Privacy Law

Dads sue over teens’ expulsion for alleged racist texts

The fathers of two white Catholic high school students in Chicago filed a lawsuit on Monday over the teens’ expulsion for allegedly sending racist texts. The suit, which does not name the students or their fathers, alleges that officials at Marist High School made an arbitrary and capricious decision to…

Dec 8, 2016 1:27 PM CST

Supreme Court accepts police shooting case involving 9th Circuit’s ‘provocation’ rule

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide a case involving liability for a police shooting in which the police are accused of provoking a violent confrontation. At issue is the viability of the “provocation” rule adopted by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to…

Dec 5, 2016 7:45 AM CST

Should the public have access to data police acquire through private companies?

In 2013, Camden County, New Jersey, police started using the gunshot detection technology ShotSpotter. The way Dan Keashen, spokesman for the department, tells it, the tool had an immediate impact.

Dec 1, 2016 3:00 AM CST

Residue on cellphones could help criminal investigators, study finds

Residue that clings to cellphones can be reveal a lot about a person, according to a study funded by the National Institute of Justice. Molecules on cellphones can reveal information such as whether a person drinks coffee, takes an antidepressant and eats spicy food, the Washington Post and Yahoo Tech…

Nov 16, 2016 7:00 AM CST

ABA House is asked to accredit program that certifies lawyers as privacy law specialists

A program that certifies lawyers as privacy law specialists is expected to go before the ABA House of Delegates in February. The International Association of Privacy Professionals administers the certification program. If the ABA House approves accreditation, lawyers who meet the IAPP’s standards could hold themselves out as privacy law…

Nov 15, 2016 11:01 AM CST

After $140M jury award, Hulk Hogan settles Gawker lawsuit for at least $31M

Corrected: Gawker Media has agreed to pay at least $31 million to settle a privacy invasion case filed by Hulk Hogan over publication of a sex video. The monetary amount was revealed in documents filed in Gawker’s bankruptcy, report the New York Times DealBook blog, LawNewz and the Hollywood Reporter.…

Nov 2, 2016 12:55 PM CDT

AARP suit claims wellness-program regulations allow employers to coerce participation

An AARP lawsuit claims new regulations governing workplace wellness programs violate laws barring genetic and disability discrimination. The AARP suit (PDF) filed on Monday challenges the rules issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, report the National Law Journal (sub. req.) and the New York Times. The group is seeking…

Oct 26, 2016 11:04 AM CDT

Facial recognition may be unreliable, and nearly half of US adults are in databases, study finds

Facial-recognition databases used by law enforcement—which reportedly include photos of approximately 117 million Americans—have various accuracy problems, according to a report by Georgetown University Law Center’s Center on Privacy & Technology. Driver’s license photos make up a significant amount of the data, National Public Radio reports. The larger a database…

Oct 25, 2016 11:45 AM CDT

Subway pitchman’s ex-wife seeks damages for failure to report his ‘pedophile behavior’

The ex-wife of convicted Subway pitchman Jared Fogle filed a lawsuit Monday contending she would never had married him if the company had reported his sexual interest in minors. The suit filed by Kathleen McLaughlin alleges that Subway’s parent company was warned about Fogle’s behavior at least three times but…

Oct 25, 2016 8:00 AM CDT

Judge tosses suit claiming San Francisco’s open-air pissoir violates privacy rights

A superior court judge in San Francisco has tossed a lawsuit that claimed an open-air pissoir in a city park was a public nuisance that violated the right to privacy. Judge Harold Kahn dismissed the case in a Sept. 30 order (PDF) that found the pissoir in Mission Dolores Park…

Oct 11, 2016 8:00 AM CDT

Federal judge questions how redacted document got unredacted; CourtListener says there is no mystery

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has asked lawyers to investigate and report back to him on how a redacted detail in a lawsuit was published on CourtListener.com. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss ordered the probe after the website published a court order in a suit against the Consumer Financial…

Oct 7, 2016 8:00 AM CDT

Secret warrant from intelligence court reportedly authorized Yahoo email scans

A secret warrant reportedly issued by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court last year authorized Yahoo scans of emails for specific information requested by the U.S. government, according to two anonymous government officials. The warrant was issued under the authority of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, two unnamed…

Oct 6, 2016 9:47 AM CDT

‘Internet of things’ panel has a thing about security

Panelists for the CLE discussion had a lot of warnings about security and liability.

Oct 1, 2016 1:10 AM CDT

How often do cops access databases for wrong purpose? It happened hundreds of times in two years

Police officers accessed confidential databases for improper purposes hundreds of times over a two-year period, according to an Associated Press investigation. No agency keeps track of such abuses, the Associated Press reports. The wire service sought to gather the information through public records requests to state agencies and police departments…

Sep 29, 2016 7:00 AM CDT

‘Parking while black’ at issue in pending 7th Circuit appeal

A case pending in the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could give the green light to police who want to use parking infractions as a justification for car searches. The case pending before the en banc court could legitimize cases of so-called “parking while black,” according to a…

Sep 26, 2016 7:45 AM CDT