Privacy Law

Sweden drops sexual assault probe against WikiLeaks founder, but his legal troubles aren’t over

Prosecutors in Sweden on Friday dropped a sexual assault investigation of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, but he still faces a warrant for his arrest in London and the possibility of an indictment in the United States. Sweden’s director of public prosecutions, Marianne Ny, said charges were dropped because authorities need…

May 19, 2017 9:48 AM CDT

Judge in child porn case tosses pictures found after Geek Squad contacted FBI

A federal judge in California has tossed pictures collected in a search of a physician’s home that was conducted after Best Buy’s Geek Squad discovered an image of a nude child on the doctor’s computer. The lawyer for gynecologic oncologist Mark Rettenmaier had maintained his client’s Fourth Amendment rights were…

May 17, 2017 2:31 PM CDT

Former prostitute wins $1.7M verdict against lawyer for privacy invasion

Jurors in Denver have awarded a woman $1.7 million in damages in her privacy invasion suit against a Colorado lawyer who exposed her secret life as a prostitute. Suspended lawyer Sean Saxon was found liable for revealing Jerene Dildine’s work to her family members and classmates, CBS 4 reports. Dildine…

May 16, 2017 10:57 AM CDT

Richard Simmons sues over tabloids’ sex change stories

Richard Simmons says he supports transgender rights, but he is entitled to truthful reporting on his personal life. The fitness guru on Monday sued the National Enquirer and Radar Online for reporting that he had undergone “shocking sex surgery” and was “now living as a gal named Fiona,” report the…

May 9, 2017 1:08 PM CDT

ABA expresses concern about border searches of lawyer laptops and other electronic devices

ABA President Linda Klein is expressing serious concern about standards that permit searches of lawyer laptops and other electronic devices at the border in the absence of reasonable suspicion.

May 5, 2017 3:35 PM CDT

How do you guard your personal data?

Now that Congress has rolled back regulation of internet service providers, the public debate over internet privacy has spread to new forums.

May 3, 2017 12:58 PM CDT

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