Broadcasting Dares Seems A Bad Idea

From the truth-in-advertising department: the fraud-prevention company LifeLock has for a while run a series of ads in which CEO Todd Davis announces his real social security number and says that he's protected from identity theft. It's a powerful message. Too bad it's false.

According to an AP story, two LifeLock customers are suing, claiming that the service doesn't work and that the company knew it, because it didn't even work for Davis:

Attorney David Paris said he found records of other people applying for or receiving driver's licenses at least 20 times using Davis' Social Security number, though some of the applications may have been rejected because data in them didn't match what the Social Security Administration had on file.

Davis acknowledged in an interview with The Associated Press that his stunt has led to at least 87 instances in which people have tried to steal his identity, and one succeeded: a guy in Texas who duped an online payday loan operation last year into giving him $500 using Davis' Social Security number.

And then there is his answer to AP:

"There's nothing on my actual credit report about uncollected funds, no outstanding tickets or warrants or anything," he said. "There's nothing to indicate my identity has been successfully compromised other than the one instance. I know I'm taking a slightly higher risk. But I'll take my risk for the tremendous benefit we're bringing to society and to consumers."

So much for testimonials from the interested - and the degree to which a company can actually protect your identity, which can be a lot more than trying to fill a credit application.

Blogger Wins SLAPP Suit

A number of blogs have been following the case of third party eBay drop-off company, BidZirk, suing blogger Philip Smith for saying critical things about it and its president, Daniel Schmidt. Apparently, Smith ran a four-part article on his blog about eBay drop-off services in general and BidZirk in particular. The company sued, and apparently it and its lawyer went so far over the top - including putting a lien on the blogger's condo without having any basis to claim a right to the property - that a judge granted Smith summary judgment ... a year and a half after the suit was first filed. You can read about this at the Citizen Media Law Project, the Technology & Marketing Law Blog by Eric Goldman, and Smith's own blog.

Canadian Internet Faces Danger from Lawsuit

According to Canadian law professor Michael Geist, two defamation lawsuits filed in British Columbia could significantly "reshape free speech on the Internet in Canada." In a Toronto Star article, he notes that the suits, both filed by the same individual, go after not only the authors of the allegedly defamatory material, but of any companies hosting the statements. Unlike in the U.S., there are no statutory protections for sites or services when they it possible for people to publish whatever they want to say. Canada, like most of the Commonwealth countries, has defamation laws that are considerably friendlier to plaintiffs than in the U.S., at least when the people in question are public figures. Should the courts agree that intermediaries can be held responsible for what people write, the effect could be a vastly changed Internet in Canada ... and a lot less freedom of speech, as the companies, in order to protect themselves, eliminate the outlets for expression that most people have.