By: Eric Mulvey A lawsuit brought by two young men against Twitter for allegedly benefitting from sex trafficking can proceed, said Judge Joseph C. Spero, a federal judge in the Northern District of California, on August 19, 2021. The two young men, referred to as John Doe 1 and John Doe 2, brought thirteen claims… Read More Did Twitter Benefit From Sex Trafficking?
By: Kathryn Barber With the upcoming release of Taylor Swift’s re-recorded album Red (Taylor’s Version), on November 19th 2021, Swift fans are getting ready to experience this album all over again just nine years after the original release of the album. Why would Taylor Swift (“Swift”) be re-recording her past work? Well, the answer is… Read More Taylor Swift’s Bad Blood with Big Machine Records and Her Legal Battle to Own her Masters
By: Sarish Siddiqui Tech giants are moderating the Taliban’s social media presence and reopening the debate on what is considered the Internet and who should determine what belongs on it. Twitter and Facebook have struggled to decide what type of content they will police and remove. However, social media companies have changed their mindset since… Read More The Taliban’s Weaponization of American Social Media
By: Emily Balzano Imagine having your life’s work copied by a major high fashion brand from a job application, and not even getting the job! This is the unfortunate reality for Claudia Diroma (“Diroma”). In November of 2018, Diroma applied for a job and design contest with Alexander Wang Inc., where she was asked to… Read More DANG WANG! The High Fashion Brand Alexander Wang Inc. Involved in Copyright Suit with Prior Job Applicant
By: Megan Fistori Dua Lipa is the latest celebrity on the receiving end of the “copyright trolling” phenomenon. In July of 2021, Integral Images Inc. (“Integral Images”) filed a lawsuit against the pop star for sharing one of its photos on her Instagram without permission or authorization in violation of United States Copyright Law. Integral… Read More “Copyright Trolling” – Copyright Law Clearly Favors the Paparazzi
By: Tianyue Liao This algorithm might seem confusing to most of us, as this is one formula in the Apple Private Set Intersection (“PSI”) system. Many more of them will soon be incorporated into Apple’s new operating system and be installed on users’ devices with the upcoming iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. Now, what is… Read More Apple playing with a Seesaw: Apple’s concern with the spread of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) ‘raises’ child safety while seemingly ‘lowers’ user privacy.
By: Brooke Gary Following a new National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”), policy, many collegiate student-athletes are now adding “influencer” or “content-creator” into their already busy schedules. On July 1, 2021, the NCAA approved interim policy changes that allow NCAA athletes to make money from their name, image, and likeness (“NIL”), regardless of whether their state… Read More Student-Athlete-Influencers: NCAA’s New Name, Image, and Likeness Policy and What is Means for Collegiate Athletes
By: Jeffrey Almonte Have a favorite coffee shop or local bakery you love going to? One where you always strike up a conversation with the barista or cashier, while the “Your Favorite Coffeehouse” playlist from Spotify plays your favorite mellow acoustic music from behind the counter? Sadly, that business might have just shared your conversation… Read More The New Neighborhood Watch: How Amazon’s Sidewalk Platform Could Be Tracking You
By: Alex D’Aloisio Though a dedicated rule-breaker has various means of gaining an unfair advantage on any gaming platform, the premier medium for cheating is a personal computer (“PC”). On a PC, a simple Google search followed by a few clicks is all that is needed to turn the average player into an artificially-enhanced nightmare… Read More The Cost of Fair Play: Advancing Anti-Cheat Technology in Online Video Games Raises Data Privacy Concerns
By: Taylor Sullivan Drunk driving accidents have led to approximately 30% of all vehicle-related deaths in recent years with around 10,000 deaths per year caused by alcohol-related crashes. New technologies may offer a solution for decreasing alcohol-related car accidents. The Senate recently passed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill that would include a mandate for anti-drunk… Read More Life-Saving Legislation: How New Technology Can Be Used to Solve One of the Leading Causes of Death in the United States
By: David Lally The “Black Widow” isn’t finished fighting just yet. After co-starring in nine movies over the last eleven years, Scarlett Johansson retired her beloved Marvel Cinematic Universe character following her first solo movie, “Black Widow.” But there is one more fight to be won for the longtime actress, as Johansson filed claims for… Read More “Black Widow” v. Disney: A Look Into Scarlett Johansson’s Off-Screen Battle Against The Walt Disney Co. and What It Could Mean For The Future of Streaming and Talent Compensation
In December 2020, news broke about the massive cyber security breach of SolarWinds. SolarWinds was hacked largely due to weak cyber security practices including the use of a weak password which easily allowed hackers to infiltrate the software and install malware. SolarWinds initially blamed the weak password on an intern, sparking nationwide conversations about employee responsibility in keeping networks secure; however, companies will not necessarily be able to escape vicarious liability for data security breaches if they fail to take the adequate steps to secure their networks.… Read More Th3 Bl@m3 G@m3: Employee Liability in Cyberattacks
Genetics is a science that can be used to categorize people, stigmatize them, or subject them to social or economic discrimination. The individuals being tested are not the only ones with an interest in the test results. Family members, employers, insurers, the press, and the government all may desire information about a person’s genetics. Thus, raising a lot of privacy issues for genetic information. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) was designed to prohibit the improper use of genetic information for insurance and employment purposes. Even with this we must be aware of potential threats to our privacy. As biotechnology and computer technology advance, substantial privacy issues will continue to arise.… Read More Confidentiality: Genetic Privacy
This blog describes privacy issues related to the use of biometric data and the effect of Illinois’ biometric privacy law. … Read More Biometrics and the BIPA Influence
The recent trend in GDPR actions has been for organizations to no longer hesitate to challenge the decision of data protection authorities, opposing fines first and worrying about legal standing after. However, the reality of this new method of immediate opposition is actually working for companies and data collectors as most of these cases are either struck down or partially dismissed by EU courts. With regulators claiming that their enforcement powers are at risk of being severely restricted, and companies claiming that their methods of data collection have been stunted, a clear divide exists.… Read More Appeal First, Question Later: Addressing the Growing Number of Rapid GDPR Appeals and Its Effects on Adequate Enforcement
Recently, Amazon has installed cameras into nearly 30,000 delivery vans across America to monitor their drivers and improve driver safety. Though Amazon representatives claim that an AI software only records when it senses a problem, it is not clear how much of a driver’s day or activity in residential neighborhoods is being recorded in actuality. The addition of these cameras into Amazon delivery vans raises concerns of the drivers over their privacy in the workplace and could threaten the privacy of average Americans while carrying out daily activities.… Read More New AI-Powered Cameras Pose Privacy Concerns for Drivers and the Average American
California, in the first move of its kind, banned the use of dark patterns as part of a change to the existing California Consumer Privacy Act. The new regulations, which create civil penalties for those organizations not in compliance, were established to assist in protecting individuals from the manipulative and deceptive nature of these user designs. While the changes are new, and may not address every aspect of dark patterns, they are a necessary step in protecting consumer privacy, and have the potential to stimulate action by the federal government and other states. … Read More Dark Pattern Deceit: California’s Ban on Dark Patterns and What It May Mean for Protecting Consumer Privacy in the Future
This blog discusses how Verkada, Inc., a Silicon Valley Start-up specializing in surveillance cameras, was breached by an international hacker collective. The surveillance cameras were used by various jails, hospitals, clinics, and most notably, Tesla factories. The hackers obtained access to intimate footage taken from inside these spaces thereby violating the privacy of hundreds of individuals and exposing Verkada to invasion of privacy claims. Verkada responded by disabling all unauthorized access to the cameras. This blog will include an analysis of the legal liability of Verkada, the security requirements that should have been in place, and what this may mean for the future legality of digital surveillance. … Read More See and Be Seen: Surveillance Footage Breach Results in Potential Legal Liability for Silicon Valley Start-Up
This blog discusses the recent agreements between the NFL and various media companies for broadcast licenses of professional football games. ESPN will now be in the rotation for the right to broadcast the Super Bowl and Amazon Prime will broadcast Thursday Night Football exclusively on its app for the first time. This blog additionally discusses how this change in content distribution impacts the power of licensors and potential shifts in contract drafting.… Read More The NFL Calls an Audible
A federal judge denied the request to throw out a class-action suit alleging that Google secretly scoops up troves of internet data, even if users browse in “Incognito” mode. In the ongoing case of Brown v. Google LLC, the plaintiffs argue that Google did not notify users that Google engages in the alleged data collection while the user is in private browsing mode, though Google argues that the plaintiffs consented to its privacy policy. With the increase in consumer data collection and uncertainty around how/when this data is being used, federal legislation, like the California Consumer Privacy Act, requiring data use disclosure may be the best method to offer users this kind of data autonomy. … Read More Not-So Incognito: Collection of Your Private Internet Browsing History
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