Spring is in the air, and changing seasons sometimes bring a change in perspective. This week, we see both individuals and the government looking for new ways to deal with old problems.
Since the advent of social media, we’ve seen the problems it can create in the workplace. Now, individuals looking to avoid such problems can use the new app FireMe! It has a “Check Yourself” tool that analyzes a username’s tweets and calculates the likelihood that the tweets will get the author fired. We’re guessing it doesn’t come with a guarantee.
The government is also rethinking how the internet can help solve some of its problems. The U.S. Senate has just passed a bill that would levy a national tax on Internet sales. Additionally, a California city councilman is advocating taking an Internet sales tax one step further by imposing a tax on emails. He claims the profits could be used to help save local post offices, but critics question the practicality and desirability of such a tax.
Technology and the Workplace
Will This Tweet Get You Fired? Ask FireMe! (WSJ) (NBC)
NJ Bill to Protect Workers’ Facebook Info Heads to Governor (Law 360)
Techie Adria Richards Fired After Tweeting About Men’s Comments (CBS) (ARS Technica)
Your Employees Are Stealing Your Data (DE Employment Law Blog)
Technology and the Law
Are Shopping Websites Covered by Disability Law? The Answer Could Be “Yes” in New DOJ Regs (ABA Journal) (WSJ)
Senate Embraces Internet Sales Taxes (CNET)
Feds Use Little-Known StingRay Device to Track Cell Phones; Is a Warrant Required? (ABA Journal) (WA Post)
IL: Young People’s Tweets Aren’t Statements of Fact (IT-Lex)
Should the Government Tax Your Email? One CA Official Thinks So (FOX)
There’s an App for That
Can an App Help You Invest Like a Billionaire? (WSJ)
This Smartphone Knows When You’re Going to Die — and Could Save Your Life (FOX)
Spring Cleaning: 8 Home Inventory Apps to Log Your Stuff (Mashable)
Exec, Your Online Personal Assistant (WSJ)