legal issues

Expedia makes peace with United Airlines in latest deal to cement travel giant’s role in online booking

by Todd Bishop on September 16, 2019September 16, 2019 at 8:19 amComment

What happens to Expedia if airlines and hotels opt to go it alone? The online travel giant has been facing that ominous question through a series of recent contract negotiations… Read More

Podcast

Can Facebook be fixed? Social media and the unintended consequences of technology in the wild

by Todd Bishop on July 28, 2019July 28, 2019 at 8:37 amComment

Sheryl Cababa is a user experience designer with technology and product design firm Artefact in Seattle who studies the impact of social media on people, communities, and society. One of… Read More

Comcast fined $9.1M for consumer protection violations in high-profile Washington state case

by James Thorne on June 6, 2019June 7, 2019 at 10:34 am1 Comment

A judge ordered Comcast Corp. to pay $9.1 million in penalties for violating Washington state’s Consumer Protection Act — a fraction of the amount that the Washington State Attorney General… Read More

UnitedHealth sues exec for taking trade secrets to Amazon health care joint venture

by James Thorne on January 24, 2019January 24, 2019 at 10:53 amComment

Amazon’s joint venture with Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase is just getting started, but it’s already rattling health care giants. Earlier this month, UnitedHealth Group filed a lawsuit against a… Read More

Ex-Microsoft employee sues company and former manager for gender discrimination

by Nat Levy on November 7, 2018November 7, 2018 at 9:58 am 2 Comments

A former Microsoft employee has filed a lawsuit against the company, as well as her former manager and an additional unnamed employee, alleging that she was discriminated against based on… Read More

Video

Court docs: Elon Musk to resign as Tesla chairman, pay $20M, and submit tweets for internal review

by Todd Bishop & Alan Boyle on September 29, 2018October 18, 2018 at 10:56 am 2 Comments

Elon Musk has agreed to step down as Tesla’s chairman for three years but will remain CEO of the electric car maker, under the terms of documents filed today to… Read More

Google and Facebook sued by Washington state AG for alleged violations of campaign finance law

by Todd Bishop on June 4, 2018June 4, 2018 at 5:25 pmComment

Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed suit against Facebook and Google on Monday, alleging that the tech giants aren’t complying with a state law requiring them to disclose basic… Read More

Class action suit vs. CenturyLink and DirecTV alleges customer data can be accessed via internet search

by Nat Levy on March 21, 2018March 21, 2018 at 10:54 amComment

A lawsuit against internet provider CenturyLink and AT&T-owned DirecTV alleges the companies fail to adequately protect personal customer data — to the point that it can be found through a simple… Read More

IBM reaches settlement with new Microsoft diversity chief, ending unusual non-compete suit

by Todd Bishop on March 5, 2018March 5, 2018 at 7:14 pmComment

Updated below with IBM comment. IBM has settled a lawsuit with one of its longtime human resources executives who jumped ship to become Microsoft’s new chief diversity officer, according to… Read More

Microsoft backs bill to give harassment cases their day in court, waives its own arbitration clauses

by Todd Bishop on December 19, 2017December 19, 2017 at 4:57 amComment

Microsoft is throwing its support behind a bill that would prevent employers from requiring arbitration for sexual harassment claims, saying it’s the first Fortune 100 company to back the bipartisan… Read More

Disney targets Redbox over resale of digital movie codes, alleging ‘blatant disregard’ of copyright rules

by Todd Bishop on December 2, 2017December 2, 2017 at 9:58 amComment

A suit filed against Redbox this week by Walt Disney Co. targets the movie rental kiosk company’s practice of reselling digital movie codes included with physical copies of DVDs and… Read More

Ryanair sues Expedia, accusing online travel giant of illegally scraping its site to sell flights

by Todd Bishop on December 1, 2017December 1, 2017 at 10:42 amComment

Ryanair, the budget airline serving Europe, Africa and the Middle East, is accusing Expedia of routinely and repeatedly scraping information from its website, allegedly violating the airline’s terms of service… Read More

Microsoft wins dismissal of suit filed by former employees in ‘hostess bar’ expense case

by Taylor Soper on November 1, 2017November 1, 2017 at 2:51 pmComment

A King County Superior Court judge has dismissed a wrongful termination case against Microsoft filed by two former employees in 2015. Judge Veronica Galván ruled against George (Eric) Engstrom and John… Read More

Microsoft drops suit over U.S. secrecy rules after DOJ limits use of gag orders by prosecutors

by Todd Bishop on October 23, 2017October 23, 2017 at 8:25 pmComment

Microsoft says it’s dropping a suit against the U.S. Justice Department that targeted a tactic commonly used by prosecutors to prevent tech companies from informing their customers when investigators seek access… Read More

Amazon targets authors and marketers for alleged abuse of Kindle Direct Publishing system

by Todd Bishop on September 7, 2017September 7, 2017 at 6:43 am 2 Comments

Amazon has filed arbitration demands against several book authors, publishers and marketers, alleging that they abused the Kindle Direct Publishing system to artificially inflate their profits and sales rankings. The… Read More

Microsoft calls DOJ’s Supreme Court appeal in email case ‘backward’ given progress on new law

by Todd Bishop on June 24, 2017June 24, 2017 at 6:59 am1 Comment

The U.S. Justice Department petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court late Friday to overturn a ruling that blocked its warrant to obtain email from a Microsoft customer stored in the company’s… Read More

Washington state’s tougher distracted driving law to take effect this year, ahead of schedule

by John Stang on May 17, 2017May 17, 2017 at 8:13 am 6 Comments

TACOMA, Wash. — Cody Meyer, 23, was a flagger in bright yellow clothes for a private company installing fiber-optic cable on a road in Issaquah, Wash. on Dec. 15, 2015. A man… Read More

Avvo sued for sexual harassment, ex-employee claims she was fired after rebuffing ‘unwanted advances’

by John Cook on May 6, 2017May 6, 2017 at 3:22 pm 5 Comments

A former employee at Avvo, the Seattle-based online legal directory, says she was fired after rejecting advances from a co-worker, according to a suit filed this week in U.S. District… Read More

Take the tablet off the steering wheel: Tougher distracted driving law set to pass in Washington state

by John Stang on April 13, 2017April 13, 2017 at 7:36 am 2 Comments

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Using a smartphone or other device in almost any form while driving is on its way to becoming illegal in Washington state. Only a couple minor steps remain.… Read More

In new immigration twist, U.S. suspends option to pay for faster H-1B visa processing

by Todd Bishop on March 4, 2017March 5, 2017 at 3:33 pm1 Comment

Companies that bring software engineers and other highly skilled workers into the U.S. under H-1B visas will not be able to pay for faster processing of their petitions, under a temporary suspension of… Read More

Bill would let public utilities team with private companies on electric vehicle charging stations

by John Stang on February 10, 2017February 10, 2017 at 8:32 am1 Comment

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Representatives of Seattle City Light and other public utilities spoke Thursday in favor of a bill by Rep Gael Tarleton, D-Seattle, that would let public utilities seek private-sector… Read More

The U.S. House just passed an act requiring a warrant to search your old email

by Jillian Stampher on February 6, 2017February 6, 2017 at 4:21 pm1 Comment

The government needs a warrant to search your home or listen to your phone calls and, soon, it may also need one to view your old email. The U.S. House… Read More

White House: DOJ to seek emergency stay after Seattle contingent blocks immigration order; Trump calls ruling ‘ridiculous’

by Todd Bishop on February 3, 2017February 6, 2017 at 8:20 amComment

Updated below with President Trump’s response and statement from Department of Homeland Security. After losing the first round in a court battle with Washington state’s attorney general, the White House tonight… Read More

Tech startups PetHub and Pebblebee settle lawsuit over pet tracking tags

by Todd Bishop on January 20, 2017January 20, 2017 at 2:31 pmComment

Pet ID tag company PetHub and tracking technology startup Pebblebee have settled a contract dispute over a deal to develop pet tracking tags and a companion smartphone app, according to court records. A Jan.… Read More

Oculus engineering leader pleads not guilty to accusations of soliciting sex from undercover cop posing as 15-year-old girl

by Nat Levy on January 5, 2017January 5, 2017 at 1:58 pm1 Comment

Dov Katz, head of the computer vision and machine learning group at Facebook-owned Oculus, appeared in court Thursday to plead not guilty to charges of attempted commercial sexual abuse of a minor.… Read More