Jun 25 2012

Indiana Court Upholds Social Media Ban for Sex Offenders

A recent ruling from the Southern District of Indiana is making news around the country. Despite a challenge by the ACLU, an Indiana law that bans sex offenders from various social media sites has been upheld. Indiana’s law is similar to laws being challenged in other states. The ACLU has promised an appeal to this ruling, so stay tuned for more.

A national civil rights group said Sunday it would appeal a federal judge’s decision to uphold an Indiana law that bans registered sex offenders from accessing Facebook and other social networking sites used by children.

On Friday, Judge Tanya Walton Pratt said in an 18-page order that the state has a strong interest in protecting children and that the rest of the Internet remains open to those who have been convicted.

“Social networking, chat rooms, and instant messaging programs have effectively created a ‘virtual playground’ for sexual predators to lurk,” Pratt wrote in the ruling, citing a 2006 report by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that found that one in seven youths had received online sexual solicitations and one in three had been exposed to unwanted sexual material online. ABC News

Below are the ruling and original complaint:

DOE v. PROSECUTOR, MARION COUNTY, INDIANA
1:12-cv-00062-TWP-MJD

View this document on Scribd

May 13 2012

Stories from the Week that Was – 5/6/12-5/12/12

A mid-week election saw Richard Mourdock topple long-standing Republican Senator Richard Lugar. Has anybody bothered to ask Mourdock or (Democrat rival) Joe Donnelly’s thoughts on legislation like CISPA and SNOPA? Not this week, when all the talk was about Zuckerberg’s hoodie and President Obama’s evolution on same-sex marriage.

Why the New gTLDs Don’t Matter

Clicking ‘Like’ on Facebook Is Not Protected Speech, Judge Rules

Property rights in the cloud: Your data or theirs?

Twitter Defends User In Court Over Occupy Tweets

Think That Email Isn’t a Contract? Think Again

Facebook bans Grooveshark over copyright complaint

How Should We Measure Damages for Defamation Over Social Media?

Mars Rover Opportunity Rolling Again After Winter Break

New NDAA Would Give the Military Clandestine Cyberwar Powers

“All of my friends who have younger siblings who are going to college or high school – my number one piece of advice is: You should learn how to program.” – Mark Zuckerberg

Apr 14 2012

Stories from the Week that Was – 4/8/12-4/14/12

Stories from the Week that Was - 4/8/12-4/14/12

President Obama Signs Into Law The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act

Amazon will now buy your old CDs

Maryland becomes first state to ban employers from asking for social media passwords

Warning from the USPTO Concerning Unofficial Trademark Solicitations

U.S. sees warmest March in recorded history, NOAA reports

SF Students Suspended & Barred From Walking At Graduation Because They Joked About Teachers On A Blog

Facebook To Acquire Instagram For $1 Billion

“Relying on the government to protect your privacy is like asking a peeping tom to install your window blinds.” – John Perry Barlow

Apr 7 2012

Stories from the Week that Was – 4/1/12-4/7/12

Stories from the Week that Was – 4/1/12-4/7/12

Mac Flashback Trojan: Find Out If You’re One of the 600,000 Infected

JOBS Act To Jumpstart The Job Market

Collector Sues William Eggleston Over New Prints of Old Photos

Indianapolis Museum of Art, Google Announce Partnership

“Bad artists copy. Good artists steal.” – Pablo Picasso

Jan 23 2012

Stories from the Week that Was – 1/15/12-1/21/12

Stories from the Week that Was – 1/15/12-1/21/12

The internet stood up and crushed SOPA/PIPA this week (at least temporarily). It was a pretty amazing day as Wikipedia went dark and citizens across the land let their voices be heard. It’s not over yet and there’s news that a new bill, ACTA, is even worse than SOPA. Stay tuned.

I hope SOPA passes.

Anonymous Attacks Justice Dept as FBI Shuts Down File-Sharing Site

Super Bowl XLVI Gets a Social Media Command Center

The Week That Killed SOPA: A Timeline

“I personally think intellectual property is an oxymoron. Physical objects have a completely different natural economy than intellectual goods. It’s a tricky thing to try to own something that remains in your possession even after you give it to many others.” – John Perry Barlow

Jan 22 2012

Stories from the Week that Was – 1/8/12-1/14/12

Stories from the Week that Was – 1/8/12-1/14/12

More SOPA this week. It’s all coming to a head next week with a big internet protest planned. Stay tuned.

Homeland Security monitors journalists

3 More Reasons SOPA Ought to Scare You

Boycott SOPA: Android app that scans barcodes and tells you whether an object’s manufacturer/publisher supports SOPA

Who Is Flying Unmanned Aircraft in the U.S.?

Why bankruptcy isn’t a brand killer

Full Text of 2012 Indiana State of the Judiciary Address

White House Speaks Out Against SOPA/PIPA, Sort Of…

“The intellectual property situation is bad and getting worse. To be a programmer, it requires that you understand as much law as you do technology.” – Eric Allman

Jan 8 2012

Stories from the Week that Was – 1/1/12-1/7/12

Stories from the Week that Was – 1/1/12-1/7/12

SOPA is THE issue in IP for early 2012. There is plenty of opposition to the bill from all sides but I’m left with so little confidence in Congress doing the right thing that I can’t forecast an optimistic outcome. I’m tempted to mail a copy of William Patry’s new book “How to Fix Copyright” to all of my congressmen. I’m about halfway through and it carries a vital message that hopefully gets to our elected officials before SOPA is passed and does permanent damage to the Internet.

Why Everyone Should Be Against SOPA

Why The Movie Industry Can’t Innovate and the Result is SOPA

National Defense Authorization Act Outrage Continues To Grow Online

Careful, That’s Not a Louis Vuitton

2011: The Year Intellectual Property Trumped Civil Liberties

Homeland Security monitors journalists

Jan 2 2012

Stories from the Week that Was – 12/25/11-12/31/11

Stories from the Week that Was – 12/25/11-12/31/11

2011 was quite a year. We witnessed intellectual property trump civil liberties time and time again. I’ll continue to archive the most important stories from each week, although I’m no longer certain it’s best for my mental health. Onward and upward (hopefully).

Copyrights Are No Longer About Copies (Part 1): William Patry

Creativity Springs From Careful Copying (Part 2): William Patry

Statement by the President on H.R. 1540 (the “National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012)

Artists: Can You Be Sued for Including a Real Person in Your Painting?

SOPA is the end of us, say bloggers

Company sues former employee over right to Twitter followers

Scottie Pippie Files Suit Claiming Websites Falsely Labeled Him as Bankrupt; Is Blog Tag Defamatory?

Google+ Censoring Borderline Offensive Profile Images; Author Images in Search Results To Blame?