Monthly Archives: August 2011

Blizzard Changes Course, Integrates Real Money Trading Into Diablo III

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Justin Kwong

If you’re a hardcore player of World of Warcraft, you know how stringently its parent company, Blizzard, has fought to keep the spectre of real money trading (RMT) from corrupting the game.  Gold farming and power leveling were/are scourges of … Continue reading →

Posted in International News, Multi-user Online Environments, Virtual Currency, Virtual Items / Virtual Goods | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Facebook Changes Privacy Policy, Controls AGAIN!

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Justin Kwong

It’s Wednesday, so you know what that means?  Time for yet another privacy overhaul over at everyone’s favorite social network.  That’s right, Facebook has gone back to the drawing board with their privacy settings and tried to move them more … Continue reading →

Posted in Privacy, Social Networks, Terms of Service Tracker | Leave a comment

Blocking Cell Phones in San Francisco: A Constitutional Conundrum

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Justin Kwong

Remember back in February when Egypt’s uprising was capturing the world’s attention? The country’s brutal dictator, Hosni Mubarak, shut down the Internet to prevent protesters from organizing and sharing information about the crackdown with the rest of the world.  This … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal Developments, Mobile Devices, Regulation and Rule-making, Rights and Civil Liberties, Social Networks | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ugh, Canada! Our Northern Neighbor Is Aiming to Make Internet Privacy a Lot Less Private

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Justin Kwong

Ars Technica reported on a developing story out of Canada this week that should worry many Internet privacy advocates.  The country’s conservative party, which took over control of their parliament this spring, seeks to broadly expand the government’s power.  The … Continue reading →

Posted in International News, Legal Developments, Legislation, Multi-user Online Environments, Privacy, Social Networks, Virtual Worlds | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Facebook “Like” Button Declared Illegal in Germany, EU to Follow?

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Justin Kwong

European Union data privacy laws are nothing to sneeze at.  The rules governing what information can be gathered about people living in the EU are some of the strictest in the world and they are actively enforced.  This week, a … Continue reading →

Posted in International News, Legal Developments, Litigation, Privacy, Social Networks | 1 Comment

UPDATE: Missouri’s “Facebook Law” Gets It All Wrong

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Justin Kwong

Original Update (Sept. 5, 2011): Since last month, the Missouri law blocking social networking has come under scrutiny by the Missouri courts as well as the state’s governor. First, a state judge blocked enforcement of the law with an injunction, … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal Developments, Legislation, Rights and Civil Liberties, Social Networks, Virtual Worlds | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Feeding Virtual Horses Sparks an IP Battle in Second Life

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Justin Kwong

I’m not sure how I missed this story when it first emerged last winter.  A company that designs and sells virtual animals in Second Life is suing a competing animal maker over the IP behind the way the companies make … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal Developments, Litigation, Multi-user Online Environments, Virtual Currency, Virtual Items / Virtual Goods, Virtual Stuff..., Virtual Worlds | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments