Internet Attorney: California Spam Law News

California is one of the few states that have an anti-spam law that’s used to beat spammers over the head in court. Note that the law can be used against spammers who are not based in California but are sending spam to people who live in California.

Here’s an intriguing new twist on how the law is being used.

A California state appellate court recently upheld a judgment against a spammer that in essence considered emails to be spam because (1) the sender wasn’t identified in the “From” line or elsewhere in the email; and (2) you couldn’t look up who the sender was by the domain name used to send it because of private/proxy domain name registrations. There’s a link to a complimentary copy of the court’s decision (PDF file) at the bottom of this blog post.

You may want to consider whether the emails you send provide information to identify who you are (hint – From “Marketing Guru” isn’t identification) and whether the recipients of your emails can use WHOIS to look you up via your domain name.

Not going to advise you on California law. If you need to speak with a California Internet litigator about the state’s spam laws, use the contact form on this blog and I’ll have my assistant get you the information.

internet law – california spam

Name And Shame Websites: Free Speech or Defamation?

What is a Name and Shame website?

Name and Shame websites are websites that post evidence of and commentary on actions performed by individuals, with the intent of shaming those individuals and others out of future performance.

In the United States, websites such as saltydroid.info post information about individuals with the intent of keeping those individuals from engaging in further actions. Not so much news as it is simply reporting on the misdeeds of others, Name and Shame websites have received scrutiny from those ‘shamed’ on their websites, and from lawmakers. A controversy has emerged where some feel ‘Name and Shame’ websites violate libel laws mean to protect individuals’ personal integrity, while others feel that Name and Shame websites contribute to the vibrant free speech so valuable in the contemporary world.

What did the Dubai based ‘Name and Shame’ website seek to do?

At the forefront of the debate about whether or not governments should allow ‘Name and Shame’ websites to post embarrassing and reputation-crippling information about individuals is a situation emerging out of Dubai. Specifically, a British man living in Dubai recently launched a campaign to ‘Name and Shame’ bad drivers and restaurants that perform poorly. The man claims his intention in launching the campaign was to hold people accountable for their actions through publicly airing his perception of their improper actions.

In an attempt to achieve this goal, the ‘Name and Shame’ man would log his DubaiNameShame website, and post incriminating photographs and analysis thereupon. The Dubai based web-user would then update a Twitter account with information about those posted on the ‘Name and Shame’ website. For example, the DubaiNameShame man could post a picture online of an individual driving poorly, and then other internet users could recognize, identify and, perhaps, ostracize that individual for his/her poor driving.

What happened after the ‘Name and Shame’ website posted information about individuals

Though the British man, whose identity remains unconfirmed, intended that his campaign make Dubai a safer and generally better city to live in, UAE officials might disagree. After having posted many pictures and comments online with the intent of naming and shaming those individuals out of further performance, many complained that the website was going too far. Specifically, some argued that the website violated UAE libel laws.

Fearing legal action, the British man removed all postings from his internet site, and vowed to discontinue posting information that might violate UAE law. The man, however, did promise to continue publishing and brining attention to improper behavior in accordance with UAE libel law. The controversy in its entirety might only directly affect the UAE, but lawmaking bodies and individuals have paid keen attention to the situations, wondering the ramifications it will have for their respective nations and internet communications throughout world in general.

Filed Under: Internet Lawyer Tagged With: internet attorney, internet defamation, internet libel, internet-lawyer, libel law, name and shame, name and shame websites free speech or defamation, shame websites, uae libel law, vibrant free speech

Internet Privacy and Facebook Facial Recognition Software

What does facial recognition software do?

A Carnegie Mellon University researcher recently proved the extent to which a person’s facial features alone can access information about that person.

Assembling a database of around 25,000 pictures acquired by Facebook, this researcher was able to identify individuals walking past him on a university campus with an astounding 31 percent accuracy. In other words, simply by looking at an individual’s facial features, this researcher’s computer program was capable of providing that researcher with the identity, relationship status, and physical address within around three seconds. For some, this technology poses an enormous privacy risk, as program users can know essentially all major details about a person simply by taking a picture of that person, and having a computer analyze that picture in a few seconds.

What are the potential benefits of such technology?

Benefits of the technology have immediately been hailed by various groups. Advertisers, for one, feel that this facial recognition technology could someday lead to more effective advertisements being sent to the individuals most inclined to purchase those goods. Perhaps, they argue, facial recognition technology could serve in a way similar to Google’s Adwords and similar technologies, which allow for the communication between two mutually interested parties.

Law enforcement officials also hail the technology as potentially beneficial for determining the identities for suspected criminals. Rather than relying on names, fingerprints, or other identifying markers, if police were able to use facial recognition software, perhaps they could more effectively complete their job. Prosecutors and other state officials could, perhaps, use technology to prevent wrongful convictions in the future.

What are the potential concerns about facial recognition technology?

Critics of the technology worry that facial recognition software would pose serious privacy concerns if precautions were not taken. They argue that such technology could manifest itself as a stalker’s dream come true. Since information could instantly be accessed about individuals seen at a distance by their mere appearance, stalkers and others could learn detailed information about individuals simply from looking at them from afar, and taking their picture.

Those concerned about the technology also have complained that, in the wrong hands, the technology could be exploited to limit anonymity and the freedom that it guarantees completely. For example, the personal information dating website users often choose not to reveal could be discovered if that user simply posts a single picture of himself/herself online. In the future, perhaps, critics have articulated that businesses, governments, and others could easily gain access to very personal information which could then be used against the individuals posting it.

Filed Under: Internet Lawyer, Privacy Tagged With: enormous privacy risk, facebook facial recognition, facebook privacy, facial recognition, facial recognition software, facial recognition technology, internet attorney, Internet privacy, internet privacy and facebook facial recognition software, internet-lawyer