• Doctor in the mouse. What if you could input a list of your current symptoms to Google, and quickly be connected with a doctor for a brief consultation? For a limited trial period, Google seems to have set up such a system for people who are looking for medical advice online. A lot of the details aren't known yet, but a Google spokesperson told a Gizmodo reporter, "When you're searching for basic health information — from conditions like insomnia or food poisoning — our goal is provide you with the most helpful information available." The feature is part of Google's Helpouts video-chat service.
  • Just shoot me. Data mining has reached the world of selfies. Social media users may not know this, but unless they have marked their photos posted on social media sites as private, the photos can be analyzed in bulk by third parties and used for marketing purposes. Privacy advocates say people should assume that their photos, unless clearly marked as private, are being scanned by market researchers. The rules and regulations applicable to this practice, including the privacy policies of the relevant social media platforms, are not always clear. So if you've posted a photo of yourself wearing a particular brand of ski gear on the mountain, some company may be making marketing decisions based on your photo and thousands of others. Soon, it may be targeting ads to you on that basis as well. For our own blog post on this subject, please click here.
  • Mere threats? In 2010, Anthony Elonis, a man from western Pennsylvania, made a series of rants on Facebook in the form of rap lyrics that threatened to kill his wife, an FBI agent, and children in a kindergarten class. He claimed that he never intended to kill anyone and that he was merely venting. He also claimed that his comments were protected by the First Amendment. Elonis was nonetheless charged and convicted under a federal threat statute and sentenced to 44 months in prison. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear his appeal in December. The case raises important issues, including whether statements on social media should be treated differently from statements made on the phone or in person. Elonis wrote to the Court, for example, "Modern media allow personal reflections intended for a small audience (or no audience) to be viewed widely by people who are unfamiliar with the context in which the statements were made and thus who may interpret the statements much differently than the speakers intended."

Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

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