laws

News Byte

Overstock Ends Affiliate Marketing in Four States to Avoid Sales Tax

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on April 4, 2011 at 11:55 am PT

Overstock.com is no longer using affiliate advertising in four states to protest upcoming laws that will require online retailers to collect sales tax if they are marketing within state boundaries. The states are Rhode Island, New York, North Carolina and Illinois. Online retailers typically do not collect sales tax from customers in states where they do not have a physical presence, but the interpretation of presence is getting broader as states seek new revenue. Overstock will instead market directly to residents in those states by giving customers a credit worth about $30. In all, Overstock said, the program could cost about $4.5 million.

News Byte

There's No Curbing the Street View Privacy Probes

Voices in News on November 10, 2010 at 2:30 pm PT

As our John Paczkowski noted in Digital Daily early this morning, Google’s woes over the collection of user data from unsecured Wi-Fi networks by its Street View cars are far from over despite a “no harm, no foul” decision from the FTC. The latest evidence: Confirmation that the Federal Communications Commission is among the regulators here and abroad still investigating whether Google’s actions broke any laws. In response to the news, Google once again pronounced itself “profoundly sorry for having mistakenly collected payload data from unencrypted networks.”

News Byte

Europeans Should Have the Right to Be Forgotten by Facebook

Beth Callaghan in News on November 4, 2010 at 12:59 pm PT

EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding introduced proposals today for public consultation to rewrite outdated protection laws in order to give citizens more control over their personal data. The proposals state that people “should have the ‘right to be forgotten’ when their data is no longer needed or they want their data to be deleted,” and recommends giving consumers the right to sue over breaches of privacy. The Commission aims to introduce legislation in 2011.