Internet & Computer Law Archives - Page 5 of 34

The Net Neutrality Coup

Wall St. Journal: “The Federal Communications Commission’s new ‘net neutrality’ rules, passed on a partisan 3-2 vote . . . represent a huge win for a slick lobbying campaign run by liberal activist groups and foundations. The losers are likely to be consumers who will see innovation and investment chilled by regulations that treat the Internet like a public utility. There’s little evidence the public is demanding these rules . . . . Over 300 House and Senate members have signed a letter opposing FCC Internet regulation, and there will undoubtedly be even less support in the next Congress.”

Congress Unwilling to Pass Law on Net Neutrality so Unelected FCC Chairman to Propose Plan & Do an End Around

Washington Post: “The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission plans to announce Wednesday a controversial proposal that would prohibit Internet providers from favoring or discriminating against any traffic that goes over their networks.”

See another story on this topic at the Wall St. Journal called “FCC Sets Net-Neutrality Vote.”

For more on unelected bureaucrats making laws without the consent of the governed, read “Coming: Gov’t By Regulation Instead Of Law.”

Homeland Security Seizes Domain Names

The Hill: “Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has seized dozens of domain names over the past few days . . . . ICE appears to be targeting sites that help Internet users download copyrighted music, as well as sites that sell bootleg goods, such as fake designer handbags.”

See “U.S. Government Seizes BitTorrent Search Engine Domain and More” for a list of the domains that were ceased by ICE.

Classmates.com Tied To More Dubious Marketing Tactics

Classmates.com is accused of misleading consumers and has agreed to pay $9.5 million to settle a suit but did not admit any wrongdoing.

Facebook Wins Lawsuit Brought by Kicked-off User

Internet Cases: “Plaintiff eventually got kicked off of Facebook because she allegedly harassed other users, doing things like sending friend requests to people she did not know. When Facebook refused to reactivate plaintiff’s account (even after she drove from her home in Maryland to Facebook’s California offices twice), she sued. Facebook moved to dismiss the lawsuit. The court granted the motion.”