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Tech Lawsuits, Arrests Roll In Michigan
by Michael Martinez
The Wolverine State has been ablaze with technology-related lawsuits lately.
Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox last Friday filed a complaint with the state's Public Service Commission against a communications firm for allegedly failing to provide adequate service to senior citizens. According to the lawsuit, Talk America violated the Michigan Telecommunications Act and commission rules by failing to repair telephone services in a 100-bedroom assisted-living facility in Kalamazoo.
Prosecutors said the commission will hold a hearing on the matter. Talk America faces up to $760,000 in fines. The suit also seeks as much as $303,000 in restitution for the alleged disruptions in service.
"This situation presents a serious problem which cannot be repeated," Cox said in a release. "Nurses at the center were not able to receive calls from physicians or hospitals. Patient safety was needlessly affected by the phone service disruption."
Officials in Flint also took the technology industry to court this week. The city filed a class-action suit against Take-Two Interactive Software, the production label behind the Grand Theft Auto videogame series. The suit alleges that Take-Two Interactive employees misrepresented the value of the company's stock and engaged in insider trading.
According to prosecutors, Take-Two Interactive "buried" sexually explicit content in its popular game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas so that it would earn a more favorable rating from the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. The suit alleges that executives dumped hundreds of thousands of shares in company stock, knowing that the eventual discovery of hidden sexual content would cause prices to plummet.
The City of Flint Pension Fund had purchased large amounts of the stock before the reports surfaced about sexual content. According to prosecutors, city officials managing the fund were misled into believing the stock was a sound investment.
"Fraud against the taxpayers of Flint and our retired Flint police officers and firefighters will not be tolerated," Mayor Don Williamson said. "Not only was the city pension fund deceived as to the value of the stock, but the true nature of what this company was selling was being concealed, too."
In separate news, Cox announced the arrests of two alleged Internet sexual predators.
Last week an Internet sting operation netted 30-year-old Glen Michael Vellner man on charges related to using the Internet to solicit a minor and for sending a minor sexually explicit material via the Web. And on Wednesday, law enforcers announced the arrest of 46-year old Steven Robert Wallace for disseminating sexually explicit material to a minor over the Internet.
California Sued Over E-Voting Machines
A group of California voters on Tuesday announced a lawsuit against the state and 18 of its counties, accusing election officials of failing to deploy a secure and accurate voting system.
The group sued the state's top election official, Secretary of State Bruce McPherson, to block the purchase of Diebold voting machines that it claims are plagued by security, verifiability and access problems. McPherson approved the machines last month after several delays for additional testing. A federal evaluation of the equipment ordered by McPherson is ongoing.
The suit was filed in a California superior court in San Francisco with the support of Voter Action, a nonprofit that has backed similar suits in New York and Pennsylvania. According to Voter Action co-Director Lowell Finley, McPherson cleared the use of machines that experts still believe are unreliable because their source code is vulnerable to malicious attacks.
"The Diebold touch-screen voting system is a severe security risk and does not accommodate all disabled voters as required by law," Finley said in a statement.
Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America and a plaintiff, said the suit is designed to thwart the deployment of the Diebold machines. "Diebold systems have failed in security tests and in communities around the country," she said. "In certifying the Diebold machines, the secretary has sidestepped his duty to deny certification to voting systems that violate state and federal standards."
Iowa Mulls Passports For ID Theft
Iowa lawmakers are considering a measure to establish a special passport-like system to protect victims of identity theft.
The Iowa General Assembly last week approved a bill, H.F. 2247, to let victims apply for passports that would waive them of legal liability for criminal activity undertake with their stolen data. The measure has been sent to the Senate.
Victims who file police reports could apply for the passports. The bill would require the attorney general to establish rules to ensure that applications are legitimate. The applications and all their supporting documents would be kept confidential, and none of the information included would be considered public record.
Nevada enacted a similar law at the beginning of the year.
Tennessee Weighs Exemption For Online Auctions
A Tennessee House panel on Tuesday approved a measure to exempt online businesses from state rules that apply to auctioneers.
The bill, H. B. 3507, would exempt from mandatory auction-licensing procedures businesses that allow online bidding for goods. Gallery licenses from the Tennessee Auctioneer's Commission cost $150 and require applicants to attend an 80-hour approved auction education program.
The bill has been referred to the House Rules Committee. The Tennessee Auctioneers Association issued a call to action March 17 for opposition to the measure. The group has argued that online businesses should be subject to the same rules as traditional auctioneers.
Pennsylvania May Kill Cell-Phone Tax
The Pennsylvania Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday approved a bill to phase out state taxes on cellular telephones.
The measure, S.B. 691, would eliminate a tax on cell service over five years. The bill would phase the 5 percent tax by 1 percent each year.
"We are taking steps to right a wrong by eliminating an unnecessary and burdensome tax that has not only made it more difficult for people to afford to use a cell phone but has discouraged the wireless industry from further investing in the state," Republican Sen. Rob Wonderling said in a statement.
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