Privacy Law

Microsoft’s new deputy GC will lead efforts on privacy, cybersecurity

Julie Brill, the longtime consumer advocate and former member of the Federal Trade Commission, will join Microsoft Corp. this summer to lead its privacy and regulatory affairs group, Law.com reported Friday. Brill’s title will be Deputy General Counsel for Privacy and Regulatory Affairs, according to a Microsoft corporate blog. She…

May 2, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

After Twitter sues to block US from unmasking tweeting Trump critic, US withdraws summons

Updated: A government agency has dropped its bid to obtain the identity of a tweeting critic who claims to work for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The government notified Twitter on Friday that it had dropped its administrative summons seeking account information, the Hill reports. Twitter had filed a First…

Apr 7, 2017 10:15 AM CDT

While fighting lawsuit, Facebook introduces new tools to identify ‘revenge porn’

Social media giant Facebook will use technology to automatically stop users from uploading images known to be “revenge porn,” the Washington Post and CNN reported Wednesday. “Revenge porn” images are nude or sexual photos posted online without the consent of those pictured. The images are often posted in order to…

Apr 6, 2017 11:16 AM CDT

Facebook’s bid to protect customer information in criminal probe fails in top New York court

Facebook can’t appeal a judge’s refusal to quash 381 warrants for customer information in a criminal investigation of Social Security disability fraud, New York’s highest court has ruled. New York law does not authorize an appeal, leaving the court without jurisdiction to address the “novel and important” privacy issues, the…

Apr 6, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

Programmer faces federal charges for creating software used by hackers

Updated: An Arkansas programmer who created software that is popular with hackers is facing federal charges of conspiracy, and aiding and abetting computer intrusions. Taylor Huddleston created a remote administration tool called NanoCore that has been linked to computer hacks in at least 10 countries, the Daily Beast reports. The…

Apr 5, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Former Brooklyn prosecutor pleads guilty to forging judges’ signatures to obtain wiretaps

A former Brooklyn prosecutor fought tears as she pleaded guilty on Monday to allegations that she forged judges’ signatures to wiretap two people and listen to their conversations. Tara Lenich, 41, pleaded guilty in Brooklyn federal court to two counts of illegal wiretapping, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reports. “I knew…

Apr 3, 2017 4:00 PM CDT

Bill overturning internet privacy protections is sent to President Trump

Congress has approved and sent to President Donald Trump a bill that removes privacy protections that required internet service providers to get customers’ permission before marketing their browsing history to third parties. The bill overturns a rule adopted by the Federal Communications Commission during the Obama administration, the Wall Street…

Mar 29, 2017 9:19 AM CDT

Former Brooklyn prosecutor is accused of forging judges’ signatures to obtain wiretaps

A former Brooklyn prosecutor has pleaded not guilty to charges that she forged judges’ signatures to wiretap the cellphones of two people. The indictment against former prosecutor Tara Lenich was unsealed on Monday, report Law360 (sub. req.), the New York Law Journal (sub. req.), the New York Daily News and…

Mar 28, 2017 3:18 PM CDT

Federal judge tosses suit against property owner who shot down hovering drone

A federal judge in Louisville has dismissed a suit seeking damages against a property owner who shot down a hobbyist’s drone in 2015. Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas Russell dismissed the suit against self-described “drone slayer” William Merideth, citing a lack of federal subject matter jurisdiction, Ars Technica reports. The…

Mar 27, 2017 8:40 AM CDT

Google vows to fight search warrant seeking the names of everyone who Googled crime victim

Google says it will fight a search warrant seeking information about anyone who searched the name of a financial crime victim on the search engine in December and early January. Judge Gary Larson of Hennepin County, Minnesota, issued the warrant in February, report the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Ars Technica and…

Mar 20, 2017 9:30 AM CDT

Amazon releases smart speaker data to court

Following its subpoena fight over smart speaker data in an Arkansas murder case, Amazon has agreed to release the information, after the defendant in court filings indicated that he did not object. Prosecutors in Benton County, Arkansas, subpoenaed the information for the murder trial of James Andrew Bates, Law360 (sub.…

Mar 8, 2017 2:30 PM CST

Yahoo’s general counsel resigns after report finds lawyers didn’t adequately respond to hack

Yahoo general counsel Ronald Bell resigned on Wednesday after a report on a 2014 hack found that company lawyers and senior executives failed to conduct an adequate investigation of the incident. A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed Bell’s resignation and the decision by Yahoo’s board to withhold…

Mar 2, 2017 1:20 PM CST

Issue advertising disclosure requirements upheld by SCOTUS in summary affirmance

In a summary affirmance, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld disclosure requirements that require groups that sponsor issue ads to disclose their donors to the Federal Election Commission. The Supreme Court summarily affirmed (PDF) a decision on behalf of the FEC by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the…

Feb 27, 2017 10:17 AM CST

Open link to file-sharing site was like leaving legal file on a bench, judge says; privilege waived

An insurance company has waived any claim of privilege to materials uploaded to an unprotected file-sharing site, a federal magistrate judge in Virginia ruled earlier this month. U.S. Magistrate Judge Pamela Meade Sargent said in a Feb. 9 decision that the Harleysville Insurance Co. waived its privilege in documents uploaded…

Feb 27, 2017 7:30 AM CST

Alexa’s responses to customers are protected by the First Amendment, Amazon argues in murder case

Requests for information through digital assistant Amazon Echo—which answers to the name Alexa—and the service’s responses are protected speech under the First Amendment, Amazon argues in a bid to quash a search warrant by police investigating a possible murder. The First Amendment protects not only an individual’s right to speak,…

Feb 27, 2017 7:00 AM CST