E-Commerce Law & Policy

Volume: 14 Issue: 2
(February 2012)

News

Leading internet websites in India, including Google, Orkut and Facebook, have begun removing material from their Indian websites. Following a complaint, the Delhi High Court threatened to block websites that failed to remove 'offensive' material, the Court ruled on 23 December 2011. This ruling "surely has an impact on the e­commerce industry", said Sajai Singh, Partner at J. Sagar Associates. "Websites will be required to remove objectionable content if any user complains." / read more

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) released its Mobile Application Privacy Policy - the first guidelines addressing mobile privacy - on 25 January 2012. The guide recommends a set of principles and consumer-friendly language for developers to consider adopting, and lists the ways to inform users on how data is obtained. / read more

The European Commission (EC) has said it will give more details about how the procedures for taking down and blocking access to illegal content should be explained, the body said on 12 January. / read more

Features

Facebook's announcement at the end of 2011 that all of its 800 million users will be forced to use its new Timeline concept within the next few months has caused a lot of controversy since the new year began. Timeline's look-and-feel is Facebook's most radical change since the social network was launched in February 2004. / read more

EU
UK
EU
Global
EU
US
Global
UK / read more

The draft General Data Protection Regulation, issued by the European Commission on 25 January, sets out requirements for online businesses to gain consent for using cookies and processing personal data. But obtaining consent may not be as straight forward as first thought. Robert Bond and Dominika Kupczyk, of Speechly Bircham, discuss exactly what is meant by gaining meaningful consent and what this means for businesses processing personal data. / read more

Cloud computing is forecast to grow significantly over the next few years. A number of reasons are put forward for this growth based on the advantages that cloud computing can offer. Many e-commerce providers are keen to join the cloud community, but a number of legal issues and industry concerns has made some industries slow to adopt cloud computing. Mark Bailey and Louise McAdam, of Speechly Bircham LLP, discuss the opportunities and examine the legal issues. / read more

Recent case law in the US has made it very difficult for individuals to claim Fourth Amendment protection in the types of records and 'behind the scenes' usage data regularly provided to and retained by social network services - or potentially by any website. Melinda Levitt and Brian Kapatkin, of Foley & Lardner LLP, examine a number of recent cases and their impact on the use of social media in the United States. / read more

The recent changes in Belarusian regulations on the use of the internet impose an additional administrative burden on local companies, they introduce identification of individuals accessing the internet and contemplate limited filtering of web-contents, although contrary to discussion in some media, access to foreign websites itself is not restricted. / read more

Cybercriminals are becoming increasingly adept at stealing customer data, and regulators are becoming stricter about protection. Garry Sidaway, Director of Security Strategy and Stuart Moen, Principal Security Consultant at Integralis, explore the ramifications. / read more

Much speculation has followed the revelation that Google AdWords keeps fees generated by advertisements for illegal goods and services. Adwords' Terms and Conditions make no apology for retaining any fees in such a way. Vanessa Barnett and Natasha Brierley, of Charles Russell, discuss the legal issues behind Google's stance and the grey areas that still exist around online content and 'platform' based advertising. / read more

Privacy: United States v. Jones
Online piracy: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation v British Telecommunications plc
Liability: Google Blogpost case / read more

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About E-Commerce Law & Policy:

The monthly law journal giving authoratitive insights into all aspects of e-commerce law and regulations affecting online business, including domain names, Intellectual property, copyrights, online advertising, behavourial advertising, cloud computing, net neutrality, privacy, cybercrime, social media, trademarks, online sales, licensing and software / read more