Arthur Bright's blog

Juicy No More

Submitted by on

You know the economy's bad when even college rumor-mongering isn't making a profit any more.  That's right, JuicyCampus.com, the website dedicated to anonymously posted collegiate gossip, has closed up shop.  In a post announcing the shutdown, Matt Ivester, the founder and CEO, put the blame on "these historically difficult economic times,&q

Subject Area: 

Live Blogging in the Courtroom, Is It Journalism?

Submitted by on

One of the recurring themes I've discovered in my reading assignments for law school is that judges are, by and large, not technologically savvy.  Far from it, in fact.  Thus, it was of great interest to me to find an ABA Journal article about U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett, who recently allowed a journalist for the Cedar Rapids Gazette to blog live during the a tax fraud trial in his Sioux City, Iowa, court.

Jurisdiction: 

Subject Area: 

Obama Moves Quickly to Increase Government Transparency

Submitted by on

Well, that was quick.  Just a day into his new administration, President Obama issued a pair of memos and an executive order all aimed at increasing government openness.  The Washington Post reports:

Jurisdiction: 

Subject Area: 

German Courts Say Nein to Google Image Search

Submitted by on

Google appears to be learning the hard way that there's "kein fairer Gebrauch" (no fair use) in Germany.  The Internet search giant lost two German copyright decisions Monday, as the courts ruled that the thumbnail images that appear in Google Image Search violate German copyright law.  Bloomberg reports:

Jurisdiction: 

Content Type: 

Subject Area: 

Virginia Supreme Court: State Anti-Spam Law is Unconstitutional

Submitted by on

It looks like Jeremy Jaynes, the first person in the United States to be convicted of a felony for spamming, is going to get a free pass, thanks to a decision handed down by the Virginia Supreme Court last week striking down Virginia's anti-spam law, Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-152.3:1, on First Amendment grounds. 

Jurisdiction: 

Subject Area: 

Congressman Wears Two Hats: Legislator and Citizen Journalist

Submitted by on

Even elected officials can be citizen journalists.  The New York Times has an interesting report about Representative John Culberson (R) of Texas, who took on a role normally filled by CSPAN after the House had officially adjourned for its summer recess last Friday.

Jurisdiction: 

Content Type: 

Subject Area: 

Google Execs Face Charges in Italy Over Third Party Content

Submitted by on

Does the European Union offer web hosts any protection from liability for the content of third parties, a la section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA 230) or the "safe-harbor" provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act?  This looks to be a key question for four current and former Google executives, as Italian prosecutors prepare to launch criminal charges against them over a video hosted by

Jurisdiction: 

Content Type: 

Subject Area: 

Candidate for U.S. Congress Threatens Legal Action Against Blogger

Submitted by on

George Lilly, the Republican candidate for Colorado's First Congressional District, says on his website that he considers defense of the U.S. Constitution a "sacred oath."  But after he threatened a libel lawsuit against the Rocky Mountain Right ("RMR") blog, one wonders about his views on the First Amendment.

Jurisdiction: 

Content Type: 

Subject Area: 

Citizen Journalist Invokes Oregon Shield Law to Fight Subpoena

Submitted by on

Does Oregon's reporter shield law apply to an independent journalist who publishes online?  That question looks set to be answered, thanks to the refusal of Tim Lewis to comply with a grand jury subpoena for his video of a May 30, 2008, demonstration in Eugene, Oregon, where police tasered an 18-year-old protester.

Jurisdiction: 

Content Type: 

Subject Area: 

Iran Moves One Step Closer to Ratifying Death Penalty for Blogging

Submitted by on

Online free speech has never been well received by the Iranian government, but now Tehran is just one step away from making blogging on certain topics into a capital crime. 

Jurisdiction: 

Subject Area: 

Miami Judge Drops Hammer on Photojournalist Who Took Cops' Picture

Submitted by on

“Photography is not a crime, it’s a First Amendment right,” proclaims the title of photojournalist Carlos Miller’s blog.  Nonetheless, a jury found Miller guilty of obstructing traffic and resisting arrest without violence during his encounter last year with five Miami police officers that he photographed on a public street.  As a result, Miami County Court Judge Jose Fernandez sentenced him to one year of probation,100 hours of community service, anger management lessons, and over $500 in court fees, well in excess of the three months

Jurisdiction: 

Content Type: 

Subject Area: 

WIA Releases Report on Arrests of Bloggers, Does It Overcount?

Submitted by on

According to a new report by the World Information Access (“WIA”) Project, 64 independent bloggers have been arrested since 2003, suggesting governments around the world are growing more aware of blogs and more likely to act to silence bloggers.

Subject Area: 

U.S. Blogger Facing Criminal Libel Charges in Singapore

Submitted by on

Singapore officials Monday amended the charge against blogger Gopalan Nair, a U.S. citizen who blogs from Fremont, California, accusing him of insulting a public official for his criticism of Singaporean Judge Belinda Ang that he published in his blog, Singapore Dissident, last month. The original charge had asserted that Nair insulted Ang in an email.

Jurisdiction: 

Subject Area: 

Pages