techpolicydaily.com

WASHINGTON – In a case with implications to state and federal Internet privacy rules – and perhaps, what people post on their social networking sites – Virginia has backed off from trying to force Facebook to give up  information about a user’s account in a workers’ compensation claim case.

On Aug. 28, the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission began levying a $200 a day fine on Facebook for failing to comply with a subpoena to provide information on a Virginia flight attendant who filed a worker’s comp claim after tripping, falling and injuring her back getting off a Colgan Air regional jet at Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport back in January.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch has the story here.  CNET’s Declan McCullah goes into more detail here about how private and public insurers are increasingly eyeing Facebook and other social networking sites when reviewing  insurance claims.

The gist of it comes down to the basic rule of social networking: Whatever you post on line may come back to haunt you later.

If you file a worker’s comp claim saying your hurt your back on the job, and then post on your Facebook page or Twitter about your big win on the basketball court or the ski trip to Aspen, insurers want to know about it.

While the Virginia case indicates states are willing to go only so far in getting back records from social networking sites, there’s little to keep government agencies, insurers – and everybody else – from seeing more recent records on what you’re doing and how you’re doing it.

WASHINGTON – Telemarketers beware: Beginning Sept. 1,  “robocalls” are illegal.

A year after the Federal Trade Commission announced rules prohibiting prerecorded commercial telemarketing calls to consumers, it’s about to get serious and start fining violators up to $16,000 per call.

There are plenty exemptions. If the robocaller is delivering purely informational recordings – such as a notification of flight being canceled, for instance, that’s OK. So are calls from companies that consumers have agreed to take calls from (on opt-in agreements and elsewhere) as well as – of course – political campaign calls. See more on the new rule here.