Pakistani Party Threatens New York Times With Libel Suit

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Former New York Times Pakistan Bureau Chief Declan Walsh and the Gray Lady herself  face a $10 million defamation suit from Pakistan's Muttahida Qaumi Movement party for allegedly sullying the reputation of the faction's leader-in-exile Altaf Hussain, the India Times reported this week.

The party demanded the Times and Walsh apologize for "baseless reporting" about Hussain, who has lived in London since an unsuccessful attempt on his life in Pakistan in 1992. Walsh was expelled from Pakistan in May of this year after the interim government accused him of engaging in "undesirable activities," according to the India Times article.

The article did not include a reaction from Times officials to the defamation claim. The paper may take solace in the SPEECH Act (Securing the Protection of our Enduring and Established Constitutional Heritage) [Pub. L. 111-223), which President Obama signed into law in 2010 (See TUOL" post 8/11/10). The measure prevents the enforcement of foreign libel judgments in U.S. courts if they run counter to protections afforded by the First Amendment.

When Google Pulls into Germany, German Consumers 'Putsch' Back

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The Federation of German Consumer Organizations ("FGCO") has threatened to sue Internet giant Google on September 4, unless the Mountain View, California-based company stops dispensing users' personal data without their consent, the India Times reports.

The FGCO issued a cease and desist letter to Google, which it claims automatically shares users' information with third-party applications without obtaining the users' explicit permission, according to the Times article. Google has run afoul of Germany's strict privacy laws before, as the German government previously compelled Google to offer its citizens the right to opt out of the company's Street View mapping program (see "TUOL" post 10/22/10).