 |
|
 Legal news from Wednesday, March 13, 2013 |
|
|
Google agrees to $7 million settlement for Street View privacy infractions
Keith Herting on March 13, 2013 4:07 PM ET
[JURIST] Google [corporate website] agreed Wednesday to a $7 million settlement for its collection of improper data during the course of its Street View campaign. The settlement [ABC News report] arose from a suit brought by the attorneys general of 38 states against Google for its collection of "payload data," which includes fragments of messages sent over unencrypted wireless networks as Street View cartography vans drove past that could theoretically contain any information, including passwords, banking details, or personal information, being passed over the network as the vehicle drove by. Google acknowledged in a signed assurance of voluntary compliance [text, PDF] statement that the error was accidental, that no one's private data was shared, and that it would work on a new privacy initiative to try and stop a similar event from happening in the future. Attorney General George Jepsen of Connecticut, the lead state in the case against Google, welcomed the news [press release], saying that despite the low monetary settlement amount, it is a victory for those in his state:[T]he importance of this agreement goes beyond financial terms. Consumers have a reasonable expectation of privacy. This agreement recognizes those rights and ensures that Google will not use similar tactics in the future to collect personal information without permission from unsuspecting consumers. Google's projected revenues this year are equal to almost $7 million dollars an hour.
Various countries have alleged that Google violated privacy laws by capturing personal data through its Street View service. In June Switzerland found for Google [JURIST report] over privacy allegations reusing from the service. In March 2011 a Berlin court ruled [JURIST report] for Google, holding that the company's controversial service is legal in Germany. In 2010 a woman sued the company for violating her property and privacy rights by taking pictures of her, her family and the front of her house. The court held that because the picture was taken from the street, no such violation had occurred. On the other side, the French National Commission of Information Technology and Liberty (CNIL) [official website, in French] fined [JURIST report] Google 100,000 euros (USD $141,300) for violating the country's data privacy laws. Google captured personal data through Google Street View cars used for its Google Maps service but failed to respond to request in a timely manner and to stop using seized data. Similarly in 2010, the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) [official website] held [JURIST report] that Google UK has violated the Data Protection Act [text] by collecting data through its Street View service. The ICO did not impose fines but announced that it will require the company to pay fines if it does not comply with the data protection regulations in the future.
Link |
|
subscribe |
 |
latest newscast |
archive |
 Facebook page
|
New Zealand lawmakers approve same-sex marriage bill
Sarah Posner on March 13, 2013 10:35 AM ET
[JURIST] The New Zealand Parliament on Wednesday approved a bill to legalize same-sex marriage [JURIST backgrounder], bringing the bill one vote closer to becoming law. The bill was approved [AP report] by a vote of 77-44, in the second of three votes needed to become law. The second vote is generally the most critical, with the third and final vote viewed as more of a formality. The vote came after public pressure for the lawmakers to support same-sex marriage. The vote was widely attended by the public, who cheered after the bill was approved. Polls show that approximately two-thirds of the population support same-sex marriage. New Zealand already has civil union laws, which grant legal benefits for same-sex couples. The language of the bill only reflected minor changes from the original version passed by an 80-40 vote. The third vote may be taken as early as April.
Same-sex marriage has been controversial globally in recent years. Last month France's lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, approved a bill [JURIST report] which extends marriage and adoption rights to same-sex couples. The bill was approved by a vote of 329-229 against, with 10 abstaining, and must ultimately be approved by the senate in order to become law. Also in February the Illinois Senate approved a bill [JURIST report] to legalize same-sex marriage. The senate voted 34-21 to lift the ban on same-sex marriage in the state of Illinois. Earlier in February the UK Parliament approved [JURIST report] a same-sex marriage bill. In June Denmark approved a same-sex marriage law [JURIST report], making it the eleventh country to do so.
Link |
|
subscribe |
|
latest newscast |
archive |
Facebook page
|
Federal judge upholds Arizona ethnic studies prohibition
Alison Sacriponte on March 13, 2013 9:04 AM ET
[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the District of Arizona [official website] has upheld the constitutionality of an Arizona law [HB 2281, PDF] prohibiting public schools from offering courses that teach ethnic solidarity, a law which targeted the Mexican-American studies program in Tucson public schools. In the ruling [opinion, PDF] issued on Friday, Judge A Wallace Tashima found three of four sections of the law to be constitutional and denied a second motion for a preliminary injunction. Tashima found the section forbidding schools from offering "designed courses primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group" to be unconstitutionally vague, suggesting it would interfere with the teaching of legitimate ethnic studies courses. He ruled other sections are constitutional: "The Court's rulings stem in large part from the considerable deference that federal courts owe to the State's authority to regulate public school education." While plaintiffs argued the legislation violated free speech and equal protection of Hispanic students and teachers, Tashima noted that First Amendment rights were not compromised because the statute does not proscribe the rights of students to speak freely in the classroom. The judge rationalized:The Court recognizes that, in certain instances, Defendants' actions may be seen as evincing a misunderstanding of the purpose and value of ethnic studies courses. Equally problematic is evidence suggesting an insensitivity to the challenges faced by minority communities in the United States. Nevertheless, these concerns do not meet the high threshold needed to establish a constitutional violation, with one exception. Instead, they are issues that must be left to the State of Arizona and its citizens to address through the democratic process. The challenge to the law was initially launched in 2010 by teachers of the Tucson Unified School District's Mexican-American studies program that one judge found presented material in a biased, political and emotionally charged manner that promoted racial resentment.
The Hispanic population has faced numerous challenges in Arizona, most notably in regards to the state's controversial immigration law [SB 1070, PDF]. In June the US Supreme Court [official website] struck down [JURIST report] sections of the Arizona law, but upheld the controversial portion allowing police officers to check immigration status of anyone arrested. Currently, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is considering another questionable provision of the law that prohibits the harboring of "unlawful aliens." The harboring ban had been in effect since SB 1070's inception in July 2010 until it was struck down [JURIST report] by the US District Court for the District of Arizona in September. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer [official website], who signed the bill into law, appealed [JURIST report] the lower court's injunction in late September.
Link |
|
subscribe |
|
latest newscast |
archive |
Facebook page
|
UN rights expert concerned over situation in Iran
Alison Sacriponte on March 13, 2013 8:07 AM ET
[JURIST] The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed [official website], on Tuesday expressed concern [press release] over current human rights situations in Iran [OHCHR backgrounder]. In his report [text PDF], Shaheed found continued widespread systemic violations of human rights in Iran, with reports from NGOs, human rights defenders and individuals presenting a situation where civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights are undermined and violated in law and practice. Shaheed also noted a lack of government investigation and redress which he said generally fosters a culture of impunity and further weakens the human rights instruments Iran has already ratified. Among the most serious concerns, Shaheed noted the increasingly high rate of executions for crimes that do not meet the international standards of being most serious crimes. The report also notes discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities, denial of political and civil rights such as the freedom of expression and assembly and practices that amount to torture, cruel or degrading treatment. Presenting his report to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website], Shaheed said:The Government of Iran should adhere to their international obligations and protect the civil and political rights, notably the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, association and expression. ... Such rights are essential components of democracy and are all the more relevant in the context of Iran’s upcoming presidential elections, to be held next June. ... [R]estriction on freedom of expression and of association could potentially undermine the inclusiveness and fairness of the presidential elections. Special Rapporteurs hold unpaid honorary positions apart from UN staff, and are appointed by the UNHRC to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme.
Iran has come under increased scrutiny in recent years over its record on human rights. Shaheed and El Hadji Malick Sow recently joined the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders [official websites] to urge Iran to end its recent crackdown on journalists [JURIST report] and release those who have been already been detained. The group called the recent arrests of journalists a "flagrant violation of Iran's obligations under international human rights law." In January a group of independent UN human rights experts urged Iran to stop the execution [JURIST report] of five Ahwazi activists. Shaheed reasoned that these individuals should not be sentenced to death "for exercising their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, association, opinion and expression, and affiliation to minority groups and to cultural institutions." In October the UN Special Rapporteur for Iran accused the Iranian government of torturing human rights activists [JURIST report]. That same month the UN urged Iran to stop all executions [JURIST report] because the government had failed to comply with fair trial and due process guarantees.
Link |
|
subscribe |
|
latest newscast |
archive |
Facebook page
|
| For more legal news check the Paper Chase Archive...
|
|
|
