Internet Law Commons^™

State Government—The Arkansas Freedom Of Information Act—Houston We Have A Problem: A Coach And A Comptroller Illustrate The Repercussions Of Releasing Electronic Information Through The Arkansas Freedom Of Information Act, Alexander Justiss

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

FOIA provides a necessary oversight by which Arkansans can monitor the actions of those within the government. FOIA ensures that its purpose may not be thwarted by prohibiting the transfer, withdrawal, or destruction of documents in an attempt to prevent their release to the public. The executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the government are subject to the FOIA. FOIA statutorily exempts certain public records that would otherwise be accessible to Arkansans. Additionally, the Arkansas Constitution provides numerous safeguards to protect the privacy rights of individuals.

Issues arise with electronic communication under FOIA so various judicial and Attorney General opinions …

Age Verification As A Shield For Minors On The Internet: A Quixotic Search?, Francoise Gilbert

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

This article examines the issues raised by the use of the Internet by minors and children. In addition to being an outstanding source of information and a tool for connecting people in numerous affinity networks, the Internet has a dark side. Its resources may be abused for many bad deeds, including cyber bullying or facilitating encounters with child predators. One way to protect minors is to ensure that their age and identity is verified. However, this is not technically feasible without infringing on the privacy of these children as well as that of the adults who might have to be …

Federal Tax Consequences Of Virtual World Transactions, G. Martin Bingisser

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

This article discusses the tax consequences of transactions involving Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (“MMORPGs”). MMORPGs have recently grown in popularity and developed significant economic activity. Virtual goods used in these games are traded for both real and virtual currency. While few dispute that a sale of virtual goods for real currency is a taxable event, more complex tax issues arise concerning transactions that occur solely within virtual worlds. This article analyzes the tax consequences and policy issues surrounding such transactions.

Myspace Or Yours? The Impact Of The Myspace-Attorneys General Agreement On Online Businesses, Chelsea Peters

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

On January 14, 2008, social networking Web site MySpace.com announced an agreement with the Attorneys General of forty-nine states and the District of Columbia aimed at increasing the safety of children online. MySpace.com and the Attorneys General created a “Joint Statement on Key Principles of Social Networking Sites Safety,” which sets forth various principles and goals for improving online safety for children through new online safety tools, design and functionality changes, education tools, and law enforcement cooperation. This article closely examines the agreement between MySpace.com and the Attorneys General and attempts to determine whether any best practices have emerged regarding …

Does The U.S. Safe Web Act Strike The Proper Balance Between Law Enforcement Interests And Privacy Interests?, Shaobin Zhu

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

The Internet and advances in telecommunications technology present unprecedented opportunities for cross-border fraud and deception directed at U.S. consumers and businesses. However, the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) ability to obtain effective relief may face practical impediments in prosecuting these cross-border wrongdoers. To help address the challenges posed by the globalization of fraud, President Bush signed the Undertaking Spam, Spyware and Fraud Enforcement With Enforcers Beyond Borders Act of 2006 (“U.S. SAFE WEB Act” or “Act”) into law on December 22, 2006. This Article discusses the FTC’s expanded enforcement authority granted by the Act to fight fraud and deception, and particularly …

Liability For Search Engine Triggering Of Trademarked Keywords After Rescuecom, Riana Pfefferkorn

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

“Trademark keying” is the practice of buying and selling trademarked terms as keywords in search engine advertising campaigns. In September 2006, a federal district court in Rescuecom Corp. v. Google, Inc. held that the practice does not constitute trademark use, a threshold criterion in a trademark infringement claim. Since Rescuecom, the focus of trademark keying litigation has shifted, giving some guidance to potential litigants. In addition, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has diverged from other circuits. While federal courts within the Second Circuit have fashioned the emerging rule that an advertiser’s internal use of trademarked …

Celebrity In Cyberspace: A Personality Rights Paradigm For Personal Domain Name Disputes, Jacqueline D. Lipton

Washington and Lee Law Review

When the Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts fought for control of the domain name, what was her aim? Did she want to reap economic benefits from the name? Probably not, as she has not used the name since it was transferred to her. Or did she want to prevent others from using it on either an unjust enrichment or a privacy basis? Was she, in fact, protecting a trademark interest in her name? Personal domain name disputes, particularly those in the space, implicate unique aspects of an individual's persona in cyberspace. Nevertheless, most of the legal rules developedfor these disputes are …

Maintaining Government Accountability: Calls For A "Public Use" Beyond Eminent Domain, Gregory S. Knapp

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The U.S. On Tilt: Why The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act Is A Bad Bet, Gerd Alexander

Duke Law & Technology Review

The United States federal government’s attempts to curb Internet gambling are beginning to resemble a game of whack-a-mole. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (the "UIGEA" or "Act") represents its most recent attack on Internet gambling. This iBrief first looks at U.S. attempts to limit Internet gambling and how those efforts have affected gambling law and business. It then discusses how the UIGEA works and highlights some of its major limitations. This iBrief argues that the UIGEA will not only fail to rein in online gambling, but that the U.S. federal government is treading an improvident course towards …

The Newest Way To Screen Job Applicants: A Social Networker's Nightmare, Carly Brandenburg

Federal Communications Law Journal

Social networking is an easy way to share information with friends, family, and the company that just offered you an interview. Employers are utilizing all of the tools available to them as they strive to hire the right people, and this means that social networkers may need to self censor in order to protect their information from falling into the wrong hands. This Note questions whether social networkers can legally expect or enjoy any right to privacy with respect to their online postings.

Taxation Of Virtual Assets, Scott Wisniewski

Duke Law & Technology Review

The development of vast social networks through Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games has created in-game communities in which virtual assets have real-world values. The question has thus arisen whether such virtual assets are legal subjects of taxation. This iBrief will detail and discuss the various exclusions to taxable income, and analyze their application to the possibility of creating potential tax liability based on in-kind exchanges of virtual assets.

Confronting The Limits Of The First Amendment: A Proactive Approach For Media Defendants Facing Liability Abroad, Michelle A. Wyant

San Diego International Law Journal

This Article confronts the limits this issue imposes on the First Amendment in four parts. Part I described the potential for conflicting defamation laws and forum shopping to undermine the American media's speech protections in the context of the Internet and global publications and outlines the Article's overall method of analysis. Part II first orients these conflicting defamation laws with respect to their development from the common law. It then frames them in terms of the underlying structural and policy differences that have produced their substantive divergence. This frame provides the analytical perspective through which this Article examines the varying …

Ensuring That Only Adults "Go Wild" On The Web: The Internet And Section 2257'S Age-Verification And Record-Keeping Requirements, M. Eric Christense

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

Fcc Regulation: Indecency By Interest Groups, Patricia Daza

Duke Law & Technology Review

FCC regulations are among the most controversial administrative law regulations because of their impact on broadcast television. This iBrief analyzes the history of FCC regulation and highlights the problems associated with the current model. Applying theories of economics, this iBrief proposes solutions to the current problems of selective enforcement and vagueness in enforcement. While the Supreme Court recognized that FCC regulation is necessary, it is also necessary for there to be a clearer model for how the agency should be run.

Internet Search And Seizure In United States V. Forrester: New Problems In The New Age Of Pen Registers, Deborah Buckner

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

Applying The Americans With Disabilities Act To Private Websites After National Federation Of The Blind V. Target, Jeffrey Bashaw

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California recently held that websites which are tightly integrated with a physical store must be accessible to the blind, or risk running afoul of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The court in this case, National Federation of the Blind v. Target (“Target”), declined to grant summary judgment for Target, a retailer which operates both physical stores and an e-commerce website, in a suit alleging that Target’s website, Target.com, was discriminating against the blind. This Article will describe the narrow application of Target, which found that websites which are …

Is The Internet A Viable Threat To Representative Democracy?, David M. Thompson

Duke Law & Technology Review

The Internet, despite its relatively recent advent, is critical to millions of Americans’ way of life. Although the Internet arguably opens new opportunities for citizens to become more directly involved in their government, some scholars fear this direct involvement poses a risk to one of the Constitution’s most precious ideals: representative democracy. This iBrief explores whether the constitutional notion of representation is vulnerable to the Internet’s capacity to open new vistas for a more direct democracy by analyzing statistics and theories about why voters in the United States do or do not vote and by examining the inherent qualities of …

Introduction: Contains Cover, Table Of Contents, Letter From The Editor, And Masthead, Bridget Murray

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The Richmond Journal of Law and Technology is proud to present the second issue of the 2008–2009 academic school year. Our authors analyze a variety of controversial legal topics that are at the forefront of debates regarding the intersection of technology and law.

Introduction: Contains Cover, Table Of Contents, Letter From The Editor, And Masthead, Eileen R. Geller

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The Richmond Journal of Law and Technology is proud to present its final issue of the 2007–2008 academic school year. Our authors tackle a number of emerging issues in ways we think you’ll find especially interesting.

Royalty Rate-Setting For Webcasters: A Royal(Ty) Mess, Amy Duvall

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The Internet is a haven for free expression. Not only are content-based restrictions disfavored, but "[the internet] provides relatively unlimited, low-cost capacity for communication of all kinds." Almost half of all Americans have listened to music online, whether rebroadcasts of terrestrial radio or to find niche music that terrestrial radio simply does not play, and 13 percent tune in regularly. Webcasters provide a unique outlet for new artists; however, if royalty rates are set too high for all but the largest webcasters to stay in business, the variety of music available will be severely restricted. Musical diversity stimulates the generation …

Can We Dicker Online Or Is Traditional Contract Formation Really Dying - Rethinking Traditional Contract Formation For The World Wide Web, Tatiana Melnik

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

When most people imagine the process of contract formation, they picture two people sitting down and negotiating, arguing about particular contract provisions and particular contract terminology, and maybe even involving attorneys to draft an "official" version of the contract. Regardless of the specific details people imagine, traditional contract formation generally involves some form of negotiation between two parties where they choose one set of terms over another. In modern society, however, such negotiation happens very rarely. People enter into many contracts on a daily basis, for example, when they purchase goods or services online. Online purchases are governed by computers, …

E-Contract Doctrine 2.0: Standard Form Contracting In The Age Of Online User Participation , Shmuel I. Becher, Tal Z. Zarsky

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The growing popularity of e-commerce transactions revives the perennial question of consumer contract law: should non-salient provisions of consumer standard form contracts be enforced? With the focus presently on an ex-ante analysis, scholars debate whether consumers can and should read standardized terms at the time of contracting. In today's information age, such a focus might be misguided. The online realm furnishes various tools, so-called "Web 2.0" applications, which encourage the flow of information from experienced to prospective consumers. This Article, therefore, reframes the analysis of online consumer contracts while taking into account this new flow of information. In doing so, …

A New Frontier Or Merely A New Medium - An Analysis Of The Ethics Of Blawgs, Justin Krypel

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The purpose of this Note is to investigate those rules of ethics which interact with attorney blogs, placing a special emphasis on advertising rules. The central finding is that, under the Supreme Court's current First Amendment jurisprudence, attorney blogs (or, more cleverly, "blawgs") are not subject to regulation by the ethics codes of the ABA or the various state bars. Furthermore, if the Supreme Court were to, for some reason, construe blawgs as falling outside of First Amendment protection, evidence suggests that regulating this new medium would be neither desirable nor effective. Part II outlines the historical framework which underlies …

The Google Dilemma, James Grimmelmann

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Information Policy For The Library Of Babel, James Grimmelmann

Journal of Business & Technology Law

No abstract provided.

Youtube Viewers Become Unwitting Players In Google-Viacom Litigation, Bill Tasch

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

How Illinois Is Using Telemedicine To Improve Health Care Access In Rural Communities, Holly Carnell

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Bridging The Digital Divide: Improving Broadband Access For Rural Americans, Brian Witkowski

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Rural Telehealth Networks: Saving Lives Through Increased Connectivity, Ann Weilbaecher

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Three Questions That Will Make You Rethink The U.S.-China Intellectual Property Debate, 7 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 412 (2008), Peter K. Yu

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

Commentators have attributed China’s piracy and counterfeiting problems to the lack of political will on the part of Chinese authorities. They have also cited the many political, social, economic, cultural, judicial, and technological problems that have arisen as a result of the country’s rapid economic transformation and accession to the WTO. This provocative essay advances a third explanation. It argues that the failure to resolve piracy and counterfeiting problems in China can be partly attributed to the lack of political will on the part of U.S. policymakers and the American public to put intellectual property protection at the very top …