New York Police Confiscating Firearms From People Taking Anti-Anxiety MedicationThe New York State Police are suspending the handgun permits of people in the state who are prescribed anti-anxiety medication, according to Jim Tresmond of the Tresmond Law Firm in Hamburg, New York. Tresmond Law specializes in firearm litigation.
“We are representing a client right now who is impacted by this onerous activity of the government,” Tresmond ... (more)
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Police Confiscate Man's Guns Over Son's Water PistolIn the latest example of anti-gun hysteria, police in New York State confiscated a man’s firearms and revoked his pistol license after his son threatened to use a water pistol against bullies who had taunted his friends at school.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Commack resident John Mayer is now pursuing legal action after Suffolk County Police visited his home and threatened to embarrass him in front of his neighbors before confiscating Mayer’s handguns and r... (more)
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Cox Targets Pirates With "10+ Strikes" ProgramPreferring to handle file-sharing in its own way, Cox was one of the few large ISPs that refused to take part in the United States’ “six-strikes” scheme. Cox operates its own 10+ strikes program featuring warnings and temporary Internet restrictions in the early stages. The Internet provider stops short of detailing the end-game but if earlier statements are to believed, repeat infringers are likely to have their accounts terminated.
With 3.5 million Internet s... (more)
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California Court Rules It Illegal To Check Maps On Your Phone While DrivingFor years, we've discussed the problematic nature of "distracted driving" laws that seek to outlaw things like talking on your phone or texting while driving. It is not that we don't think these behaviors are dangerous. It seems clear that those activities can take one's attention away from driving and potentially increase the likelihood of an accident by a significant amount. However, the laws are often broad and inconsistent -- and, worse, they can have serious unintended consequence... (more)
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Untappable Apple or DEA Disinformation?Tech news site CNET has an interesting, but I suspect somewhat misleading, story today suggesting that text messages sent via Apple’s iMessage service--an Internet-based alternative to traditional cell phone SMS text messages--are "impossible to intercept" by law enforcement. Yet that is not quite what the document on which the story is based--an "intelligence note" distri... (more)
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Are You A Teenager Who Reads News Online? According to the Justice Department, You May Be a CriminalDuring his first term, President Barack Obama declared October 2009 to be "National Information Literacy Awareness Month," emphasizing that, for students, learning to navigate the online world is as important a skill as reading, writing and arithmetic. It was a move that echoed his predecessor's strong support of global literacy--such as reading ... (more)
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Arkansas Fusion Center Admits It Spies On "Antigovernment" GroupsThe federal government and its "partners" on the state and local level are not utilizing the high-tech police state apparatus locked in place in the years following the 9/11 attacks to spy on al-Qaeda terrorists. It was built to keep tabs on Americans exercising their First Amendment rights, Americans the national security state considers an existential threat.
During an interview earlier this week, the director of the Arkansas State Fusion Center, Richard Davis, said the fusion c... (more)
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DEA Targets FedEx, UPS in Online Pharmacy BattleCharged with cracking down on the diversion of prescription drugs, the DEA has pursed doctors, pharmacists, pharmacy chains, and wholesale drug suppliers. It has now turned a baleful eye on shipping companies as well, with differing results—at least so far.
The Orlando Sentinel reported Tuesday that both UPS and FedEx had admitte... (more)
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Congress' New CFAA Draft Could Have Put Aaron Swartz in Jail For Decades Longer Than the Original ChargesLaw professor and historian Tim Wu has called the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) the "worst law in technology." The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has described the government's interpretation of it "expansive," "broad," and "sweeping." And Orin Kerr, former federal prosecutor and law ... (more)
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Taxing Journalists and Watchdogs Isn't the Solution to California's Court Budget Woes A proposal under consideration in California would significantly limit access to public information by levying a $10 fee any time anyone--including members of the public and the media--wants to look at a court case record in person. While EFF is certainly sympathetic to the budgetary woes facing all levels of government in California, this measure would trade transparency, citizen engagement and the power of a free press for a short-sighted fiscal stop-gap. On the whole, such a fee would ... (more)
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Georgia Court Censorship Order Threatens Message Boards EverywhereEarlier this month, a Georgia Superior Court issued a breathtaking restraining order against Matthew Chan, the operator of a copyright troll criticism message board, holding him responsible for the posts of his users. As part of the Court's reasoning, Judge Frank Jordan wrote:
As the owner and operator of the site, Re ... (more)
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