Internet Governance
Still Buffering: The Federal Communications Commission circulated a draft of its 2015 Broadband Progress Report, which found that over 30 million Americans still do not have access to wired broadband service.
Privacy
Scanner Darkly: A federal court denied Shutterfly’s motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit alleging that the online image publishing service violated an Illinois state biometric privacy law by using facial recognition technology on user photographs.
Information Security And Cyberthreats
Disabled: Users promptly received malware from advertisements on Forbes’ website after the news company required them to turn off their adblocking technology in order to view its content.
NY Encryption Bill: A New York state legislature referred to committee a bill that would require manufacturers to design smartphones with a back door so law enforcement can decrypt a phone’s contents.
Intellectual Property
Yogurt Wars: After receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Dannon, Greek yogurt manufacturer Chobani is seeking a court ruling that its advertisement campaign, which spells out the different ingredients in its yogurt and those of Dannon and Yoplait, does not violate the Lanham Act.
Free Expression And Censorship
Stingray Suit Still Swimming: A state court denied a Chicago Police Department (CPD) motion to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to compel the CPD to respond to a public records act request for documents regarding its use of stingrays, declining to treat the surveillance technology the same as a pen register device.
Terrorist Censorship? Members of the Obama administration are meeting with Silicon Valley executives to discuss how their companies can combat terrorism, including by censoring online speech.
On The Lighter Side
Sound And Vision: The iconic David Bowie, who passed away this week, had a few ideas for the future of intellectual property in the Internet age.
Joel R. Reidenberg
Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Chair and Professor of Law and Founding Academic Director, CLIP
N. Cameron Russell
Executive Director, Fordham CLIP
Thomas B. Norton
Privacy Fellow, Fordham CLIP
Victoria Geronimo
Dean’s Fellow, Fordham CLIP