Privacy Law

Facial recognition technology helps nab criminals—and raises privacy concerns

The growing deployment of facial recognition technology is raising alarms among civil libertarians, who worry that the capability to identify people based solely on their appearance will erode privacy. And just how accurate is it?

Oct 1, 2017 3:20 AM CDT

Federal judge allows suit over right of publicity to photos on Mugshots.com

A federal judge in Chicago has refused to dismiss a lawsuit that contends the Mugshots.com website deliberately fails to update or correct outdated records to create incentives for arrestees to pay to get their photos removed through an affiliated website. U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman allowed claims that the…

Sep 29, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

SEC discloses hackers accessed EDGAR system and may have traded on the information

The Securities and Exchange Commission disclosed on Wednesday evening that its EDGAR corporate filing system was hacked in 2016. The hack of nonpublic information “may have provided the basis for illicit gain through trading,” the SEC said in a statement. The intrusion was detected in 2016 and the software vulnerability…

Sep 21, 2017 12:22 PM CDT

Can cops use iPhone X’s facial recognition technology to access users’ information?

Updated: Apple’s new iPhone X promises convenience to users who can unlock it through facial recognition technology, but it’s also raising some privacy concerns among civil liberties advocates.

Sep 15, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

It’s ‘pretty clean and clear’ that Comey broke the law, White House press secretary says

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday that it’s “pretty clean and clear” that former FBI director James Comey violated federal law by leaking a memo about his conversations with the president.

Sep 14, 2017 9:05 AM CDT

ACLU suit challenges warrantless searches of electronic devices at border

A lawsuit filed Wednesday challenges warrantless searches of smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices at the border.

Sep 13, 2017 3:38 PM CDT

Suit claims sheriff misused emergency shelters ‘as unlawful pedestrian checkpoints’

A lawsuit filed electronically on Sunday argues that the sheriff in Polk County, Florida, violated the constitutional rights of a man seeking emergency shelter by requiring him to undergo a criminal background check. The suit argues that Sheriff Grady Judd is misusing emergency shelters as “unlawful pedestrian checkpoints to conduct…

Sep 12, 2017 10:22 AM CDT

Class action is filed over Equifax data breach; information website has arbitration requirement

Two Oregon residents have quickly filed a class action lawsuit against credit-reporting agency Equifax that alleges negligence in a data breach that may have affected 143 million people.

Sep 8, 2017 9:14 AM CDT

Facebook photos mocking courtroom attire lead to job trouble for lawyers accused of posting them

State law in New York bars taking photographs in a courthouse without permission, but that didn’t deter some lawyers on Facebook from apparently posting unflattering photos of people in Queens family court along with snarky commentary about their attire. Four government lawyers allegedly posted the photos or added commentary, and…

Aug 31, 2017 11:40 AM CDT

Realign laws on evidence-gathering on the internet, Google GC says

For as long as we’ve had legal systems, prosecutors and police have needed to gather evidence. And for each new advance in communications, law enforcement has adapted.

Aug 24, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

Border Searches Could Expose Confidential Client Info

Concerns about protecting the attorney-client privilege and confidentiality of client information at the nation’s borders have prompted the ABA to urge the DHS to ensure proper policies and procedures are in place at the nation’s borders to prevent the erosion of these important legal principles.

Aug 1, 2017 12:35 AM CDT

Federal judge refuses to bar collection of data by Trump’s voter fraud commission

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has refused to block the collection of voter information by President Donald Trump’s voter fraud commission. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled (PDF) on Monday that the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity was not a federal agency subject to requirements for a privacy…

Jul 25, 2017 10:30 AM CDT

Obama administration lawyers sue Trump campaign, adviser Stone for DNC email hack

A group formed by lawyers who worked in the Obama administration sued the Trump campaign and one of the president’s longtime informal advisers on Wednesday over the leak of emails from the Democratic National Committee. The privacy invasion suit contains no hard evidence that the Trump campaign or Roger Stone…

Jul 13, 2017 3:14 PM CDT

ACLU suit says election commission is designed to bolster false claim about Trump’s election win

The American Civil Liberties Union on Monday filed a lawsuit that claims President Donald Trump violated federal law by appointing an election commission “stacked with individuals” who endorse his unsubstantiated statements about the election. The stated purpose of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity is to study the federal…

Jul 10, 2017 12:46 PM CDT

Suit claims lawyer rerouted former partner’s emails to himself, violating electronic privacy law

A Pennsylvania lawyer is accused of violating federal and state law by rerouting a former partner’s emails to himself. The suit, filed in New Jersey federal court, claims lawyer Robert A. Mitchell of Doylestown violated the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and wiretap laws in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The laws…

Jul 10, 2017 8:00 AM CDT