Cardozo Cyber Law Society

Cisco is facing a lawsuit from dissidents who were captured and tortured for several years by the Chinese government. The complaint filed by Ward & Ward PLLC on behalf of the victims alleges that Cisco aided the Chinese Communist Party in developing technology that would help track and censor all Internet traffic to and from China, suppressing the right to freedom of speech in favor of an oppressive regime. A civil liberties organization Electronic Frontier Foundation has called on its followers to sign a petition urging Cisco to “stop helping China abuse human rights!”

The American Civil Liberties Union continues its fight for Internet freedom and equality. ACLU has filed a lawsuit against a Missouri school district for using software that filters websites advocating for the LGBT community. According to the complaint, blocking sites that advocate for the LGBT community hampers certain students’ abilities to access information that could help them “with the difficult issues of coming out to family members, integrating their sexuality and religious faith, dealing with the threat of bullying, and surviving high school as an LGBT person.”

The 2012 presidential race has seen its first cyber attack. Yesterday, the campaign website of presidential candidate, libertarian Ron Paul, was hacked during the so called “money bomb” fundraiser. www.ronpaul2012.com reports that some donors were prevented from pledging. Seems like we are in for another exciting GOP primary!

Have you ever been a victim of cable industry’s anti-competitive tactics? You may find these horror stories collected by Gizmodo entertaining, and perhaps empathize with one or two.

AT&T T-Mobile Merger. Recently, the law firm Bursor & Fisher filed several individual arbitration cases on behalf of AT&T customers, pursuant to an arbitration clause in the AT&T customer contract. In an effort to keep the AT&T and T-Mobile merger “on track,” AT&T has filed suit in eight different jurisdictions to bar those individual actions.

BART Wireless Service Shutdown. Last Thursday, San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit system shutdown a wireless network to prevent protesters from gathering.  BART authorities claimed the shut down was to prevent overcrowding on train platforms, leading to “unsafe conditions.” Prior to the shutdown, protesters allegedly said they would use mobile devices to “coordinate disruptive activities.” The FCC launched an investigation into the shutdown and the rationale behind it.

Google. Google is acquiring Motorola Mobility, the cellphone handset manufacturer, for nearly $12.5 billion.  The acquisition will be Google’s largest venture and essentially turns Google into a major player in the cell phone industry, putting the company in direct competition with Apple.

The Internet – Where Everyone Knows Your Name (And Where You Want to Transfer). Tammy Hsu, a law student at Wake Forest has been “candidly” blogging her way through the transfer application process, hoping to land a coveted spot at Yale Law School. Genius move or blogging gone wrong?

USF Reform. The Universal Service Fund is a fund created by the FCC in 1996 (when the Telecommunications Act was passed) that aimed to promote the availability of quality telephone service throughout the country. Recently, six large telecommunications companies submitted a proposal to the FCC which would transition the fund’s purpose from purely telephone-based services to mobile broadband. However, opponents are concerned that the plan is purely “self-serving” in that it will reduce carrier costs while keeping consumer prices the same.

Bandwidth Caps. AT&T has announced that it will begin throttling the Internet connectivity of the top 5% of its mobile broadband users. The change will only affect users with unlimited monthly plans, however. FTA: “Heavy users who don’t want their speeds curbed can switch to a so-called tiered plan and pay more.”

LightSquared. Finally, LightSquared, the company that’s using high-frequency spectrum to bring cheap mobile Internet to everyone has made a deal with Sprint. In the deal, Sprint will share its 3G network with LightSquared so that the latter’s customers can roam on Sprint’s 3G network, and in exchange, LightSquared will permit Sprint customers to use its LTE (4G) network. Seems like a pretty good deal, and timely considering that there’s a merger on the horizon between AT&T and T-Mobile, leaving Sprint potentially out in the cold.

Seeking to eliminate the tax inequality between physical and online retailers, the Congress introduced the Main Street Fairness Act on Friday. The Act aims to simplify and standardize the tax collection process associated with Internet sales. Even though many online retailers refuse to collect sales tax at the checkout, the consumers are currently required to report these untaxed purchases on their tax forms. If passed, the Act will eliminate this requirement and give states the ability to force online retailers to collect sales tax. Amazon and eBay had strong (albeit opposite) reactions to the bill.

As AT&T/T-Mobile merger gains some support from state regulators, many continue to warn against the imminent dangers of the proposed move. Our Vice-President, Cary Adickman, has recently summarized the potential detriments of the $39 billion purchase, debunking AT&T’s claims that “the merger would lower prices, create jobs and increase competition.”

Go Daddy announced that it has added former White House Advisor Andrew Kline as its new Deputy General Counsel for Global Policy. Upon accepting the position, Kline said: “After seeing Go Daddy’s commitment and pledge to ‘do the right thing,’ I was inspired … and knew I could go into the private sector and make a difference.” As the world’s largest domain name registration company, Go Daddy is in a position to meaningfully influence the Internet policy and facilitate the expansion of cyber economy. Kline will help Go Daddy grow internationally and strengthen its fight against illegal activities like rogue Internet pharmacies and copyright infringement.

Internet juggernauts Apple and Google are certainly keeping their lawyers busy. Here’s a recap of the legal matters that each company is currently involved in. Apple is also trying to fight the recent counterfeiting of actual brick and mortar stores in rural China. In Kunming, one store looked so real that the employees actually thought they were working for Apple. We wonder if anyone tried the Genius Bar?

The Murdoch family is still under fire for the shocking phone hacking scandal across the pond. Rupert and son James testified before a parliamentary committee last week but their testimony has recently come under fire.

And, the AT&T and T-Mobile merger mayhem continues. Though the FCC recently extended the review period for the merger, rival Verizon’s COO Lowell McAdam seems fairly confident that the deal will go through. However, Senator Al Franken is strongly opposed, according to an open letter the Senator filed with the FCC and the Department of Justice, decrying that the merger is not in the public’s best interest.

Google might be in some hot water resulting from collection of personal data via open, unsecured Wi-Fi connections while its Street View cars were snapping pictures of the neighborhood.

Technology & Marketing Law Blog: Judge Ware: Google Not Entitled to “Readily Accessible to the General Public” Defense in Street View Class Action.

It’s been a busy week in cyberlaw. The AT&T/T-Mobile merger is still progressing. AT&T is confident of approval, but opponents are still fighting hard to defeat it and shine a spotlight on the anti-competitive consequences of the merger.

AT&T/T-Mobile Merger: 70 Democratic members of Congress have spoken out in support of the merger because of the Union’s support. Free Press argues that this does not align with the public interest. AT&T Misleads Congress on Merger | Free Press.

Our own Professor of Law, Susan Crawford, has written a post about the telecom merger as well.

On the other side of the telecom divide, Verizon has decided that it will no longer offer unlimited data plans for the $30/mo that it has been, instead favoring a tiered plan which changes the method from all-you-can-eat to a-la carte.

iPhone Video-Blocking Patent: Apple created a patent that would allow the video and audio function to be blocked. Supposedly this is to be used for movie theaters and concert halls, but some fear that it will be used to deter people from recording law enforcement. Is Apple Launching a Pre-Emptive Strike Against Free Speech?