Yeah, this pic AGAIN. So much irony.
You know a couple of years ago I publicly swore I would post every month. And I was good. For a while. But in my head the real rule was always “you can never go a year without posting”. [/checks date of last post]. Whew, that was close.
Boy I have gotten a ton of use from this pic
In which we return to discussing developments from times forgotten. Like, uh, 6 weeks ago? That’s not too bad (for me)! Also there was a development in this case just two and half weeks ago, so that’s kind of timely? Shut up, it is. Also, I should point out before we go further that there is no “privacy court” (yet!) as suggested by my headline. Lemme explain…
Mmm, that’s good irony
I first used that image up there on this little legal blog back in 2011. It’s incredible how still useful it is. My Facebook tag of posts is pretty much the biggest font in that tag cloud somewhere over there on the right. But the last week has really been bad for Facebook. Even Canada is pissed! Oh wait, Facebook’s stock jumped 4% after a very good earnings quarter. Maybe not such a bad week after all.
The world is abuzz with privacy news this month. So much so that I spent a morning last week being interviewed by every CBC Radio station in British Columbia. What’s up with that? You got me, they like their privacy in BC I guess. But I’m even making it into the francophone media! So let’s dive in with all the privacy news du jour.
Mmm, that’s good irony
Oh Supreme Court, you’ve gone and done it now.
That may be the best headline I’ve ever written. It should technically be “Dog poo + pedophilia + Facebook = $65,000”, but I was scared of what kind of click bait that would be. Thank you, B.C. Supreme Court!
On Monday this week the U.S. Supreme Court came down with their decision in the case of Elonis v. United States, which is all about a terrible rap lyricist threatening to kill or hurt a bunch of people on Facebook. Let’s take a look at the decision and see if it has any implications for Canada (spoiler alert – it does not! It’s U.S. law!).
[Ed.’s (me) note – this post has been updated at the bottom to reflect new developments in the story]
Hoo boy, I do not want to write this post. If there is one thing that scares me it’s wading into the language wars in Québec. I love this province; it’s been my home for all my life, I speak and work in French, I have francophone friends, and we all get along thanks to our shared love of soft runny cheeses, alcohol and nos Habitants (not necessarily in that order). So I don’t like rocking the boat, ya know? But we’ve got ourselves a legitimate internet law question here which I must chronicle. And possibly a legitimate legal debate between lawyers! So ‘stie calice de tabernac, let’s do this.
Last week a decision came out of a Montreal courtroom that will deny us the joy of possibly going to see some lawyer grill Mark Zuckerberg on the stand about money and Facebook. We haz a sad. That would have been awesome.
A nice little case popped out of the Alberta Court of Appeal on Wednesday of this week. A couple of dudes at the University of Calgary were none too happy with a prof of theirs and took to Facebook to express their displeasure. The University was not pleased. Four years later, we’ve got a resolution. So can you say what you want on Facebook? Let’s find out.
Well I am sure we’d all like to sue FB to get a piece of that sweet, sweet cash. A woman in Vancouver has actually gone ahead with it though, and in fact is representing a whole bunch of people in a class action, so maybe you can get in on it! Let’s break down what’s going on and see if we could do something like this in Quebec, where hopefully I’ll be your lawyer. I want that sweet, sweet cash too!
Sorry I haven’t posted this week, I’ve been busy preparing my liver for my Law 10-year reunion this weekend. But I still have something for you. Here’s an article I wrote about Facebook and privacy for McGill’s Faculty of Law magazine, Focus online. It lacks my usual sarcastic snark you’ve come to love, but it’s educational I guess.
I am a lawyer specializing in internet law working out of Montreal, though sometimes I do it in front of the U.S. Capitol. That should tell you what you need to know about internet law in Canada. I also warp young legal minds at the Faculty of Law at McGill.
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