Privacy Law

Federal judge wants nearly 6,000 potentially fraudulent claims in app settlement to be investigated

A federal judge in San Francisco has asked prosecutors to investigate nearly 6,000 potentially fraudulent claims in a $5.3 million class action settlement. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar acted on Tuesday in a case filed against Apple and some app makers after the claims administrator found 5,924 suspect claims that…

Jan 19, 2018 7:00 AM CST

9th Circuit upholds prostitution ban in constitutional challenge

A federal appeals court has upheld a California law that criminalizes prostitution in a First Amendment challenge.

Jan 18, 2018 9:13 AM CST

Google app feature matching selfies to art is blocked in 2 states with strict biometrics laws

A new and popular feature on the Google Arts & Culture app isn’t available in Illinois and Texas because of strict laws on the collection of “face geometry” and other biometric data. The feature matches selfies to artwork in more than 1,200 museums, producing comparisons that are appearing in many…

Jan 17, 2018 2:59 PM CST

House rejects privacy limits in voting to reauthorize new warrantless surveillance law

The U.S. House of Representatives rejected privacy limits on Thursday when it approved a six-year extension of the law that permits warrantless surveillance of foreign targets that can also sweep up Americans’ communications. The bill reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act goes next to the Senate, where…

Jan 12, 2018 9:14 AM CST

2 New Mexico judges sue state judicial commission to obtain secret courthouse recordings

Two magistrate court judges in Aztec, New Mexico, have sued the New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission in an effort to obtain secret surveillance recordings allegedly made by a judge who has since been removed from the bench. Magistrate court judges Trudy Reed-Chase and Barry Sharer contend in the lawsuit that…

Jan 11, 2018 8:00 AM CST

How a Quaker’s suit against the defense secretary in the 1970s still affects surveillance cases

You have reason to believe you’re being monitored by the government—that they are following you and cataloging everywhere you go and everyone you talk to. The knowledge haunts you, and it has a chilling effect on everything you do. But can you sue to stop it, or even to find out whether it's really happening?

Jan 3, 2018 10:00 AM CST

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