The Internet can be a great way for companies and professionals to market their products or services and bring in business. But lightning-quick global communication isn’t always a good thing, especially when a dissatisfied customer is the one who is doing the talking. This week, a New York lawyer learned that responding to online criticisms may create more problems than it solves. After anonymously being called “the most unscrupulous lawyer” on a review website, the lawyer posted a response saying that he knew who wrote the comment and that the writer, a former client, was “emotionally disturbed.” The lawyer went on to accuse the former client of “harassing and victimizing” several women. The client took the lawyer to court, alleging that these comments amounted to defamation and demanding they be taken down. While the judge’s order to take the comments down didn’t address the merits of the defamation claim, the lawyer may still ultimately be held liable for these comments.
Other individuals who got in trouble due to online activity this week include a nurse who was fired for liking a colleague’s Facebook post that criticized management and a salesman fired for “threatening” a co-working by using CAP locks in an email.
Technology and the Workplace
Judge Tosses Fired Employee’s Computer Hacking Claim Over Takeover of Her LinkedIn Account (ABA Journal)
Audio Recording Bares Nurses Fired Over Facebook Like on Critical Status Update (Global Nation)
Is ALL CAPS a Threat? (Lawffice Space)
Boeing Accused of Videotaping Union Marches, Seizing Photos (Law 360)
Court Orders Lawyer to Remove Allegedly Defamatory Comments From Web (Thomson Reuters)
Technology and the Law
Supreme Court Terminates Warrantless Electronic Spying Case (Wired) (WSJ)
Seven-Year Sentence in Fake Facebook Stock Sale (La Crosse Tribune)
Tighter Rules on Cellphone Tracking Urged (Star Tribune)
Google Agrees to Pay $10 to Each “Sponsored Stories” Victim (CNN)
Google Awards $60,000 Prize for Chrome Hack (CNN)
There’s an App for That
Researchers Developing Apps to Diagnose Ear Infections (FOX)
Mayo Clinic Launches App to Help People Conquer Fears and Overcome Anxiety (Med City News)
Smartphone on Wheels: Car Integrates Apps into Driving (FOX)
Ebay Unwraps New Website Design, Same-Day Delivery App (LA Times)
Social Media Browser for iPad Released (ABC)