A UK man last week pleaded guilty to 10 counts of possessing illegal manga and anime, a first since manga was added to the country’s child pornography laws in 2010. Robul Hoque of South Bank, Middlesbrough was sentenced to nine…
Category: Legal
Google’s Crime Tip Raises Privacy Concerns
“Hey did you read that email I sent you?” “Nope, but I bet Google did.” For those who think Google can do anything, it turns out you may be on to something. A tip from Google led to the arrest of…
On the Border of Fourth Amendment Rights
As evidenced by the Ryan Matheson case, one of the risks we face as comics fans is the search and seizure of electronic devices such as cell phones and laptops when we cross international borders. Two recent decisions in Riley…
Striking A Balance Between Intellectual Property Rights and Free Speech
With new social media and file sharing websites popping up almost every day, there is an ever-increasing concern with copyright and trademark infringement. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act was introduced in order to help make it easier for these new…
Supreme Court Says No to Warrantless Cellphone Searches by Police
As you may have heard, this week the Supreme Court unanimously decided that police must obtain a warrant to search the cellphone of someone they arrest. What does this mean for comics fans and professionals? We’re glad you asked! First,…
ALA Report Shows Internet Filtering Curtails Free Speech
In a few days we will mark the 11th anniversary since the Supreme Court decided in United States v. American Library Association that filtering of Internet access on school and library computers does not infringe on free speech rights. The…
Supreme Court Delivers Unanimous Decision in Key Free Speech Victory
On Monday, the Supreme Court, in a unanimous 9-0 ruling for Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus, upheld the right of people and organizations to preemptively challenge a law that infringes on First Amendment rights. The decision represents a key…
Tokyo Government Declares Imōto Paradise! 2 Manga Unhealthy
Under the guise of the revised (and ever more draconian) Youth Healthy Development Ordinance, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government this week declared that the manga Imōto Paradise! 2 was an “unhealthy publication.” Under the ordinance, such materials cannot be sold to…
Bone Named Among 10 Most Banned Books of 2013!
Today, the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom posted their annual list of the ten most-challenged books. The 2013 list has many of the “usual suspects” and one not-so-usual suspect: Jeff Smith’s Bone secured the rank of tenth most…
Politician Who Sponsored Law Struck Down by Brown v. EMA Arrested on Corruption Charges
Until recently, most of us here at CBLDF could only claim to know State Senator Leland Yee of California as the man behind the law struck down by the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. EMA. As of this week,…