LEGAL MATTERS: LinkedIn-- Aggressive Marketing or Hacking?

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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

John T. Longo, GoLocalProv Legal Contributor

When does aggressive marketing become hacking? A federal court in California is wrestling with that issue right now in a lawsuit brought by a disgruntled former LinkedIn user. The plaintiff claims LinkedIn hacked into his computer, found every e-mail address in it, then bombarded the people with spam disguised as e-mail from him. LinkedIn says it was just helping him grow his professional network and prosper. (Why don’t companies just admit they do things to make a buck? There is nothing wrong with that and it would really help their credibility.)

The lawsuit is rooted in LinkedIn’s “optimization initiatives” designed to grow the site’s membership. One of the initiatives was aggressively pressing new members to invite their friends to also join LinkedIn. If the new user agreed, LinkedIn’s computers would troll the new member’s computer and identify all the new member’s contacts. LinkedIn’s computers would then send the contacts an e-mail inviting them to join. According to the lawsuit, the problems were:

The e-mail looked like it was from the new member – not LinkedIn’s marketing computers. That often kept it from getting flagged as spam as the recipients probably would have preferred.
If the recipients did not join LinkedIn right away, LinkedIn’s computers would send follow up e-mails further annoying the recipients and embarrassing the new member whose email account LinkedIn appeared to be using.
LinkedIn’s computers could send the e-mails to anyone in the new member’s Google contact list which included anyone the new member ever sent an e-mail to and everyone they received an e-mail from - not just people they had consciously added to their contact list. So a junior employee who signed up for LinkedIn could have unwittingly allowed LinkedIn to send a bunch of e-mails to his or her boss pitching them to buy a LinkedIn membership. (Not something that is likely to earn you points with the boss.)
LinkedIn did not make it easy for the hoodwinked new member to stop the e-mails once he or she realized what was going on.

LinkedIn has responded to the lawsuit by basically saying ‘what’s the big deal, they [the new members] checked the “allow” box.’ That may win them the lawsuit but it won’t win them much trust.

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The New York Times wrote an excellent store about the lawsuit when it was filed in September and the Courthouse News Service has an updated article about LinkedIn’s effort to have it thrown out this month.

John Longo is a consumer rights attorney practicing law in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. He represents consumers who have disputes with businesses, employees cheated out of their wages or overtime, car buyers stuck with Lemons, and people in need of bankruptcy protection. He is a member of theNational Association of Consumer Advocates, theNational Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, and the Rhode Island Association for Justice.

Natural Disasters: RI's Most At Risk and Vulnerable Communities

#39 Little Compton

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 160

Flood Score: 18

Earthquake Score: 60

Tornado Score: 16

Snow Score: 50

Total Score: 424

Flood Damage

Rank: 14

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 2,516

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 16.78%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: 1,160

Number of Buildings at Risk: 187

Photo: Flickr/Al Carmadella Jr.

#38 Richmond

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 200

Flood Score: 18

Earthquake Score: 90

Tornado Score: 24

Snow Score: 75

Total Score: 587

Flood Damage

Rank: 24

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 2,945

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 11.35%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: N/A

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

#37 Exeter

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 240

Flood Score: 0

Earthquake Score: 90

Tornado Score: 24

Snow Score: 75

Total Score: 609

Flood Damage

Rank: 36

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 2,190

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 5.78%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: N/A

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

Photo: Flickr/UCL Mathematical

#36 West Greenwich

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 240

Flood Score: 0

Earthquake Score: 90

Tornado Score: 24

Snow Score: 75

Total Score: 609

Flood Damage

Rank: 39

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 1,197

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 3.62%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: N/A

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

Photo: Flickr/born1945

#35 New Shoreham

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 300

Flood Score: 27

Earthquake Score: 90

Tornado Score: 24

Snow Score: 75

Total Score: 696

Flood Damage

Rank: 13

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 1,220

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 17.3%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: 840

Number of Buildings at Risk: 20

Photo: Flickr/Al Camardella Jr.

#34 Foster

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 180

Flood Score: 18

Earthquake Score: 120

Tornado Score: 32

Snow Score: 200

Total Score: 790

Flood Damage

Rank: 28

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 2,659

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 7.94%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: N/A

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

Photo: Flickr/US Geological Survey

#33 Jamestown

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 480

Flood Score: 54

Earthquake Score: 180

Tornado Score: 48

Snow Score: 150

Total Score: 1,272

Flood Damage

Rank: 20

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 766

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 11.95%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: 3,910

Number of Buildings at Risk: 108

Photo: Flickr/NASA Goddard

#32 Hopkinton

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 600

Flood Score: 54

Earthquake Score: 210

Tornado Score: 56

Snow Score: 175

Total Score: 1,515

Flood Damage

Rank: 21

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 3,412

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 11.86%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: N/A

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

#31 North Smithfield

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 480

Flood Score: 27

Earthquake Score: 210

Tornado Score: 56

Snow Score: 350

Total Score: 1,543

Flood Damage

Rank: 26

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 1,727

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 10.63%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: N/A

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

Photo: Flickr/ilovemypit

#30 Charlestown

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 680

Flood Score: 144

Earthquake Score: 210

Tornado Score: 56

Snow Score: 175

Total Score: 1,685

Flood Damage

Rank: 4

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 9,276

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 34.08%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: 2,510

Number of Buildings at Risk: 838

#29 Glocester

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 500

Flood Score: 27

Earthquake Score: 240

Tornado Score: 64

Snow Score: 400

Total Score: 1,711

Flood Damage

Rank: 34

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 2,271

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 6.2%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: N/A

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

Photo: Flickr/Michael Dolan

#28 East Greenwich

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 720

Flood Score: 63

Earthquake Score: 270

Tornado Score: 72

Snow Score: 225

Total Score: 1,890

Flood Damage

Rank: 17

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 1,500

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 14.03%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: 1,240

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

Photo: Flickr/Sean Naber

#27 Scituate

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 500

Flood Score: 99

Earthquake Score: 270

Tornado Score: 72

Snow Score: 450

Total Score: 1,931

Flood Damage

Rank: 11

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 6,368

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 17.98%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: N/A

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

Photo: Flickr/US Geological Survey

#26 Middletown

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 800

Flood Score: 36

Earthquake Score: 300

Tornado Score: 80

Snow Score: 250

Total Score: 2,066

Flood Damage

Rank: 37

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 499

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 5.63%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: 2,012

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

Photo: Flickr/Ani Carrington

#25 Central Falls

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 740

Flood Score: 36

Earthquake Score: 300

Tornado Score: 80

Snow Score: 500

Total Score: 2,256

Flood Damage

Rank: 16

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 121

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 14.58%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: N/A

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

#24 Tiverton

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 880

Flood Score: 54

Earthquake Score: 330

Tornado Score: 88

Snow Score: 275

Total Score: 2,287

Flood Damage

Rank: 22

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 2,335

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 11.51%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: 3,080

Number of Buildings at Risk: 191

#23 Warren

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 800

Flood Score: 198

Earthquake Score: 330

Tornado Score: 88

Snow Score: 275

Total Score: 2,351

Flood Damage

Rank: 5

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 1,431

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 33.99%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: 7,520

Number of Buildings at Risk: 534

#22 Lincoln

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 740

Flood Score: 45

Earthquake Score: 360

Tornado Score: 96

Snow Score: 600

Total Score: 2,561

Flood Damage

Rank: 35

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 752

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 6.12%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: N/A

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

#21 Narragansett

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 1,180

Flood Score: 198

Earthquake Score: 390

Tornado Score: 104

Snow Score: 325

Total Score: 2,977

Flood Damage

Rank: 2

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 4,224

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 39.2

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: 9,030

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

#20 Portsmouth

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 1,120

Flood Score: 216

Earthquake Score: 420

Tornado Score: 112

Snow Score: 350

Total Score: 3,058

Flood Damage

Rank: 7

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 4,238

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 26.64

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: 6,530

Number of Buildings at Risk: 1,078

Photo: Flickr/Core Burn

#19 Smithfield

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 920

Flood Score: 72

Earthquake Score: 420

Tornado Score: 112

Snow Score: 700

Total Score: 3,094

Flood Damage

Rank: 30

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 1,201

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 6.74%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: N/A

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

#18 Barrington

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 860

Flood Score: 243

Earthquake Score: 420

Tornado Score: 112

Snow Score: 600

Total Score: 3,066

Flood Damage

Rank: 1

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 2,417

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 40.97%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: 13,890

Number of Buildings at Risk: 784

#17 Bristol

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 1,200

Flood Score: 135

Earthquake Score: 480

Tornado Score: 128

Snow Score: 400

Total Score: 3,303

Flood Damage

Rank: 8

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 1,745

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 26.28

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: 5,330

Number of Buildings at Risk: 483

#16 Coventry

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 1,160

Flood Score: 81

Earthquake Score: 480

Tornado Score: 128

Snow Score: 550

Total Score: 3,359

Flood Damage

Rank: 38

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 2,147

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 5.26%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: N/A

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

#15 Burrillville

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 906

Flood Score: 63

Earthquake Score: 510

Tornado Score: 136

Snow Score: 850

Total Score: 3,539

Flood Damage

Rank: 32

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 2,394

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 6.39

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: N/A

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

#14 Johnston

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 1,180

Flood Score: 18

Earthquake Score: 510

Tornado Score: 136

Snow Score: 850

Total Score: 3,714

Flood Damage

Rank: 25

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 1,677

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 10.7%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: N/A

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

#13 South Kingstown

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 1,580

Flood Score: 171

Earthquake Score: 540

Tornado Score: 144

Snow Score: 450

Total Score: 3,965

Flood Damage

Rank: 6

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 12,168

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 29.51

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: 7,310

Number of Buildings at Risk: 1,315

#12 Cumberland

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 1,180

Flood Score: 117

Earthquake Score: 600

Tornado Score: 160

Snow Score: 1,000

Total Score: 4,257

Flood Damage

Rank: 23

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 2,098

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 11.46%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: N/A

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

#11 Westerly

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 1,880

Flood Score: 189

Earthquake Score: 570

Tornado Score: 152

Snow Score: 475

Total Score: 4,406

Flood Damage

Rank: 9

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 5,604

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 26.15%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: 7,120

Number of Buildings at Risk: 1,342

#10 West Warwick

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 1,480

Flood Score: 99

Earthquake Score: 660

Tornado Score: 176

Snow Score: 925

Total Score: 4,660

Flood Damage

Rank: 19

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 629

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 12.21%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: N/A

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

#9 North Providence

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 1,400

Flood Score: 81

Earthquake Score: 690

Tornado Score: 184

Snow Score: 1,150

Total Score: 4,885

Flood Damage

Rank: 33

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 238

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 6.3%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: N/A

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

#8 North Kingstown

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 1,760

Flood Score: 297

Earthquake Score: 690

Tornado Score: 184

Snow Score: 575

Total Score: 4,886

Flood Damage

Rank: 10

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 5,538

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 19.12%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: 7,820

Number of Buildings at Risk: 850

Photo: Flickr/Jessica Merz

#7 Newport

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 1,880

Flood Score: 306

Earthquake Score: 720

Tornado Score: 192

Snow Score: 600

Total Score: 5,138

Flood Damage

Rank: 3

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 2,078

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 37.24%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: 10,590

Number of Buildings at Risk: 993

Photo: Flickr/ChalkyLives

#6 Woonsocket

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 2,260

Flood Score: 99

Earthquake Score: 1,110

Tornado Score: 296

Snow Score: 1,850

Total Score: 7,835

Flood Damage

Rank: 29

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 356

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 6.95%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: N/A

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

#5 East Providence

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 2,720

Flood Score: 225

Earthquake Score: 1,410

Tornado Score: 376

Snow Score: 2,350

Total Score: 9,901

Flood Damage

Rank: 12

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 1,610

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 17.37%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: 7,430

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

#4 Cranston

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 3,820

Flood Score: 360

Earthquake Score: 1,950

Tornado Score: 520

Snow Score: 3,250

Total Score: 13,800

Flood Damage

Rank: 27

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 1,541

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 8.25%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: 2,330

Number of Buildings at Risk: 640

#3 Pawtucket

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 4,880

Flood Score: 117

Earthquake Score: 2,160

Tornado Score: 576

Snow Score: 3,600

Total Score: 15,653

Flood Damage

Rank: 31

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 392

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 6.7%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: 1,150

Number of Buildings at Risk: N/A

#2 Warwick

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 5,400

Flood Score: 684

Earthquake Score: 2,400

Tornado Score: 640

Snow Score: 2,875

Total Score: 16,799

Flood Damage

Rank: 15

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 3,923

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 16.51%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: 28,760

Number of Buildings at Risk: 2,594

#1 Providence

Natural Hazard Scores

Wind Score: 10,980

Flood Score: 486

Earthquake Score: 5,850

Tornado Score: 1,560

Snow Score: 9,750

Total Score: 40,326

Flood Damage

Rank: 18

Acres at Risk of Flooding: 1,669

Percent of Total Acres in Community at Risk: 13.58%

Hurricane Coastal Flooding

Number of Residents in Evac. Zone: 1,010

Number of Buildings at Risk: 481

LEGAL MATTERS: LinkedIn-- Aggressive Marketing or Hacking?