Privacy Law

Report: FBI uses fake companies to disguise surveillance planes with video and cellphone technology

The FBI operates a fleet of low-flying aircraft equipped with video and cellphone surveillance technology that generally gather information without judicial approval, according to an investigative report. The airplanes operate under the names of fake companies, including FVX Research, KQM Aviation, NBR Aviation and PXW Services, the Associated Press reports.…

Jun 2, 2015 10:50 AM CDT

Employer’s search for ‘devious defecator’ backfires after suspects sue under genetic privacy law

A federal judge has ruled that a genetic privacy law protects two employees who submitted to DNA testing during their employer’s search for a “devious defecator” leaving piles of feces in a warehouse. The two employees, Jack Lowe and Dennis Reynolds, sued after the test ruled them out as the…

Jun 1, 2015 7:56 AM CDT

Key parts of Patriot Act expire; what options do feds still have for investigating terrorism?

Three key provisions of the Patriot Act expired today, forcing terrorism investigators to use more traditional techniques or to rely on a grandfather clause for investigations already underway. The provisions expired in the face of opposition by U.S. Sen. Rand Paul and a Senate rule allowing for 30 hours of…

Jun 1, 2015 7:20 AM CDT

Class action claiming Yahoo intercepted email for advertising analysis gets OK from federal judge

A federal judge has given the green light to a class action alleging Yahoo Inc. invaded the privacy of non-Yahoo account holders by analyzing—for advertising purposes— email they sent to Yahoo Mail accounts. The suit says Yahoo violated the federal Stored Communications Act by searching the email for keywords that…

May 27, 2015 1:00 PM CDT

Backpage wins dismissal of suit over escort ads said to facilitate child sex trafficking

Federal law protects Backpage.com in a suit by three women who allege ads on the website facilitated their sale for sex as children, a Boston federal judge has ruled. In a decision last Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Stearns said the Communications Decency Act protected the website for its…

May 21, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

House passes bill to end NSA’s bulk collection of data; critics say it doesn’t go far enough

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill to end mass collection of phone data by the National Security Agency, while still allowing for searches of the data held by private sector companies. The “USA Freedom Act” faces some opposition in the Senate, where some see no need…

May 14, 2015 10:49 AM CDT

Sales exec claims she was fired for removing app that allowed boss to track her 24/7

A sales executive in Bakersfield, California, claims she was fired because she removed an app from her company-issued cellphone that allowed her boss to track her location 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The May 5 suit (PDF) by Myrna Arias claims her boss at Intermex Wire Transfer…

May 13, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Laptop seized at border isn’t like a handbag, judge says; evidence from warrantless search is tossed

Federal agents who seized a laptop computer without a warrant at the Los Angeles International Airport may not use the contents in a prosecution against a South Korean businessman, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of Washington, D.C., rejected the government’s argument that the border-search…

May 12, 2015 2:07 PM CDT

Judge dismisses Nebraska woman’s lawsuit against ‘all homosexuals’ on behalf of God, Jesus Christ

A judge has dismissed a federal lawsuit against “all homosexuals” by a Nebraska woman who claimed to be acting as an ambassador for God and his son, Jesus Christ. U.S. District Judge John Gerrard of Omaha, in a ruling Wednesday, said it is not the court’s job to determine whether…

May 8, 2015 1:40 PM CDT

California man gets jail time for failing to disclose HIV status

A California man has been sentenced to six months in jail for failing to inform a sex partner he was HIV positive. Thomas Miguel Guerra, 30, of San Diego, pleaded no contest Monday to a misdemeanor health code violation, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post and others report. At…

May 8, 2015 12:45 PM CDT

Criminal record expunged? That doesn’t mean it’s not available on private sector databases

Just because an individual’s criminal record is expunged doesn’t necessarily eliminate it from credit reports. Helen Stokes found that out the hard way, when her rental application was rejected due to Pennsylvania arrests in 2008 and 2010 concerning disputes with her estranged husband, reports the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.).…

May 7, 2015 4:25 PM CDT

2nd Circuit rules NSA phone surveillance program is not authorized by Patriot Act

A sweeping National Security Agency program that collects and stores so-called metadata for nearly all United States phone calls in a searchable database is not authorized by the Patriot Act, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. Section 215 of the Patriot Act “cannot bear the weight the government asks us…

May 7, 2015 10:45 AM CDT

Cops’ use of cellphone location records didn’t violate Fourth Amendment, en banc court says

A court order authorizing disclosure of cellphone business records showing a suspect was in the vicinity of six armed robberies didn’t violate his Fourth Amendment rights, though they were obtained under a more relaxed standard than probable cause, an en banc federal appeals court has ruled. The government obtained cellphone…

May 6, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Bill advances that would expand government surveillance powers in France

Lawmakers in France’s lower house of Parliament have approved an anti-terrorism bill that would expand government surveillance powers, including the ability to mine Internet data. The bill would require Internet and communications firms to record Internet metadata from all users in France, which would be analyzed for suspicious behavior, the…

May 5, 2015 11:53 AM CDT

Proposed legislation would allow companies to keep some data breaches secret

Proposed federal legislation would sometimes allow companies to keep quiet when hackers access their computer systems. The proposed law would require quick disclosure by companies if there is a risk of serious identity theft or fraud, the Wall Street Journal’s Risk & Compliance Journal (sub. req.). But there would be…

May 4, 2015 11:29 AM CDT