Legal Threats Blog

A Lesson in Metadata: Harvard Bomb Hoax

[We are delighted to run this piece by our friend and Berkman Center colleague Ryan Budish - eds.]

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Boston Police Charge Two Journalists With Felonies For Doing Their Jobs

This is a well-known story to DMLP readers, but it bears repeating today. On October 1, 2007, a lawyer named Simon Glik saw members of the Boston Police arresting a suspect on the Boston Common in a way that he thought was excessive, and began recording the police from several feet away. The police didn't notice him at first, but eventually approached him and asked him if his phone was recording audio along with the video.

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Adding up to 105: The Charges Against Barrett Brown

In December 2011, hacktivist collective Anonymous (in)famously hacked intelligence analysis firm Stratfor Global Intelligence, collecting over 2.7 million emails, including data for over 50,000 credit card numbers, 80,000 email addresses, and more.

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Florida Bill Targets “Mugshot Websites,” Hits Crime Reporting

A new bill proposed by Florida legislator Carl Zimmermann seeks to end “mugshot websites,” a relatively new industry that exploits the marriage of the internet and open records laws in order to make a profit.

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The Impact of "Aaron's Law" on Aaron Swartz's Case

Like so many around the greater Berkman community I was stunned and saddened to hear that Aaron Swartz committed suicide late last week. I truly admired Aaron's work and consider the future of Internet policy substantially worse off without his presence. For more on his life and work, I'd encourage you to visit this gathering of Berkman blog feeds, which this week is filled with posts that discuss his life and work in greater detail.

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Warrantless Text Message Search Threatens to Scuttle Murder Case

Cell phones allow us not only to communicate with one another, but also to take and store pictures, “check in” from a location, balance our checking account, and even update our blogs. When the content of a cell phone may help the police to solve a crime, the legality of the search of both the phone and its content is of crucial importance. However, the law of warrantless searches of cell phones is not yet settled.

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Lèse Majesté: 16th Century Censorship Meets 21st Century Law

When hearing the expression “lèse majesté,” images of the Queen of Hearts ordering heads to be chopped off ASAP may come to mind. Marie-Antoinette, the queen who was once a “majesté” in France, herself lost her head during the French Revolution. Surely, the crime of lèse majesté is now a thing of the past?

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Does Washington State's SB 6251 Require Online Classified Sites to Monitor All Third-Party Content?

The trafficking of children for sex in the United States is an appalling and very real problem, which a new Washington state law means to eliminate by targeting websites that offer classified advertising for escort services. But many fear the law poses a serious threat to free speech on the Internet by imposing upon online service providers the burdensome duty to monitor, vet, and otherwise censor third-party content.

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DMLP Amicus Update: Narrow Victory in Massachusetts Anti-Counterfeiting Case

The DMLP recently appeared as an amicus curiae in Commonwealth v. Busa, a case brought in Boston Municipal Court under Massachusetts's anti-counterfeiting law, M.G.L. ch. 266 § 147 ("Section 147").

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