An appeals court recently ruled that a mother may be banned from posting about her children and ex-husband on Facebook. According to Mycentraljersey.com, "[t]he restriction on what she [the mother] could say on Facebook was imposed after her ex-husband's family and the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office argued that the mother's maniacal postings were frightening, saying that they referenced Book of Revelation in the Bible, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, Satan and Adolf Hitler."
In the initial ruling the judge stated, "You can talk about what you want to talk about, but don't reference (your husband) or the children," The woman claimed that the restriction was a prior restraint.
On the surface, this sounds like a clear cut First Amendment violation; however, it appears that
the court imposed the special condition with the purpose of advancing the mother's rehabilitation. The woman was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was arrested in May 2011 after trying to take her children to Canada in violation of a custody order. She pled guilty to interference with custody and in return it appears that the prosecution dropped kidnapping charges.
The bottom line is that infringing on one's First Amendment rights is a slippery slope. Taking away someone's right to freely express themselves is not something that should be done without weighing other options. It would not surprise me if these types of cases become more commonplace in the future.
Copyright 2014 by Shear Law, LLC. All rights reserved.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Facebook's Troubling Move App Privacy Policy Change
Does Facebook really care about protecting its users' privacy? Facebook's history appears to demonstrate that the answer is no. For example, in 2012 Facebook entered into a settlement with the FTC resolving charges that it deceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public.
In 2012, Facebook changed Instagram's (Facebook had recently purchased it) privacy policy to enable it to better monetize its users' personal information. At that time, I stated that the changes were very troubling. Soon after making the privacy policy change announcement, Instagram (i.e. Facebook) backtracked on some of the revisions due to public backlash. In 2013, Facebook agreed to a $20 million dollar settlement in a lawsuit that alleged it utilized its users' names and likeness in paid advertisements without permission.
On April 24, 2014, Facebook purchased fitness tracking app Move. The Wall Street Journal reported that Move just "changed its privacy policy to allow broader sharing of user data, including with Facebook." Interestingly, Facebook's "move" to erode Move users' privacy took less than 2 weeks. Move users may have their fitness information combined with their likes, friend lists, photos, personal messages, etc...and this information may be sold to data brokers such as Axciom, Epsilon, Datalogix and Blue Kai. In turn, data brokers may sell your combined "likes" and fitness routine information to insurance companies, banks, etc... Unfortunately, Move/Facebook users may be discriminated against based upon their daily exercises or lack thereof.
Since companies such as Facebook appear to put privacy ahead of profits our lawmakers need to act to protect Internet/App users from Digital Usage Discrimination before it is too late.
Copyright 2014 by Shear Law, LLC. All rights reserved.
In 2012, Facebook changed Instagram's (Facebook had recently purchased it) privacy policy to enable it to better monetize its users' personal information. At that time, I stated that the changes were very troubling. Soon after making the privacy policy change announcement, Instagram (i.e. Facebook) backtracked on some of the revisions due to public backlash. In 2013, Facebook agreed to a $20 million dollar settlement in a lawsuit that alleged it utilized its users' names and likeness in paid advertisements without permission.
On April 24, 2014, Facebook purchased fitness tracking app Move. The Wall Street Journal reported that Move just "changed its privacy policy to allow broader sharing of user data, including with Facebook." Interestingly, Facebook's "move" to erode Move users' privacy took less than 2 weeks. Move users may have their fitness information combined with their likes, friend lists, photos, personal messages, etc...and this information may be sold to data brokers such as Axciom, Epsilon, Datalogix and Blue Kai. In turn, data brokers may sell your combined "likes" and fitness routine information to insurance companies, banks, etc... Unfortunately, Move/Facebook users may be discriminated against based upon their daily exercises or lack thereof.
Since companies such as Facebook appear to put privacy ahead of profits our lawmakers need to act to protect Internet/App users from Digital Usage Discrimination before it is too late.
Copyright 2014 by Shear Law, LLC. All rights reserved.
Monday, May 5, 2014
#SocialMediaFail: PayPal director Rakesh Agrawal Departs After Troubling Tweets
Social Media may be utilized to fund raise for philanthropic causes, to crowd source to help catch criminals, and to help unite family members. Unfortunately, too many people have lost their jobs because of the content they have posted online.
The latest person who appears to have joined the #SocialMediaFail club is now former PayPal Director Rakesh Agrawal. According to The Daily Mail, Mr. Agrawal went on a late night Twitter tirade while in New Orleans. Mr. Agrawal appears to have made some derogatory comments about his co-workers online that became newsworthy very quickly. While there appears to be some dispute as to the timing of Mr. Agrawal's departure from PayPal; there is no denying that soon after his Tweets appeared he stopped being employed by PayPal.
New Orleans is one of the most interesting and exciting cities in the world. I have had the pleasure of visiting the city on many occasions and experiencing some of the fun festivals and events that the city hosts. However, not everything one does in New Orleans is meant for the entire world to see. Unfortunately, what goes on in "Vegas (or in New Orleans or anywhere else) stays in Vegas" may no long apply in the Digital Age.
The bottom line is that everyone, including self described "tech/social media experts", "social media consultants", and the "digerati" need to better understand the ramifications of publicly posting personal thoughts and/or images online. My hope is that those who read about this incident will realize that just because you may have a Twitter account it does not mean you should actively Tweet.
Copyright 2014 by Shear Law, LLC. All rights reserved.
The latest person who appears to have joined the #SocialMediaFail club is now former PayPal Director Rakesh Agrawal. According to The Daily Mail, Mr. Agrawal went on a late night Twitter tirade while in New Orleans. Mr. Agrawal appears to have made some derogatory comments about his co-workers online that became newsworthy very quickly. While there appears to be some dispute as to the timing of Mr. Agrawal's departure from PayPal; there is no denying that soon after his Tweets appeared he stopped being employed by PayPal.
New Orleans is one of the most interesting and exciting cities in the world. I have had the pleasure of visiting the city on many occasions and experiencing some of the fun festivals and events that the city hosts. However, not everything one does in New Orleans is meant for the entire world to see. Unfortunately, what goes on in "Vegas (or in New Orleans or anywhere else) stays in Vegas" may no long apply in the Digital Age.
The bottom line is that everyone, including self described "tech/social media experts", "social media consultants", and the "digerati" need to better understand the ramifications of publicly posting personal thoughts and/or images online. My hope is that those who read about this incident will realize that just because you may have a Twitter account it does not mean you should actively Tweet.
Copyright 2014 by Shear Law, LLC. All rights reserved.
Sunday, May 4, 2014
The NBA, Donald Sterling, and Secretly Recording Professional Athletes, Coaches, and Owners
In the Digital Age, almost everyone has a smartphone that contains a video/audio recording feature. In general, this is a good feature that can be used to tape record your family doing fun things. Many people don't see this as a potential threat to personal privacy. However, if you are a celebrity, professional athlete, politician, billionaire, etc... there is a possibility that your most embarrassing and/or private moments may be recorded for blackmail purposes. This in turn may create tremendous financial and reputational harm.
The Donald Sterling matter demonstrates that even the people whom you may allegedly trust the most, such as your "personal assistant" or your "silly rabbit" may tape your private conversations without your knowledge for personal gain. This is a growing problem in the sports world. For example, according to ESPN former Golden State Warriors assistant coach Darren Erman secretly taped his fellow coaches and players without their knowledge. It appears he may have done this via his smartphone. The motive for Mr. Erman's behavior is not yet known but his actions appear to have been illegal.
In some states such as California, two party consent is required when taping a conversation. I find it hard to believe that Sterling would have consented to being taped making racist and sexist comments to his "personal assistant"/"silly rabbit". However, until all of the facts are available it is only speculation as to whether he consented. In addition, I doubt Mr. Erman's fellow coaches and the players on his team would have consented to having their private conversations recorded.
The bottom line is that while smartphones, apps, and other new digital technologies may help make our lives easier they may also capture unpleasant personal activities and enable them to be easily shared to the entire world in an instant. This is why it is so important to take the precautions necessary to protect yourself in the Digital Age.
Copyright 2014 by Shear Law, LLC. All rights reserved.
The Donald Sterling matter demonstrates that even the people whom you may allegedly trust the most, such as your "personal assistant" or your "silly rabbit" may tape your private conversations without your knowledge for personal gain. This is a growing problem in the sports world. For example, according to ESPN former Golden State Warriors assistant coach Darren Erman secretly taped his fellow coaches and players without their knowledge. It appears he may have done this via his smartphone. The motive for Mr. Erman's behavior is not yet known but his actions appear to have been illegal.
In some states such as California, two party consent is required when taping a conversation. I find it hard to believe that Sterling would have consented to being taped making racist and sexist comments to his "personal assistant"/"silly rabbit". However, until all of the facts are available it is only speculation as to whether he consented. In addition, I doubt Mr. Erman's fellow coaches and the players on his team would have consented to having their private conversations recorded.
The bottom line is that while smartphones, apps, and other new digital technologies may help make our lives easier they may also capture unpleasant personal activities and enable them to be easily shared to the entire world in an instant. This is why it is so important to take the precautions necessary to protect yourself in the Digital Age.
Copyright 2014 by Shear Law, LLC. All rights reserved.
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