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List of Communications Highlights for 2006

By The FindLaw Editorial Staff

2006 is coming to a close, and it has been a topsy-turvy year, to say the least.

The world of Legal Technology has also had its share of ups and downs in 2006, with companies spying on their boards, the treasury department spying on money transfers, and the government spying on, well, everyone! With all the spying going on, data security was certainly on everyone's mind in 2006, and several key stories arose out of the inability of comapnies and government agencies to protect their customer and employee data. The new Federal Rules of Civil Procedure also added to the mix with new requirements for companies and other potential litigants to keep in mind as they generate gigabytes and gigabytes of information every day.

We've assembled some of the top issues in the communications field that have appeared in the Legal Technology Center over the course of the past year, and we offer them up so you can relive the highs and lows that were 2006. Enjoy, and have a wonderful holiday season and a happy New Year!

• Green Thumb - Good; Blackberry Thumb - Bad
  These days, when you pull out a BlackBerry, you may mutter "what a sore thumb have I." Indeed, "Blackberry thumb" may be joining our modern day vocabulary as did "tennis elbow" some time back.
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• Responsible e-Waste Disposal
  

  The statistics on electronic waste (e-waste) are alarming. E-waste is now the fastest-growing part of the municipal waste stream, according to the EPA. Computers seem so efficient and environmentally-friendly, but there are hidden dangers associated with them once they become e-waste.

  
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• Boardroom Hijinks May Lead to Serious Liability
  Two days ago, on September 12, Hewlett-Packard's ("HP") non-executive Chair, Patricia Dunn, resigned -- amid news stories claiming she used subterfuge to gain access to the phone records of board members and journalists, in an effort to root out a suspected boardroom snitch.
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• Wiretap Fallout: Suits Against Telecoms Gain New Life in California
  After receiving mixed results in July, plaintiffs alleging that AT&T and other telecommunications companies violated their rights by helping the National Security Agency (NSA) monitor their phone calls recently got some good news in the form of a consolidation order from the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.
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• Employers Resort To Firing Employees Who Abuse Electronic Communications
  In one of my recent columns, I wrote about how employers have considerable worries as to how employees handle their electronic communications by way of blogging and instant messaging. Well, it turns out that employers are so concerned about their legal and financial risks caused by inappropriate employee electronic communications, they are terminating employees who violate workplace computer policies.
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• Why The "Compromise" Foreign Surveillance Wiretap Legislation Pending in Congress Is No Compromise
  New legislation that would rewrite the rules governing foreign surveillance wiretaps is making its way through the Senate Judiciary Committee. The legislation's content is predictable: The GOP-controlled Congress is giving the President essentially what he wants, by approving his NSA wiretapping program.
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• The Recent Revelations About the NSA's Access to Our Phone Records: The Laws that Were Probably Broken, and the Likely Consequences
  With the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program still highly controversial, just last week, USA Today revealed that President Bush has authorized yet another secret surveillance program. Under this program, the NSA - apparently without the benefit of any court order -- has been compiling millions of Americans' phone records into a giant database.
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• The Treasury Department's Secret Monitoring of International Funds Transfers
  In late June, the New York Times revealed that the Treasury Department and the CIA had been engaged in a secret surveillance program. Through the covert Terrorist Finance Tracking Program ("TFTP"), the Administration has reportedly monitored thousands of international funds transfers. The goal was to trace terrorist finances, in an effort to stop money from reaching terrorist groups.
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• FCC Inconsistency Benefits Law Enforcement In VoIP/Broadband Decision
  Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit addressed a controversial 2005 order of the Federal Communications Commission in American Council on Education v. FCC, a decision which denied a petition for review of an FCC ruling that providers of broadband Internet access and voice over Internet protocol ("VoIP") services are regulable as "telecommunications carriers" under the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act ("CALEA").
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Communications

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