NEWS AND EVENTS

Shidler Journal of Law, Commerce & Technology

Volume 5, Issue 2 is now available online!  Our Autumn Issue features the following articles:

• Age Verification as a Shield for Minors on the Internet: A Quixotic Search?
  This article examines the issues raised by the use of the Internet by minors and children. In addition to being an outstanding source of information and a tool for connecting people in numerous affinity networks, the Internet has a dark side. Its resources may be abused for many bad deeds, including cyber bullying or facilitating encounters with child predators. One way to protect minors is to ensure that their age and identity is verified. However, this is not technically feasible without infringing on the privacy of these children as well as that of the adults who might have to be screened as well, if only to prove that there are not minors. After looking at the current problems, the existing laws, and comparing with developments in other countries, the article identifies some of legal and technical hurdles before stressing the important role of parents, guardians and education. While legislators are playing whack-a-mole, chasing child pornography, child predators, and cyber bullying, parents cannot let their children venture on the Internet unprepared and unsupervised. Despite its friendly face and its very approachable demeanor, the Internet is not a nanny. Rather, it is a reflection of the world, a combination of the good, the bad and the ugly.
• Federal Tax Consequences of Virtual World Transactions
  This Article discusses the tax consequences of transactions involving Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (“MMORPGs”). MMORPGs have recently grown in popularity and developed significant economic activity. Virtual goods used in these games are traded for both real and virtual currency. While few dispute that a sale of virtual goods for real currency is a taxable event, more complex tax issues arise concerning transactions that occur solely within virtual worlds. This Article analyzes the tax consequences and policy issues surrounding such transactions.
• Ethical Duties to Prospective Clients Who Send Unsolicited Emails
  Recent Iowa and Massachusetts ethics opinions declared that an attorney may owe ethical obligations to prospective clients who send the attorney just a single email regarding legal assistance. These ethics opinions are part of a trend whereby jurisdictions are extending the duty of confidentiality to prospective clients who send unsolicited emails to attorneys, when those persons reasonably believe that the conveyed information will be held in confidence. These opinions highlight the importance for all attorneys to disclaim duties of confidentiality and representation, particularly when advertising online. This article discusses ethical opinions regarding prospective clients who send unsolicited emails and concludes by providing pointers to help attorneys avoid unintentionally extending ethical duties.
• Border Searches of Laptop Computers after United States v. Arnold: Implications for Traveling Professionals
  The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that border searches of laptop computers do not require reasonable suspicion. The decision, in United States v. Arnold, reflects the continued intent of the Ninth Circuit—along with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals—to continue analyzing laptop computer searches under the traditional border search doctrine. This article will examine recent laptop computer search cases in light of the border search doctrine and will consider the implications for lawyers and business professionals who travel abroad with confidential information on laptops and other electronic-storage devices. The article will also consider the implications of such searches on the ethical duty of confidentiality, the attorney-client privilege, and trade secrets law.
• MySpace or Yours? The Impact of the MySpace-Attorneys General Agreement on Online Businesses
  On January 14, 2008, social networking Web site MySpace.com announced an agreement with the Attorneys General of forty-nine states and the District of Columbia aimed at increasing the safety of children online. MySpace.com and the Attorneys General created a “Joint Statement on Key Principles of Social Networking Sites Safety,” which sets forth various principles and goals for improving online safety for children through new online safety tools, design and functionality changes, education tools, and law enforcement cooperation. This article closely examines the agreement between MySpace.com and the Attorneys General and attempts to determine whether any best practices have emerged regarding children’s online safety that other businesses should consider implementing to avoid liability.

The Shidler Journal of Law, Commerce & Technology, is an online journal for practicing lawyers and business managers. This innovative electronic publication, which is written for practicing attorneys and business professionals, features timely, concise articles on important and emerging issues in the technology law arena. Visit the Shidler Journal of Law, Commerce & Technology at www.lctjournal.washington.edu.