SNLFinancial recently published an article discussing the efforts of some states to force Amazon, Overstock, and other e-commerce companies to collect sales tax on transactions conducted through online marketing affiliates in those states. The article addresses the constitutional challenge to a similar New York law passed in 2008 but also emphasizes the fact that the effect of these laws may be the opposite of what was intended. States may be in lose-lose spot with e-commerce companies on sales tax, SNLFinancial, July 24, 2009.
E-Commerce Trends
August 07, 2009
December 31, 2008
April 04, 2008
May 28, 2007
E-Commerce Law Briefs: Week of May 21, 2007
In response to complaints from universities, Google has decided not to accept advertisements from companies that sell essays or dissertations. "Google's forthcoming ban on adverts for ‘academic paper-writing services and the sale of pre-written essays, theses, and dissertations’ means that essay websites join a blacklist of ‘unacceptable content’ including adverts for weapons, prostitution, drugs, tobacco, fake documents and ‘miracle cures’."
(Link: Google bans essay writing adverts at BBC News)
More and more people are declaring "email bankruptcy." The volume of email traffic has nearly doubled in the last two years, resulting in an unmanageable number of inbox messages for many email users. Increasingly, overwhelmed folks are swearing off of email or deleting their inboxes and starting over.
(Link: E-Mail Reply to All: 'Leave Me Alone' at washingtonpost.com)
E-Commerce Law Briefs is a weekly feature appearing each Friday afternoon on E-Commerce Law. Each week, E-Commerce Law Briefs will provide a brief summary and commentary on recent legal news affecting e-commerce businesses.
March 09, 2007
E-Commerce Law Briefs: Week of March 5, 2007
"A handful of police departments have utilized YouTube as a law enforcement tool, putting up video of suspects and eliciting help from the Internet-using public in identifying them. Experts say the idea has promise, but it's too soon to tell whether it will have staying power amid constantly evolving technologies and the difficulty of making a video stand out among millions. Some also see a risk of fruitless tips, misidentifications or privacy problems."
These criticisms could just as easily apply to the broadcasting of surveillance camera video on the local evening news, a practice which is commonplace in many jurisdictions when police require community assistance to identify suspects. YouTube may reach a different audience but the concept is the same.
(Link: Police Turn to YouTube to Catch Suspects at washingtonpost.com)
Two independent sources estimate that U.S. consumers spent more than $33 billion online last quarter. Though online spending is still a fraction of total consumer spending, it is growing at a rate of more than 25 percent annually.
The e-commerce industry is growing at a substantial pace. As it does, law schools and firms must adapt to serve the unique legal needs of these clients.
(Link: New numbers show e-commerce spending tops $33 billion at Washington Business Journal)
Wikipedia plans to ask contributors who claim particular expertise on a subject to verify their credentials. The change in policy follows the discovery "that a high-ranking member of Wikipedia's bureaucracy used his cloak of anonymity to lie about being a professor of religion."
After his fraud was discovered, the contributor seemed to blame the whole incident on Wikipedia’s liberal concept of collaboration, which permits anyone to submit or edit site information. In an apology written to the Wikipedia community, he is quoted as saying: " ‘It was, quite honestly, my impression that it was well known that I was not who I claimed to be, and that in the absence of any confirmation, no respectible (sic) publication would print it.’ "
This is yet another example of why courts should not rely on Wikipedia as authority for any disputed fact that is material to a case.
(Link: After flap, Wikipedia wants ID from self-proclaimed experts at SilliconValley.com)
E-Commerce Law Briefs is a weekly feature appearing each Friday afternoon on E-Commerce Law. Each week, E-Commerce Law Briefs will provide a brief summary and commentary on recent legal news affecting e-commerce businesses.
February 13, 2007
Wikipedia: Good Enough for Some Courts, Not Good Enough for Middlebury College
A small Vermont college has determined that Wikipedia is not sufficiently authoritative to be cited in papers by students. According to a new policy instituted by the history department at Middlebury College, "Wikipedia is not an acceptable citation, even though it may lead one to a citable source."
Despite the reported reliance upon Wikipedia by some courts, it is difficult to accept that Wikipedia, in its present form, will ever be widely relied upon by courts on core issues or where there is conflicting evidence or authority. Courts have recently demonstrated a willingness to consider and rely upon Internet resources, such as Mapquest, but Wikipedia is unique among those sites.
The online encyclopedia is truly "collaborative" in that users are free to submit and edit information found on the site. As a result, the accuracy and reliability of Wikipedia have been questioned. According to the site itself, it "has also been criticised for its susceptibility to vandalism, uneven quality, systemic bias and inconsistencies, and for favouring consensus over credentials in its editorial process." In court, it would be foolish to rely on Wikipedia for any but the most mundane and uncontroversal facts.
Technorati Tags: Wikipedia
August 30, 2006
Domain Name Business is Booming
Driven by the Internet advertising boom, CNNMoney.com reports that "the market for registering and trading domain names could reach $2.5 billion this year." The market’s growth is greatest in country-specific extensions, which do not suffer from the saturation apparent amongst dot-com domains.
For more information, see Staking a claim on domains beyond dot-com on CNNMoney.com.
Technorati Tags: domain name
August 13, 2006
Surprise! Google Says Click Fraud Problem is Exaggerated
On the heels of reports that Google is joining Yahoo and MSN to address the click fraud problem, Google has released a report criticizing earlier attempts to quantify the problem as exaggerations.
According to this article in the Washington Post:
"Google said reports about click fraud have exaggerated the problem and could scare away advertisers. In its report yesterday, the company attacked the methodology used and conclusions drawn by click-fraud consultants, arguing they either lacked the technology to differentiate between a fraudulent click and a Web page reloading or that their technology improperly counted a single click as multiple clicks. Google cited specific examples of such methodological problems.
The reports ‘have led to vastly inflated estimates’ of the problem, said Shuman Ghosemajumder, Google's product manager of trust and safety. ‘We saw media reports and data from consultants submitted by advertisers and it didn't make any sense. This report details the flaws and explains the discrepancy. We want to help consulting firms.’"
As we’ve previously posted, declining advertiser confidence has forced the largest pay-per-click advertising companies (Google, Yahoo, and MSN) to finally address the click fraud problem. Google’s latest report is an attempt at damage control. Hopefully, it will lead to an honest appraisal of the problem and the granting of additional assurances to participating advertisers.
For more information, see Google Says About Click Fraud Are Overblown in the Washington Post and Google calls click fraud estimates overblown on CNET News.
Technorati Tags: google, click fraud
August 02, 2006
Search Giants Join Forces to Fight Click Fraud
Earlier this week, E-Commerce Law informed readers of Google’s decision to disclose the number of clicks on each customer’s bill which are deemed to be invalid. At the end of that short post, we predicted that "[t]o remain competitive, Yahoo and MSN will have to follow suit."
Now, from an AP story on the website of WTOP News:
"The Internet's leading search engines [Google, Yahoo, and MSN] are teaming up with an advertising trade group to find a better way to identify and measure ‘click fraud,’ a scam that has raised doubts about the Web's trustworthiness as a marketing vehicle.
. . .
It may take more than a year before the guidelines are finalized, said Greg Stuart, chief executive of the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
The decision to develop the guidelines reflects the Internet industry's ‘commitment to being the most accountable advertising medium and providing marketers with the highest level of transparency,’ Stuart said."
Search giants Google, Yahoo, and MSN really had no choice but to join forces to address the issue of click fraud, as consumer confidence in the accuracy of Internet advertising charges plummets as a result of publicized court cases and industry reports quantifying the problem. Though the teaming of these search engines to address the click fraud problem may result in systematic improvements, it’s impossible to eliminate the problem altogether.
For more information, see Web Search Engines to Fight Click Fraud on wtopnews.com.
Update (8/2/2006): Here's the washngtonpost.com version of the article: Web Search Engines to Fight Click Fraud.
Technorati Tags: google, click fraud
July 30, 2006
Google to Disclose Number of Fraudulent Clicks
In April, E-Commerce Law argued that to maintain the confidence of advertisers the search engine giants would have to assist in quantifying and reducing the click fraud problem. Now, Google has taken a first step in this process by agreeing to disclose the number of clicks on each customer’s bill which are deemed to be invalid.
To remain competitive, Yahoo and MSN will have to follow suit.
For more information, see Google to Disclose Dishonest Ad Clicks on nytimes.com.
Technorati Tags: google, click fraud
