the original article constituted fair use.
Free Expression & Censorship
Facebook Takes Preventative Measures Ahead of Indian Election: Facebook has taken steps to contain false information ahead of India’s national elections that begin on April 11, which include introducing a new WhatsApp feature that that allows Indian users to report false, misleading, or disputed information and deleting hundreds of pages linked to India’s opposition party and Pakistan’s military for “inauthentic behavior.”
Practice Note
Seventh Circuit Allows Warrantless Border Smartphone Search: The Seventh Circuit determined that the Supreme Court’s Riley ruling, which recognized a warrant requirement for phone searches incident to arrest, did not apply to the border search of a cell phone held by a suspected child pornographer entering the country at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport; the court reasoned that the border agents’ good faith and reasonable suspicion of a crime being committed were sufficient to justify the search.
On the Lighter Side
Wake Up! Odd Alarm, a new alarm app, almost guarantees that the unpleasant alarm sounds it offers—including gunshots, glass breaking, and cats fighting—will wake you up.
| Joel R. Reidenberg Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Chair and Professor of Law Founding Academic Director, Fordham CLIP Tom Norton Executive Director, Fordham CLIP | |
| Praatika Prasad Quinn Nicholas D’Isa Editorial Fellows, Fordham CLIP |