FTC Settlement: Apple to refund $32 million dollars for children's in-app purchases

Yesterday, the FTC announced that Apple will provide full consumer refunds of at least $32.5 million dollars to settle an FTC complaint that it charged for kids' in-app purchases without parental consent.  This settlement demonstrates that the FTC is continuing to protect our children and families against potential unfair and misleading trade practices in the digital space.

The FTC complaint alleged Apple violated the FTC Act by failing to tell parents that by entering a single password they were consenting to an in-app purchase.  In particular, it was alleged that parents (account holders) were not informed that entering their password would open a 15-minute window in which children can incur unlimited charges. Under the Consent Order, Apple is required to change its billing practices to ensure that it has obtained "express, informed consent from consumers" before billing for items sold in mobile apps.

The FTC's mobile apps for kids reports put mobile app developers and ecosystem owners on notice that the FTC is watching the entire space to protect children and families from unfair and deceptive trade practices.  This new enforcement action combined with the FTC's previous activities reinforces the notion that the mobile environment contains serious personal privacy and safety issues along with potential unfair trade practice issues that need to be addressed.

Copyright 2014 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.

Canadian Teen Convicted of Sexting Child Pornography

A Canadian teenager was recently convicted of sexting pornographic photos.  According to CNN, a teenage girl was found guilty of distributing via text pornographic photos of her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend.

This case appears to have occurred because a teenager became jealous that her boyfriend was still in contact with his ex-girlfriend.  According to prosecutors, the convicted teenager initially threatened her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend on Facebook.  The defendant then allegedly texted five naked photos of the ex-girlfriend that she found on her boyfriend's cell phone to several other people.  The prosecutors examined approximately 36,000 texts during the investigation.  The parties involved in this matter were approximately the same age. 

This appears to be an unfortunate situation that before the Social Media Age would never have occurred.  In general, child pornography laws were intended to stop those over the age of majority (in general 18 years of age) from exploiting minors. Does this case demonstrate a need to re-examine child pornography laws? 

Due to the proliferation of cell phones and mobile apps that make sharing images (i.e. photos and videos) extremely easily, it is imperative that teenagers learn about the legal issues inherent with social media usage.  Unfortunately, it would not surprise me if these cases become more common in the future. 

Copyright 2014 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.

Digital Miranada Warning: IAC Executive Learns The Hard Way That You Have the Right To Remain Silent Online

Too many people don't understand the power of social media.  Fortune 500 executives, professional athletes, student-athletes, students, entertainers, politicians, etc... have all gotten into hot water because of their digital usage.  I regularly counsel members of these groups about the legal, business, and reputational challengers inherent with social media and other digital communication tools and it pains me whenever I hear about someone posting something online that may destroy their professional career. 

The latest Tweet that has gone viral and may be a career killer was posted on an account allegedly utilized by pr executive Justine Sacco of IAC.  She allegedly wrote while en route to Africa, "Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS.  Just Kidding.  I'm white!"  By the time Ms. Sacco's plane landed, this message on her account went viral and caused a pr nightmare for herself and her employer IAC.

Too many self styled "branding experts", "social media consultants", etc.. advise people to share too many personal opinions online.  I disagree with this advice and generally agree with Mark Twain's adage, " [i]t is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt."

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marktwain103535.html#STC0rGBGPI5OUGP7.99

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marktwain103535.html#qG8bQHKbUMwqmy7s.99

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marktwain103535.html#qG8bQHKbUMwqmy7s.99

Internet users may want to learn about my Digital Miranda Warning that is a take off of the criminal law Miranda Warning that suspects are provided. The Miranda Warning states, "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak with me?"

My Digital Miranda Warning sates, "You have the right to post online.  Anything you post online can and will be used against you by employers, schools, the media, etc....  You have the right not to post online.  If you feel compelled to post, don't upload anything that may make you look unprofessional.  With these rights in mind, do you still wish to post online?"

While my Digital Miranda Warning has saved some of my clients from digital career destruction, my hope is that more people become educated about the risks associated with utilizing social media before their online behavior destroys their reputation.

Copyright 2013 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.

Snapchat iOS Update May Be A Danger To Privacy

Privacy is in vogue.  I believe Mark Zuckerberg's so called "Law of Information Sharing" is dead. While we as a society may continue to share more information online via social media, the cloud, apps, email, etc... people are more aware of the dangers of sharing too much so they are changing their behavior accordingly. 

Facebook recently admitting that younger teens are using their platform less.  Why? The answer is debatable; however, I believe it has something to do with parents, employers, schools, the police, governments, etc... wanting access to their personal digital content.  To help users believe the content they send online is safe from prying eyes multiple apps and other digital services have popped up that claim that user privacy is built in by design.  One of the most popular apps that claim they are built with privacy in mind is Snapchat.

Snapchat has become so popular that it was recently reported that Facebook tried to acquire the company for $3 billion dollars and Google may have offered $4 billion dollars.  There are allegedly 400 million snaps (images sent via Snapchat) received daily on the platform apparently because users believe their content is safer sent via Snapchat than through other services.

While Snapchat offers some better privacy protections than other content sharing apps due to its allegedly disappearing photo offering, its latest iOS update Replay feature actually endangers user privacy by allowing an image to be re-viewed at a later time.  In general, when opening a snap you don't have another image capturing device handy to take an image of the snap being viewed.  Usually, one opens a snap and it disappears after several seconds.  No harm, no foul unless the receiver has another image capturing device handy.  With the new Replay option enabled, if someone sends a  nude selfie or other potentially scandalous image, the receiver now may have plenty of time to have another device ready to capture the image.

Before this iOS update, images sent via Snapchat could be re-purposed beyond their intended usage and there have been some publicized incidents of snaps creating problems for those in the image(s).   For example, a Missouri mom is in legal trouble and was recently charged with endangering the welfare of a child (one of her kids) due to a topless photo her daughter took of her that was sent via Snapchat.  This case demonstrates the potential dangers users may encounter when taking personal photographs/videos and disseminating the images via digital platforms; even through Snapchat.

Providing a "second bite at the apple" to view content that a user has deemed "Snapable" or more private than images shared via Facebook is a danger to privacy.  Once content is digitized, it can potentially be sent anywhere in the world and saved for an infinite period of time.  Allowing more opportunities to view potentially scandalous content may put users' privacy at risk.

Copyright 2013 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.

Sextortionist jailed for sexual cyber blackmail

A sexual cyber blackmailer was jailed for 5 years for hacking the digital media accounts of at least 350 women.  Sextortionist Karen "Gary" Kazaryan pleaded guilty in July to charges that he hacked into women's email and/or social media accounts and trolled them for nude and sexually-suggestive pictures from his California home.

According to court documents, Kazaryan gained unauthorized access to digital accounts and then obtained naked pictures of his victims and extorted them to provide additional photos and/or videos. If his victims refused his demands, he posted the original embarrassing content on the Internet.  The sentencing memorandum stated "[Kazaryan's] victims were devastated and felt like they had been raped".  More than 3000 nude images were found on Kazaryan's computer.

It wouldn't surprise me if more of these types of crimes are prosecuted in the near future.  However, is 5 years enough of a sentence to deter others from following in Kazaryan's footsteps? 

Copyright 2013 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.

FTC Settles Charges Android Flashlight Mobile App Deceived Users

The FTC is continuing to crack down on companies that are intentionally misleading their users about privacy issues.  According to the FTC, the "Brightest Flashlight" app shared users' location, and device ID without their users' consent. Goldenshores Technologies, LLC was behind the app and this enforcement action appears to be the first involving geo-location data obtained from mobile devices.

The FTC put the mobile ecosystem on notice almost 2 years ago about their privacy concerns.  For example, in February 2012, the FTC issued a mobile privacy report that was focused on children and did a follow up titled Mobile Apps For Kids Report in December 2012.  These investigations demonstrated that some industry players needed to do a better of protecting their users' privacy.  The FTC released another report in February 2013 that reinforced the importance of these issues.  In July 2013, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) published a draft of self-regulatory guidelines for privacy notices for mobile app and the Digital Advertising Alliance released a best practices guide for its members.

The FTC's announcement of this action is very timely considering that the lead article on the front page of today's Washington Post discussed how the NSA tracks cellphone locations worldwide.  A major problem with Goldenshores' app was that it did not disclose that user information would be "sent to third parties, such as advertising networks."  Another problem with the app was that before a consumer could choose to accept its terms and conditions, it began collecting and sending the potential users' personal information to third parties.

To view the settlement here is the link.  Public comments will be accepted through January 6, 2014. To contact the FTC regarding this matter here is the link.  Mobile app creators must be transparent and honest with their customers about the information that they collect and re-purpose. I make a personal choice to avoid many apps due to the privacy issues inherent and it would not surprise me if more mobile app companies incorporate privacy into the design of their products in the near future.

With access comes responsibility.  The more information a mobile app maker collects about their users the more information that the NSA and/or other government entities may be able to collect and utilize.  Apps and mobile ecosystems that are collecting a lot of information about their users are not only harming their users' personal privacy but also making it easy for the NSA to spy on their users.

Copyright 2013 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.

Are States Taking The Lead to Enforce Digital Privacy Laws?

Recently, 37 states and the District of Columbia reached a $17 million dollar settlement with Google over its intentional circumvention of Internet users' privacy settings.  The case stemmed from "Google's bypassing of privacy settings in Apple's Safari browser to use cookies to track users and show them advertisements in 2011 and 2012."  This multi-state agreement followed Google's $22.5 million dollar settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over the same practice.  In total, Google has paid approximately $40 million dollars to federal/state regulators for intentionally harming the personal privacy rights of Internet users in this matter.

Google's ability to circumvent Apple's Safari browser setting was uncovered and publicized by the Wall Street Journal on February 17, 2012.  According to the Wall Street Journal's investigation, Google and several other advertising "companies used special computer code that trick[ed] Apple's Safari Web-browsing software" into letting them track the web-browsing habits of users who tried to protect their personal privacy.  After the Wall Street Journal contacted Google about its alleged illegal activities the company disabled the code.  However, why did the Wall Street Journal need to contact Google in order for it to stop violating the personal privacy rights of Internet users?

In 2011, the FTC "resolved charges that Google used deceptive tactics and violated its own privacy promises to consumers when it launched its social network, Google Buzz."  In 2012, Google paid a $7 million dollar fine to 38 states for privacy violations regarding its Street View project which collected "passwords, e-mail and other personal information from unsuspecting computer users."   Earlier this year, a lawsuit was allowed to proceed that, "alleges that Google illegally scanned emails for users of Internet service providers who used a self-branded version of Gmail, as well as for Google Apps for Education users".

While the focus of the state attorney generals and FTC investigations regarding this privacy matter have been on consumers why hasn't there been media attention on how Google's actions may have harmed students who utilized school provided Apple products?  In 2011, the New York Times discussed how thousands of students across the country were utilizing iPads because of special pilot programs and multi-million dollar government grants.  

Did Google intentionally disable the privacy settings on tax payer funded and/or government owned student iPads and other Apple products that use Safari browsers to track student interactions with teachers and/or other students for pecuniary gain?  How many students had their privacy rights violated by Google while utilizing school provided Apple products?  If a student surfing the web using Safari was logged into a Google account (i.e. Gmail, YouTube, Google +, Blogger, etc...) all of his school related web usage may have been tracked and monetized by Google.  Did Google's behavior violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)?  Why hasn't the Department of Education  opened an investigation into this matter?

If Google intentionally disabled the privacy settings of Internet users who chose to utilize a competitor's product (i.e. web browser Safari instead of Google's Chrome) how can Google be trusted to respect and protect the personal privacy of those who utilize Google products?  While Google has claimed it does not show ads by default to student users of its Google Apps For Education services, how can parents, guardians, teachers, and school administrators be sure that Google isn't still collecting, combining, and monetizing student data behind the scenes since it has been fined millions of dollars multiple times for violating the privacy rights of users in the past?

Sweden appears to have lost faith in Google's privacy promises and is requiring a municipality in Stockholm to rework its Google Apps For Education Agreement to better protect student data or its schools will be required to stop using Google's services.  Should Sweden's students have more privacy protections than those in the United States?

In Google's settlement agreement with 37 state attorney generals it lists in Appendix A the state consumer protection statutes/computer abuse statutes that Google allegedly violated.  Since some of these statutes may be utilized in conjunction with the federal U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) when digital wrongdoing is alleged why hasn't the Department of Justice (DOJ) opened an investigation into this matter?  Shouldn't the DOJ at least investigate these issues with the same vigor that resulted in Google forfeiting $500 million dollars due to its actions that enabled its users to unlawfully import controlled and non-controlled prescription drugs into the United States that may have violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and the Controlled Substances Act?

State attorney generals are utilizing their powers to hold Internet companies accountable for online violations of state law.  While the FTC is increasing its Internet enforcement activities, it is imperative for all interested parties to work in conjunction to ensure that those companies that break state and/or federal digital privacy laws are held accountable for their actions.

 

Copyright 2013 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.

Vietnam Enacts Law To Fine Social Media Critics

During the Thanksgiving holiday it is important that we give thanks to our country's forefathers who created a government and society that protects and values the freedom of speech.  This freedom is the bedrock of our democratic society.  The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution generally protects our citizens from being punished for criticizing the government.  This protection applies not only in the real world but also in the digital world. 

Not every country provides its citizens a "Frist Amendment" right to criticize their government.  According to AllThingsD.com, Vietnamese officials recently announced a new law that appears to provide its government the power to jail or issue steep fines to citizens who disparage the state via social media.

Vietnam's new law, "Decree 72" enables the government to hand out fines of 100 million dong ($4,740) to anyone criticizing the country on social media, and/or uses the Internet and information on the web to undermine the state.  According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, earlier this year 13 bloggers/activists were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 3 to 13 years for expressing their opinions on line. 

It is important to remember that when visiting foreign countries you must be aware of their laws to ensure that your digital activity does not create an international incident and/or land you in jail.

Copyright 2013 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.

Do Not Track Kids Act of 2013 Would Amend COPPA

Senator Ed Markey and Rep. Joe Barton have reintroduced House and Senate versions of their Do Not Track Kids Act, which would extend the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA) protections for "collection, use and disclosure of children's personal information" to teenagers 13-15.

The legislation would:  prohibit Internet companies from collecting personal and location information from anyone under 13 without parental consent and anyone 13 to 15 years old without the user's consent; require consent of the parent or teen prior to behavioral advertising to children and teens; establish a "Digital Marketing Bill of Rights for Teens" that limits the collection of personal information of teens, including geo-location information of children and teens; create an "eraser button" for parents and children by requiring companies to permit users to eliminate publicly available personal content when technologically feasible; and require digital companies to explain the types of personal information collected, how that information is utilized, and the policies for collection of personal information.

While I am not generally in favor of stricter regulations on the digital ecosystem that may potentially put greater constraints on how Internet companies may operate, the data collection and privacy policies of some companies have crossed the line and appear to require greater legal scrutiny.  According to a recent USA Today article about digital privacy and young people, "....the NSA can tap into online data to the extent it does largely because commercial companies, led by Google and Facebook, pursue business models that treat consumer privacy as a free profit-making resource."

The bottom line is that some companies have abused their marketplace position and it appears that a legislative fix is needed to protect our children from companies that put profits ahead of privacy.

Copyright 2013 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved. 

Did the NFL's Richie Incognito Violate Florida's Cyber-Harassment Law?

A very troubling situation in the Miami Dolphins' locker room is unfolding regarding alleged hazing and bullying.  It is alleged that Dolphins guard Richie Incognito was bullying offensive tackle Jonathan Martin in person, on the phone, on social media, and in texts.  My first job out of law school was with the National Football League Player's Association (NFLPA) and during my time there I assisted the NFLPA's Health and Safety Committee on several matters.  While hazing has long been a part of many professions, the reported allegations here are very troubling.

Hazing occurs in many walks of life and may be considered part and parcel of the team building process.  This behavior occurs in the military and the plot of the movie "A Few Good Men" centers around what happens when hazing goes to far.  A recent case in Afghanistan demonstrates that in some instances this type of behavior can kill.  The movies "Full Metal Jacket" and "An Officer and A Gentleman" also provide examples of hazing by fellow soldiers and by one's commanding officer.  Hazing incidents at some colleges demonstrate that this behavior is not confined to the military and may take many forms.  Mental cruelty, physical labor, and over work until exhaustion or death have been documented. 

When do hazing incidents cross the line from "team building exercises" to violations of the law?  Florida has a statute that appears to shed some light on this issue.  Under Florida's law,
(2) A person who willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follows, harasses, or cyberstalks another person commits the offense of stalking, a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

(3) A person who willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follows, harasses, or cyberstalks another person and makes a credible threat to that person commits the offense of aggravated stalking, a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.

While it is too early to speculate on whether Incognito violated Florida law since not all of the facts are known, if Incognito's voice mails, texts, Tweets, in person interactions, etc.. demonstrates that he "repeatedly" harassed Martin it would not surprise me if charges are brought against Incognito to make an example out of him.  Last month, two girls (12 and 14 years of age) in Florida were arrested after they allegedly tormented a 12-year-old until she committed suicide.  Therefore, Incognito may want to seek legal counsel sooner rather than later.     

The bottom line is that states across the country are amending their laws to account for digital harassment.  While some of these laws may potentially conflict with the First Amendment, the march towards treating digital matters the same as off line issues continues and demonstrates the need for not only NFL players but for everyone to better understand how their digital usage may create tremendous legal liability.     

Copyright 2013 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.

Penn State Sex Abuse Scandal Costs Approach $200 Million Dollars Due To Digital Evidence

The Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal at Penn State was horrific.  More than 2 dozen young men were molested by former Penn State football coach Sandusky.  Their lives were forever changed because it appears that some members of the Penn State community tried to cover up the situation instead of stepping in to help those abused.

Last year, a jury found Sandusky guilty of 45 charges of sexual abuse and he will most likely spend the rest of his life in prison.  The fallout from the matter has included numerous lawsuits against Penn State.  Earlier today, Penn State announced that it had agreed to pay almost $60 million dollars to 26 plaintiffs who alleged they were molested by Sandusky.

It was also recently disclosed that Penn State has so far spent more than $50 million dollars in legal fees and fines defending its conduct in this matter and the university still owes $48 million dollars of a $60 million dollar fine to the NCAA. While it is too soon to speculate on the overall economic loss to the entire Penn State community, this cost may reach hundreds of millions of dollars.  While we may never be able to fully measure the precise human toll this scandal has caused, we can put a ball park figure on the economic toll so far and it appears to be north of $150 million dollars ($60 million dollars in settlements, $50 million dollars in legal fees/fines, etc.., $48 million dollars over the next 4 years in NCAA fines).

Strong eye witness testimony at trial that Sandusky was a sexual abuser appears to have swayed the jury.  Interestingly, there was not much evidence that appeared to demonstrate that Penn State knew or should have known that they were allowing a child molester to roam free throughout its football facilities.  The main evidence that appears to prove Penn State officials turned a blind eye to Sandusky's illegal activities was a handful of emails more than ten years old.

On November 10, 2011, I warned that the Sandusky scandal may cost Penn State more than $100 million dollars.  On June 30, 2012, I wrote, "[d]igital evidence from eleven years ago may be the smoking gun that demonstrates that Penn State knew about Sandusky but intentionally did nothing to stop Sandusky...."  On July 23, 2012, I stated, "[i]t appears that this scandal may end up costing Penn State closer to $150-$200 million dollars now that the NCAA has taken unprecedented action.

Many of the social media monitoring companies that approach schools lie about their founder's background/experience and/or monetize the personal student data they are collecting.  Schools that engage these social media monitoring companies may be on the hook for tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in legal liability if they continue to engage these companies.

The Obannon vs. NCAA case demonstrates that schools are very vulnerable to legal liability issues regarding a student-athletes' image and likeness rights.  The Obannon case along with the Penn State sex abuse scandal should put schools and the NCAA on notice that once they are aware of an issue but do not act to properly resolve it they may be liable for tens or hundreds of millions (or more) of dollars in damages. 

Schools that utilize social media monitoring services to track their student-athletes' and/or employees' personal digital activities are treading on thin ice.  Engaging these companies may not only lead to lawsuits, but to punative damage settlements that are designed to deter this behavior in the future.  Does every school need to experience a major scandal before realizing the legal liability issues inherent with digital evidence?
  
Copyright 2013 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.

White House Twitter Critic Fired Over Tweets

A Twitter Critic of the White House was recently unmasked and fired from his Obama administration job.  According to the Daily Beast, Jofi Joseph, a member of in the National Security Staff was terminated from his position after he was caught as the person behind the Twitter handle @natsecwonk.

In the past, those who wanted to criticize the President and/or his staff would reach out to Bob Woodward of the Washington Post or another reporter and the information would end up in the newspaper and/or in a book.  However, now it appears that internal administration critics are going directly to the public via Twitter and/or other digital platforms.

At first glance, it doesn't appear that Mr. Joseph released top secret material in his Tweets.  Anonymous digital postings are usually not very reliable.  However, Mr. Joseph's unmasking and termination has now provided some credibility to the anonymous Tweets that previously were not given much weight by those outside the administration.  According to Mr. Joseph's comments to Politico, "[w]hat started out as an intended parody account of DC culture developed over time into a series of inappropriate and mean-spirited comments."       

Why is the Obama administration spending tremendous resources hunting down Twitter critics?  The administration has been actively targeting journalists and their sources for some time.  How did the White House actually unmask its Twitter critic?  Did the White House ask for and receive Twitter's assistance?  Does the administration realize that silencing a Twitter critic has made the matter worse because of the Streisand Effect?  Since the Tweets in question appear to be just inappropriate and mean-spirited why should the administration care?

Mishandling and/or leaking classified documents and/or information may be a crime depending upon the circumstances.  If Mr. Joseph's digital activities violated any laws he should be prosecuted like anyone else.  However, posting negative Tweets about those in the government is not a crime.   In a democracy, this is called exercising our freedom of speech rights.  Last week, I spoke to a group of international government officials who wanted to know what to do when someone anonymously mocks them online.  My response was to "get some thicker skin". 

While there may be some potential First Amendment, employee/employer, and national security legal issues to address once all of the facts have come to light, at the end of the day this is about a person who happens to be a government employee Tweeting anonymously about his personal observations and/or thoughts about the inner workings of the government.  Nothing more.   

President Obama is the first President to become elected because of social media and his administration has utilized multiple digital platforms to convey his message directly to the entire world without a media filter.  Its time for some members of the President's inner circle to get some thicker skin and realize they are the first administration to govern in the Social Media Age.  The administration's "Twitter critic mole hunt" raises more questions than it answers. 

Copyright 2013 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.

Facebook criticized for ending ban on beheading videos

Facebook has recently announced that it will end its ban on beheading videos.  Within hours after announcing that it was lifting its ban, it was criticized for its new policy.  This change caused such an uproar that even British Prime Minister mentioned his dismay about it.

Facebook is a private entity and if you want to utilize its platform you need to play by its rules.  It creates policies to drive as much traffic to its web site as possible.  The more users/eyeballs the more advertising dollars. The more advertising dollars it generates the more profits that may be sent to its stockholders.  Facebook is not in the privacy and censorship business but in the digital monetization business.  

Parents and politicians need to understand that Facebook was not created as a sanitary place for kids to "hang out".  Facebook was created by Mark Zuckerberg to encourage Harvard college students to meet and interact with other college students to do "grown up things".  The sooner people realize this the better.   

Copyright 2013 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.       

Will Facebook's New Timeline Policy Assist Cyber bullies, Stalkers, and Murderers?

Facebook's recent decision to eliminate the ability for users to hide from a Timeline search may be a boon to Cyber bullies, stalkers, murders, etc.. who utilize Facebook to harm others.  As Forbes noted earlier this year, "the new tool will make Facebook stalking much easier".

Facebook's business model is basically, "we built an online hang out for you to you play in, so go play; however, everything you do in our playroom is subject to our rules and we may change them at anytime so we can better monetize your digital activities."  This philosophy is made crystal clear in Facebook's terms and conditions.

Facebook is currently being used by murderers, rapists, criminals, etc.. to commit unlawful acts.  For example, a model was killed last year after her stalker lured her to her death utilizing Facebook.  In 2010, a rapist used Facebook to create a fake profile so he stalk an ex-girlfriend.  Earlier this year, a murderer connected with his victim through Facebook to kidnap and kill a teenager.  

The bottom line is that Facebook should do more to protect its users' privacy.  This policy change may be perceived as one that does not protect the privacy of its users.  Perception becomes reality.  One simple way for users to perceive that Facebook still cares about its users' privacy is to enable users to be able to hide from a Timeline search.

While Facebook has generally been immune from defections due to its privacy policies could this be the tipping point that changes its users' perception about the social network?

Copyright 2013 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved. 

Court: Fake Social Media Profiles Of Teachers By Students Ok

In the Social Media Age, the old adage that "sticks and stones can break my bones, but names can never harm me" is more important than ever.  In a recent case, an assistant middle school principal sued 5 students and their parents because the students allegedly created fake social media profiles of him that were not flattering. 

The assistant middle school principal claimed that the students violated the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.  The court dismissed one of the students from the lawsuit and it would not surprise me if the court dismisses the rest of the plaintiff's claims soon.  While the plaintiff may have a stronger case suing under another theory, I believe the students and their parents have a strong First Amendment defense that may defeat most if not all potential claims. 

Last year, North Carolina enacted a law that makes it unlawful for students to:

Use a computer or computer network to do any of the following:

(1)        With the intent to intimidate or torment a school employee, do any of the following:

a.         Build a fake profile or Web site.

b.         Post or encourage others to post on the Internet private, personal, or sexual information pertaining to a school employee.

c.         Post a real or doctored image of the school employee on the Internet.

While North Carolina's law has good intentions, I would find it hard to believe that it does not violate the First Amendment.  It would not surprise me if a federal court eventually rules that this law is unconstitutional.   

The bottom line is that schools need to do a better job of educating their students, teachers, and administrators about digital issues.

Copyright 2013 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.