Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, director of the Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center, sent a letter to Twitter asserting that the company is violating U.S. law by allowing groups such as Hezbollah and al Qaeda affiliate al-Shabaab to use its popular online network. "It has come to our attention that Twitter Inc. provides social media and associated services to such foreign terrorist organizations," Darshan-Leitner wrote.
Authorities have identified three of the four women found dead in two incidents in Detroit, an investigator with the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office said. Three of the women have been linked to a website that accepts ads for escort services, police have said.
Providence Holy Cross Medical Center officials are investigating an employee who allegedly posted a patient's medical information on his Facebook page, apparently to make fun of the woman and her medical condition. According to a printout of the Facebook page obtained by the Daily News, the employee displayed a photo of a medical record listing the woman's name and the date she was admitted, and posted the comment: "Funny but this patient came in to cure her VD and get birth control."
Providence Holy Cross Medical Center officials are investigating an employee who allegedly posted a patient's medical information on his Facebook page, apparently to make fun of the woman and her medical condition.
According to a printout of the Facebook page obtained by the Daily News, the employee displayed a photo of a medical record listing the woman's name and the date she was admitted, and posted the comment: "Funny but this patient came in to cure her VD and get birth control."
Providence officials said the employee was provided by a staffing agency.
"We are investigating this report and if necessary will work with the staffing agency to ensure the individual is not allowed to work in the future in any Providence facility," hospital officials said in a statement. "We also will work with the agency to continue to provide training for contractors to comply with our patient privacy policies and our core values."
Because it is an ongoing investigation, Providence officials said the patient's and employee's name will not be released.
On the Facebook page, the employee is scolded by some posters, who tell him he is violating the woman's privacy, as well as the federal law known as HIPAA or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
But he defends the posting and insists he will leave it up, writing: "People, it's just Facebook...Not reality. Hello? Again...It's just a name out of millions and Advertisement millions of names. If some people can't appreciate my humor than tough. And if you don't like it too bad because it's my wall and I'll post what I want to. Cheers!"
Such postings may grow increasingly common, as medical files move from paper to electronic, exposing personal information to companies for marketing purposes, said Doug Heller, executive director for Consumer Watchdog, a Santa Monica-based organization that helped expose how health care companies were denying patient coverage based on pre-existing health conditions.
"A Facebook post is just the tip of the iceberg," Heller said. "An attack like this is not just awful for the individual patient, but it sends a message to patients that they may not trust the health care providers."
Only about a third of all hospitals are believed to have specific policies in place regarding patient information and social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, according to published reports. The issue has become an increasing challenge, because so many workers who view health information are also using the Internet day-to-day and could easily violate HIPAA laws, some health experts say. Last year, five nurses in Oceanside were fired after allegedly discussing patients on Facebook.
Providence officials said employees are continuously trained not to violate laws.
"Providence Health & Services, guided by core values that include respect and dedicated to compliance with state and federal privacy laws, takes patient privacy very seriously and regularly trains employees on the importance of guarding patient records," according to the statement by Providence.
susan.abram@dailynews.com 818-713-3664
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Britain, which closed its embassy in Tehran after it was ransacked by protesters, said that Iranian authorities had blocked its website aimed at Iran. The move creates further tension between the two countries that regularly clash over Iran's nuclear program.
A European Union design Apple Inc. used to win a sales ban on Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy 10.1 tablets may be of limited value after new evidence was introduced in an appeal of the decision, a German court said. Samsung introduced as evidence a U.S. utility patent using a type of flat screen that was published 13 days before Apple filed its EU design right.
China further tightened rules on microblogs, requiring new authors on seven websites in southern Guangdong province to register their real names, state-run Xinhua news agency reported, in a move users decried as ineffective. Microblogs such as Sina's Weibo allow users to issue messages of a maximum of 140 Chinese characters that can course through tens of millions users everyday, defying censors with posts on sensitive topics such as human rights and the foibles of the top leadership.
The Heritage Foundation, which enjoys close ties with the Republican Party and inspired President Reagan's missile defense program and the GOP's welfare reform effort, warned that the Stop Online Piracy Act raises important security and free speech concerns."The concern with SOPA is that it enforces private property rights at the expense of other values, such as innovation on the Internet, security of the Internet, and freedom of communication," said James Gattuso, Heritage's senior research fellow in regulatory policy.
As the holidays quickly approach and our agendas become filled with baking cookies, traveling, and last-second shopping, scammers are on the loose and have started targeting iCloud users in an attempt to acquire your log-in credentials.
Hasbro is accusing Asus of hijacking one of its trademarks with the release of the Transformer Prime tablet. The toymaker claimed in a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court that the electronics maker is creating confusion by blending the "Transformers" and Optimus Prime names.
Facebook agreed to overhaul privacy protection for more than half a billion users outside North America, after a three-month investigation found that its privacy policies were overly complex and lacked transparency. The probe by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) at the U.S. group's international headquarters in Dublin said users were at risk of unknowingly publicizing personal details.
A group of hackers in China breached the computer defenses of America's top business-lobbying group and gained access to everything stored on its systems, including information about its three million members, according to several people familiar with the matter. The break-in at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is one of the boldest known infiltrations in what has become a regular confrontation between U.S. companies and Chinese hackers.
A U.S. trade panel judge found Motorola Mobility infringed a Microsoft patent in making its Android cellphones, the companies said. The patented technology makes it possible for users to schedule meetings using mobile devices. However, the U.S. International Trade Commission judge found there was no violation of six other patents that remained in the dispute.
One of the owners of three of the largest Internet poker companies pleaded guilty to a criminal charge of deceiving U.S. banks over the processing of gambling proceeds. Absolute Poker co-owner Brent Beckley, 31, admitted in Manhattan federal court to conspiring to break U.S. laws against gambling on the Internet.
Gilberto Sanchez, who uploaded a pirated copy of Fox's superhero movie "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," was sentenced to one year in federal prison. Sanchez, 49, pleaded guilty in March 2011 to uploading a "workprint" copy of the film to the site Megaupload.com in March 2009, approximately a month prior to the film's theatrical release.
With the House Judiciary debate over online piracy legislation now expected to extend into the new year, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative provided copyright and trademark holders with fresh evidence to demonstrate the scope of online infringement they face from pirates and counterfeiters based offshore. USTR released a new report outlining the most notorious infringers based outside the United States.
Two senior lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee are urging the Commerce Department to try to delay the rollout of a program that could dramatically expand the number of Internet addresses. The latest criticism comes from Judiciary Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet Subcommittee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., a senior Judiciary member and the ranking member on the Foreign Affairs Committee.
The Recording Industry Association of America claims Google hasn’t been keeping its promises when it comes to fighting online piracy. “Google, as the overwhelming market leader in search and online advertising, has a special responsibility to lead and create a safe and secure Internet experience that works for consumers and the creative community,” the RIAA said in its report card.
Apple Inc., which on Dec. 9 lost a bid to keep Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy 10.1 tablet out of Australia, claims the case for the device and cases for Samsung phones infringe its patents and registered design. Apple issued the notice of infringement to Samsung in Australia over the cases, and will file a statement of claim, Apple’s lawyer Stephen Burley said at a hearing in Sydney.
Two prominent members of the Senate antitrust subcommittee are urging federal regulators to investigate whether Google unfairly promotes its own properties in search results. Committee Chairman Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) sent a five-page letter to Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jonathan Leibowitz calling for "serious scrutiny" of Google's business practices.
In a closely watched case, the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that Taiwanese cell phone maker HTC is violating an Apple patent and ordered an import ban on some of the company products. The organization found that HTC devices infringed on two claims related to an Apple patent.
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