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Pennsylvania court rules suspect can't be forced to provide his password
Law enforcment might soon have a harder time forcing suspects to unlock their devices. Pennsylvania's Supreme Court has ruled that authorities were asking Joseph J. Davis, the accused in a child pornography case, to violate his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when they asked him to provide the password for his computer. A lower court had determined that the request fell under an exemption to the Fifth Amendment when Davis seemingly acknowledged the presence of child porn on his PC, but the state Supreme Court rejected that argument on the grounds that a password is testimony and thus protected under the Constitution.
Google's fight with Oracle will be heard in the Supreme Court
Google is getting one more shot at fending off Oracle's Android copyright claims. The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear Google's appeal of a federal appeals court ruling that Android violated Oracle copyright by using Java code without a license. The appeal will also address a 2014 decision that programing can be copyrighted. A decision is expected by July.
Federal judge rules suspicionless device searches at the border are illegal
Civil liberties advocates just scored an important victory in a bid to prevent arbitrary device searches at the US border. A federal court handling a 2017 lawsuit has ruled that US policies allowing device searches without valid suspicion or warrants violate Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. Judge Denise Casper noted that an exemption for searches at the border was "not limitless," and still needed to strike a balance between privacy and government interests. That usually means focusing on contraband, she said.
New York Supreme Court dismisses Uber's challenge to vehicle caps
Uber's bid to overturn New York City's ride-hailing caps didn't last long --New York's Supreme Court has dismissed the company's request to annul the cap law implemented in August 2018. The court rejected Uber's claim that NYC had overstepped its bounds. There have been far less specific delegations of power that have passed muster before, according to the Supreme Court. It also rebuffed Uber's assertion that other laws preempted the caps.
Georgia court rules police need a warrant to get data from your car
Your connected car data might be safer from prying eyes -- Georgia's Supreme Court has ruled that police need a warrant to obtain personal data from cars. The decision overturns an earlier state Court of Appeals ruling that defended police obtaining crash data from a car in a vehicular homicide case. The state and appeals court "erred" by claiming that the data grab didn't violate defendant Victor Mobley's Fourth Amendment rights protecting against unreasonable searches and seizures, according to the Supreme Court.
Law enforcement shuts down largest known child porn site on the dark web
The US just scored a significant coup against crime on the dark web. Federal agents and international partners have taken down Welcome To Video, believed to be the largest child pornography darknet site to date based on its sheer volume of content. Law enforcement has seized a South Korea server for WTV that held over 8TB of disturbing content, including more than 250,000 videos. It appeared to be a source for exploitative media rather than just a distributor, as 45 percent of the videos studied so far included images that were new to investigators.
Tesla may open 'Centers' to get around pro-dealership laws
Tesla may be planning an end-run around state laws that bar direct car sales and protect dealerships. Electrek sources claim the automaker is planning to open "Tesla Centers" in major urban areas that would theoretically avoid legal trouble by focusing on the sale of energy, not cars. These large outlets would offer sales, service and delivery seven days a week, even in states where "blue" laws prevent conventional car dealerships have to stay closed on Sundays. The strategy would take effect in the fourth quarter of this year.
Court rules the FCC can't block state net neutrality laws
The FCC has won a key bid to uphold its repeal of net neutrality, but at a significant cost. A federal appeals court handling a Mozilla complaint has ruled that most of the repeal can stand, but that the FCC had "not shown legal authority" to ban states from implementing their own laws. The regulator was trying to "categorically abolish" states' established power to regulate communications within their borders, according to the court.
Justice Department sets rules for using genealogy sites to solve crimes
Investigators have used genealogy sites to solve a string of cold cases in recent years, but the US hasn't really had a firm stance on how and when to use those sites. There's now a basic framework in place, however. The Justice Department has established interim rules that determine how this forensic genetic genealogy can be used to tackle unsolved violent crimes. Officials portray it as striking a balance between the desire to solve crimes with the protection of privacy and civil freedoms.
Volkswagen's CEO and chairman face Dieselgate charges in Germany
VW's current leadership can't escape the fallout from the Dieselgate scandal. Prosecutors in the German city of Braunschweig have unveiled plans to file stock manipulation charges against existing CEO Herbert Diess, Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch and former chief exec Martin Winterkorn. They allegedly delayed reporting the emissions cheating with knowledge that it would have a tangible effect on shares. The leaders were pursuing a settlement with US officials "without disclosing all relevant information," according to the prosecutors.
Uber sues NYC over vehicle caps
Uber isn't about to sit quietly while New York City extends its caps on ridesharing. The company has sued NYC in a bid to halt rules that both freeze the number of new for-hire licenses and limit the amount of time drivers can spend cruising Manhattan looking for rides. It contended that the cruising rule, which will cap the roaming ratio to 31 percent of drive time by July 2020, would "threaten the viability" of ridesharing. The rates were determined using "flawed and arbitrary" models, Uber said.
California governor signs labor law meant to fix the gig economy
It was really just a matter of time, but it's now official: California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed the state's Assembly Bill 5 into law. The measure is intended to reclassify many gig economy workers as employees by applying a test that determines whether or not they qualify as contractors. If they do, they have to be free from the control of a company, handle work beyond the typical scope of that company's business and routinely engage in an independently-formed business similar to the work they perform. In theory, this will force many ridesharing and courier companies to offer rudimentary labor rights like minimum wage, overtime and paid leave.
California bill may fill data gaps in the criminal justice system
Inconsistent data isn't just a headache in the criminal justice system -- it could make the difference between someone going free or serving time. California might do something about that soon, though. The state legislature has passed a bill, AB-1331, that would improve data handling for criminal justice. The measure would set clear data collection and reporting standards for both the courts and law enforcement, such as a requirement that agencies hand over criminal ID and information, incident and court numbers. It would also let courts share some data with researchers hoping to interpret justice data and hold officials to account.
US investigates escort and massage sites over human trafficking
Backpage is no more, but US authorities are still determined to crack down on sites that enable human trafficking and other crimes. Wall Street Journal sources say Homeland Security, the Justice Department and others are reportedly investigating escort and massage sites Eros.com, EroticMonkey.ch and Rubmaps.ch to see if they've either participated in or knowingly facilitated trafficking, prostitution and money laundering. All three are dominating in the US in the wake of Backpage's closure, and both Eros and Rubmaps have turned up as evidence in multiple sex trafficking cases.
New York state bans sales of flavored e-cigarettes
New York isn't waiting for the federal government to take action on teen vaping. Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced an "emergency executive action" that will ban sales of flavored e-cigarettes. The move will see the state Department of Health's Commissioner hold an urgent meeting with the Public Health and Health Planning Council to implement the ban. E-cig makers and stores are "intentionally and recklessly" trying to court a younger audience, Cuomo claimed, and this would theoretically put a stop to the behavior.
Uber intends to treat drivers as contractors despite California bill
California is likely on the cusp of making gig companies treat independent contractors as employees, but Uber doesn't think the potential law will change its business. In an update, legal chief Tony West maintained that Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) would let the ridesharing company continue to classify drivers as contractors if and when it becomes law. Uber wouldn't be exempt from AB5, the company claimed -- rather, it expected to pass the test that determined drivers' status, keeping them as contractors.
Comcast sues Maine over a law requiring a-la-carte cable offerings
Cord cutting may seem like the new norm, but plenty of people still pay for cable TV. That doesn't mean they're happy with it though. This summer, in response to complaints that customers had to purchase an entire cable package just to watch one or two channels, Maine passed a law requiring cable companies to offer channels a-la-carte. Now, Comcast and a handful of cable operators, including Fox, CBS and Disney, are suing Maine and 17 municipalities to prevent the law from going into effect.
California is close to reclassifying gig economy workers as employees
The California State Senate has approved Assembly Bill 5, voting 29 to 11 in favor of requiring gig companies like Uber and Lyft to recognize independent contractors as employees. It's not a law just yet -- it has to go through the State Assembly and secure California Governor Gavin Newsom's signature after this -- but it's close to becoming one. The New York Times says the State Assembly vote is expected to be a mere formality, and Newsom is expected to sign the bill into law, seeing as he endorsed it.
51 companies tell Congress it's time to tackle data privacy
The corporate world isn't waiting around for Congress to get started on tougher data privacy laws. A group of 51 CEOs from the Business Roundtable advocacy group, including tech companies like Amazon, AT&T, IBM, Motorola and Qualcomm, have sent an open letter to House and Senate leaders asking them to pass a "comprehensive consumer data privacy law." They claim that state privacy laws vary too widely, leading to confusion for customers and potentially threatening the US' competitiveness. A federal law would reportedly bolster trust and create a "stable policy environment" where companies can craft products knowing exactly where the boundaries are.
Nintendo wins court case to block Switch piracy websites in the UK
Nintendo just scored another win in its ongoing crusade against pirates, although the consequences are slightly unusual this time around. The gaming giant has won a UK injunction that will have five major providers in the country (BT, EE, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin) block four sites that distribute pirated Switch games, help users modify vulnerable Switches and offer circumvention hardware. The court agreed with Nintendo that the sites were violating Nintendo trademarks, targeted the UK and didn't have a legal justification for the mods.