FTC Takes Aim at "Stalker Spyware" Company

Acting on a request from the Federal Trade Commission, a U.S. District Court has temporarily halted the sale of "stalker spyware," pending a decision on whether these products engage in unfair and deceptive practices by enabling and encouraging privacy invasion. Keylogger programs are often sold as "stalker spyware" and describe in detail how to spy on others without being detected, according to the FTC complaint. CDT applauds the hard work of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, which first brought a petition to the FTC to stop these deceptive, privacy invasive technologies. November 17, 2008

FTC Notice on Court Action November 17, 2008 [off-site]

Court Must Vacate 'Baseless' Domain Name Seizure

Three public interest groups have filed a "friend of the court" brief urging a Kentucky appeals court to overturn a lower court ruling that authorized the seizure of more than 100 Internet domain names associated with websites operating around the globe. The brief, from CDT, Electronic Frontier Foundation and American Civil Liberties Union, says that if the lower court's ruling allowing Kentucky to seize the domain names is allowed to stand, it would wreak havoc with Internet free speech and governance. "If the Kentucky order is upheld, no speech that conflicts with any law, anywhere in the world, would be safe from censorship," said John Morris, general counsel for CDT. November 14, 2008

Amicus Brief [PDF] November 13, 2008

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