Privacy Law

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

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