Internet

A federal judge has ruled in favor of a Virginia woman who posted on her Web site the Social Security numbers of prominent people to make a point about the availability and potential for abuse of public records on the Internet.

It was news enough earlier this month when two Yale law students publicly outed an anonymous message board writer they say defamed them online with a slew of sexual attacks. Now comes a report that the man they're suing -- Matthew C. Ryan -- has the same name as one unlucky Texas lawyer.

With the Olympics underway, reports are streaming in from China this week of foreign journalists being detained, having photos deleted from their cameras and in at least one case getting roughed up by police while they work.

A federal judge last week ordered Google to hand over a roster of user data on videos viewed on YouTube, in an effort to help Viacom shore up its lawsuit against the search-engine giant.

The Journal News in New York's Lower Hudson Valley is expecting a judge to order it to identify three anonymous online posters who an ex-congressman and his wife believe slandered them on the newspaper's website.

Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) introduced a bill Tuesday aimed at expanding the reach of recently enacted measures designed to make federal spending more transparent.

Internet service providers cannot release information about users, even to police, without a valid subpoena, the New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously ruled Monday.

A federal court of appeals ruling limiting the scope of protection under the Communications Decency Act will not drastically affect online journalism, but the future could still be uncertain, according to lawyers who wrote an amicus brief on behalf of the media.

The Supreme Court of Virginia will consider proposed rules that would regulate access to – and in one instance require the redaction before filing of – private information in court records.

On Tuesday, the Virginia Judicial Council submitted the rules, which were triggered, in large part, by the increasing availability of court records on the Internet. The 44-page document, drafted by a committee of nearly 30 officials, outlines the reasoning behind the proposed changes.

A committee formed by the Federal Judiciary to consider whether criminal plea agreements should be removed from public access on the Internet rejected the Department of Justice proposal that would have allowed for access only to the physical records at federal courthouses around the country.