Arrest made in connection with Miss Teen USA "sextortion" case

Multiple media outlets reported yesterday that 19 year-old Jared James Abrahams, a computer science student from Temecula, California, was arrested for his alleged connection to an online extortion scheme referred to as "sextortion." A criminal complaint filed in the Central District Court of California alleges Abrahams violated 18 U.S.C 875(d), a federal extortion statute, after he "knowingly and willfully, and with the intent to extort money and other thing of value, did transmit in interstate and foreign commerce from Providence, Utah to Temecula,...

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State courts evaluate sexually violent predator status for convicted child pornographers

In two recent cases, state appellate courts in Pennsylvania and Texas have analyzed the application of sexually violent predator (SVP) status to convicted child pornographers. The result of the status varies by state but can include mandatory lifetime registration and civil commitment if it is determined that the defendant is "likely to engage in a predatory act of sexual violence" due to a "behavior abnormality." Nearly half of states and the federal government have SVP laws. The Superior Court of Pennsylvania concluded in Commonwealth v....

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Yelp sues law firm for alleged fake review posts

User rating and review site Yelp has filed a lawsuit against a San Diego law firm for "try[ing] to game the system by stacking the deck in their favor with planted or fake reviews," arguing that such reviews are "harmful to customers." According to the complaint, The McMillan Law Group's efforts to mislead consumers are particularly brazen and disappointing given they have targeted some of the most vulnerable consumers of all - individuals who may be facing bankruptcy and who are looking for potential legal representation. The lawsuit accuses...

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Gov't files brief in Weev (Andrew Auernheimer) CFAA case - 133 pages

H/T to @HanniFakhoury and @CSoghoian The brief can be found here: http://ia601700.us.archive.org/17/items/gov.uscourts.ca3.13-1816/gov.uscourts.ca3.13-1816.003011395511.0.p...

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Current issue of American University Law Review focuses on cybersecurity landscape

Volume 62, Issue 5 of the American University Law Review features a variety of works tackling the challenging and often complex issues surrounding cybersecurty. The Forward, written by Jorge L. Contreras, Laura DeNards and Melanie Teplinsky, states that this special issues represents the culmination of a concerted effort to bring together scholars, legal practitioners, industry representatives, and government officials to discuss and debate the pressing issues surrounding cybersecurity in today’s increasingly interconnected...

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North Carolina appeals court declares social media ban for sex offenders unconstitutional

In State v. Packingham, No. COA12-1287 (N.C. Ct. App 2013), the Court of Appeals of North Carolina vacated a judgement which forbade a convicted sex offended from accessing social networking websites as mandated by state law. North Carolina's Protect Children from Sexual Predators Act (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-202.5) banned all convicted sex offenders from accessing commercial social networking sites. At trial for violating the statute, the defendant argued that the statute was unconstitutional, but the court denied the motion. The defendant, a previously...

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Cal. school district pays firm to monitor students' social media

According to a recent CNN article, a California school district is paying a private firm over $40,000 to monitor its students' social media accounts for one year. The company uses keywords to conduct the searches and sends a daily report to school administration. Thus far, the service has been used to provide counseling to students who make suicidal threats online. The reports also contain information on "possible violence, drug use, bullying, [and] truancy." Read the full article here: http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/14/us/california-schools-mo...

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Magistrate denies search warrant application for lack of probable cause and filtering safeguards

A federal magistrate in the District of Kansas recently denied applications for data from multiple electronic communications services, finding that the requests violate the Fourth Amendment. The requests from the FBI concern the theft of computer equipment from Sprint and the transportation of that equipment from Kansas to buyers in New Jersey. The court first found that the request for service providers to turn over "all email communication ... and all records" is "too broad and too general". Limits are required. Also, the government must establish...

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Documents show U.S. government's use of border search exception to conduct domestic investigations

The ACLU recently released documents detailing how the United States targets citizens for domestic investigations by abusing the border search exception. The doctrine allows for searches and seizures to take place at international borders without probable cause. David House had his computer, phone, and other devices seized as he returned to the United States from vacation. House was then working with the Bradley Manning Support Network. Government...

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Wis. man used fake teen personas on Skype to entice (and capture on video) underage sex acts [including Complaint]

Bruce Vielmetti at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported this story a couple of days ago - Child porn case against Ozaukee County man moves to federal court. The back story is that David A. Weaver of Cedarburg, WI was originally charged in state court with possessing child pornography; authorities found, however, after further forensic analysis of his computer, that his transgressions were not so limited. Weaver had also produced child pornography by using fake Skype personas purporting to be children/teens to entice other minors...

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Attorney writes Facebook post complaining about state AG's office, leading state to file Motion to Seal

A Mississippi lawyer recently found his own Facebook post the subject of court deliberation after the state attorney general's office filed a Motion to Seal the court record. Havard v. Epps, NO. 5:08CV275KS (S.D. Miss. 2013). The defense counsel appeared to be frustrated with the state as the parties filed motions related to a habeas corpus proceeding, posting on Facebook: After responding to an asinine motion filed by the State, which not only wants to kill my client but doesn’t want to be bothered by actually responding to his claims...

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