Internet/Technology Lawyer Interviews

Costa Mesa, CA: Tinder, a global dating app’s website, is the focus of a a consumer rights class-action lawsuit launched in California.

Costa Mesa, CA: Grindr Xtra, a global dating website that caters to gay, bisexual and curious types, has a consumer fraud lawsuit on its plate over the way it handles subscriber cancellations.

Dallas, TX So, imagine you are driving at 70 mph in your car when suddenly the windshield wipers go on, the entertainment system clicks on full blast, the horn is honking and the air conditioner starts blowing arctic cold air. Then suddenly you feel the brakes engage. The vehicle is coming to full stop with a freeway full of cars coming up fast in your rearview mirror.

New York, NY When retail stores have suffered data breaches, the incidents have been big news, but data breaches at insurance companies can be even more harmful. Gary Graifman, partner at Kantrowitz Goldhamer & Graifman in charge of consumer class-action litigation, says Premera policyholders whose information was accessed in a recent data breach could be at risk of identity theft for a long period of time. Premera lawsuits have now been filed alleging, among other things, that the company was negligent in its handling of sensitive policyholder information, that it failed to follow the data breach notification laws it is subject to and that it violated consumer protection laws.

San Diego, CA Your zip code is private information and savvy marketers in the digital age can use that information to generate a detailed profile of your shopping habits, the kind of car you drive, provide information about how much you earn and a lot more.

New York, NY And, you have the right to remain silent, except for those things you posted on your Facebook page, or you tweeted or otherwise sprinkled throughout cyberspace for all of eternity. Personal injury attorney Neal Goldstein, from Goldstein & Bashner in New York City and Long Island, is constantly reminding clients to be careful about what they are sharing on social media sites.

Los Angeles, CA Five years ago, Los Angeles attorney Erik Syverson saw the future. He decided to focus his legal practice on what happens in the world of cyberspace. "The internet is here to stay," says Syverson. "I realized a few years ago that the internet world is going to bring up all kinds of legal issues."

Regina, SK A thin, wiry man with piercing eyes who claims to eat and sleep very little, Canada's Tony Merchant is a somewhat misunderstood character but nevertheless a very good litigation lawyer. He's pursued hundreds of class action suits with excellent results in a country where people are historically less accustomed to settling grievances through civil action than in the US. Merchant's latest newsworthy suit is a class action against Facebook. In a country with only 33 million people, it is estimated that there are 15.7 million Facebook users. The putative class, as lawyers say, is phenomenally large.

Los Angeles, CA There are plenty of ways to make money on the Internet, and some of them can be pretty shady. According to a recent class action filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by Kabateck Brown Kellner LLP of Los Angeles (KBK), Google, the California information technology giant, is practicing one of those shady ways by knowingly using "parked web sites" to inflate the profits of its AdSense on-line advertising program.