Class Claims Facebook Invades Privacy, Sells Personal Information
Headline Legal News
Facebook invades the privacy of its customers and misappropriates people's images and personal information for marketing and commercial purposes, a class action claims in Orange County Court, Calif. The class claims Facebook's "unconscionable" terms and conditions allow it to compile an extraordinary amount of data from users, and permits third parties access to a gold mine of information without users' knowledge or consent.
Professional photographer Elisha Melkonian says Facebook permitted her photos to be downloaded, copied and distributed without her permission, despite her fruitless attempts to stop it.
Melkonian says she is concerned that Facebook has stored personal information posted by her 11-year-old son, including "partially clothed photographs of children aged 5 to 11" who were swimming.
She claims Facebook's terms and conditions are misleading, as they do not clearly specify how Facebook stores or uses such sensitive material as contact information, date of birth, email addresses and phone numbers, which puts users at risk of identity theft.
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USCIS Issues Clarifying Guidance on NAFTA TN Status Eligibility for Economists
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it is clarifying policy guidance (PDF, 71 KB) on the specific work activities its officers should consider when determining whether an individual qualifies for TN nonimmigrant status as an economist.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) TN nonimmigrant status allows qualified Canadian and Mexican citizens to temporarily enter the U.S. to engage in specific professional activities, including the occupation of economist. The agreement, however, does not define the term economist, resulting in inconsistent decisions on whether certain analysts and financial professionals qualify for TN status as economists.
TN nonimmigrant status is intended to allow a limited number of professionals and specialists to work temporarily in certain specifically identified occupations in the United States. This updated guidance provides USCIS officers with a specific definition of one such category – economists – allowing them to adjudicate applications in a way that complies with the intent of the agreement. This policy update clarifies that professional economists requesting TN status must engage primarily in activities consistent with the profession of an economist. Individuals who work primarily in other occupations related to the field of economics — such as financial analysts, marketing analysts, and market research analysts — are not eligible for classification as a TN economist.