Privacy Law

Offshore law firm sues 2 UK-based news outlets for reporting on ‘Paradise Papers’

Offshore law firm Appleby has sued the BBC and the Guardian for their reports on documents taken in a data breach. Appleby wants a permanent injunction to prevent further use of the information, disclosure of the documents taken, and return of all document copies, report the BBC and the Guardian.…

Dec 19, 2017 2:09 PM CST

Trump transition team lawyer says GSA illegally turned over emails to special counsel

The general counsel for President Donald Trump’s transition team maintains that the General Services Administration improperly gave thousands of emails that included privileged communications to special counsel Robert Mueller’s office. Kory Langhofer, general counsel for the transition group Trump for America, sent a letter complaining about the document turnover to…

Dec 18, 2017 11:30 AM CST

4th Circuit allows claim against estate of cop for taking photos of teen’s penis in sexting probe

A federal appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit that claims a police officer violated a teen’s Fourth Amendment rights by ordering the youth to masturbate for a penis photograph in a sexting investigation. The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the claim in a suit by a…

Dec 11, 2017 10:40 AM CST

SCOTUS considers limits to the government’s surveillance powers over personal technology

The Supreme Court ruling in Carpenter v. United States, being heard by the court Wednesday, will affect cell towers and individuals’ data from email, smart watches, activity-tracker bands and smart appliances.

Dec 1, 2017 1:20 AM CST

Court narrows order requiring Coinbase to give user data to the IRS

A federal judge has ordered cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase to hand over user data to the Internal Revenue Service. Twelve months into this court battle, Coinbase and the IRS have been arguing over the scope of a 2016 “John Doe” summons requesting information on all Coinbase user “transactions conducted in convertible…

Nov 30, 2017 3:30 PM CST

Gorsuch appears to side with liberals on need for warrant to get cellphone location data

Justice Neil M. Gorsuch appeared to side with liberals on Wednesday as the U.S. Supreme Court considered whether police need a warrant supported by probable cause to obtain cellphone location data.

Nov 30, 2017 1:12 PM CST

BakerHostetler and Perkins Coie named ‘founding stewards’ in new blockchain ID network

BakerHostetler and Perkins Coie are “founding stewards” in the new blockchain-based identity network Sovrin. On account of high-profile data breaches of personal information and the increased interest and feasibility of blockchain technology, there is a growing movement to create IDs that do not rely on centralized storage, which is a…

Nov 28, 2017 10:56 AM CST

Uber ousts in-house counsel who suppressed information about 2016 data breach

An in-house attorney for Uber is no longer with the company after it was discovered that he’d helped suppress news of a data breach, the Recorder has reported. Attorney Craig Clark and his direct supervisor, Uber chief security officer Joe Sullivan, were ousted for concealing an October 2016 breach. Bloomberg…

Nov 22, 2017 11:18 AM CST

Will big-data tools make policing less biased—or violate people’s rights? (podcast)

One day, there is a knock at the door, and you are handed a letter. The letter lists your friends, your activities, and the possible legal consequences you might face for those activities. The letter also says that you may be the next to be shot—or to kill someone else.

Nov 15, 2017 7:30 AM CST

Justice Department reportedly considers charging Russian officials in DNC hacking

The U.S. Justice Department reportedly has evidence against six members of the Russian government allegedly involved in the computer hack of the Democratic National Committee.

Nov 2, 2017 8:59 AM CDT

En banc 7th Circuit upholds gun seizure in claimed case of ‘parking while black’

A full federal appeals court has upheld a conviction based on a gun discovered when police shined their lights into a car parked too close to the crosswalk. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Chicago upheld the conviction of Randy Johnson over a dissent that claimed the car…

Oct 31, 2017 2:57 PM CDT

Justice Department limits use of secrecy orders when accessing digital data

Microsoft is taking steps to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the government’s routine use of secrecy orders when accessing digital data after the Department of Justice agreed to change its practices. Microsoft announced the development in a press release that called the government’s new policy “a significant milestone in Microsoft’s fight…

Oct 24, 2017 10:40 AM CDT

Federal law doesn’t prevent release of dead man’s email to estate representatives, court rules

Federal law doesn’t prevent Yahoo from releasing a dead man’s emails to the personal representatives of his estate, according to the top court in Massachusetts. The Stored Communications Act doesn’t prevent release of the emails when the personal representatives consent to the disclosure, according to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.…

Oct 20, 2017 3:52 PM CDT

Supreme Court to decide whether prosecutors can obtain Microsoft emails stored on overseas server

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether federal prosecutors can obtain emails for a Microsoft customer stored on an overseas server.

Oct 16, 2017 11:04 AM CDT

Texas judge blocks state from turning over voter data to Trump’s voter fraud commission

A Texas judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the state from turning over voter information to a voter fraud commission established by President Donald Trump.

Oct 5, 2017 8:00 AM CDT