Privacy Law

Artist who photographed neighbors with zoom lens isn’t liable for privacy invasion, court says

A family photographed in their glass-walled apartment by an artist in a neighboring building can’t recover for privacy invasion under New York law, a state appeals court has ruled. Artist Arne Svenson used a telephoto lens to photograph the family of Martha and Matthew Foster, who sued after he balked…

Apr 13, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

AT&T to pay record $25M to settle with FCC over privacy breach at call centers

Telecommunications giant AT&T has agreed to pay $25 million to settle a FCC probe over privacy breaches at call centers in Colombia, Mexico and the Philippines. The FCC said the settlement is the largest it has ever obtained in a privacy case, reports the Los Angeles Times (sub. req.). The…

Apr 8, 2015 3:15 PM CDT

DEA tracked billions of international phone calls in ‘blueprint’ for NSA program

In 1992, the Drug Enforcement Agency began keeping secret records of Americans’ phone calls to as many as 116 foreign countries in a program that served as a precursor to National Security Agency surveillance, a newspaper investigation has found. According to USA Today’s findings, the DEA program collected billions of…

Apr 8, 2015 8:00 AM CDT

Suit says ‘zombie cookies’ were used to revive deleted ad-tracking information

Add another case to the annals of zombie law: A federal class action says Turn Inc. used secret “zombie cookies” to track online activities of Verizon electronic device users. Filed in San Francisco, it accuses the online ad clearinghouse of “surreptitiously” monitoring users’ activities and “thwarting industry-standard consumer safeguards of…

Apr 6, 2015 10:15 AM CDT

Does Facebook’s facial recognition technology violate privacy laws?

An Illinois man is suing Facebook, contending that its facial recognition technology violates the state’s privacy laws, the Chicago Tribune reports. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, argues that the social media company was required by Illinois law to inform Carlo Licata in writing that it would collect and retain his “biometric…

Apr 6, 2015 5:30 AM CDT

TSA agrees to stop singling out black women for hair pat-downs at airports

The Transportation Security Administration has agreed to stop singling out black women for airport pat-downs based solely on their hairstyles. The agreement (PDF), announced Thursday in a press release by the ACLU of Northern California, stipulates that the agency will conduct training sessions for TSA agents nationwide, with special emphasis…

Mar 27, 2015 2:46 PM CDT

Private texts transferred to workers’ corporate iPads led to wrongful firing, suit claims

Two former employees of Anheuser-Busch claim in a lawsuit that they were wrongly fired for private text messages transferred to a corporate-issued iPad through the iMessaging application. The suit by former New Jersey employees Victor Nascimento and Audry Yule says their employer discovered texts criticizing fellow employee Alex Davis when…

Mar 24, 2015 6:55 AM CDT

Privacy advocates criticize new ‘Hello Barbie’ doll with wi-fi microphone

A new Mattel prototype of an iconic toy anticipates that “Hello Barbie” will soon be able to talk with children as they play with the doll. Pressing a button will turn on the microphone and connect the toy to wi-fi. The problem is, the same voice-recognition software that enables the…

Mar 13, 2015 2:00 PM CDT

Can police use ‘inadvertently shed’ DNA without a warrant? SCOTUS won’t hear case raising the issue

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied cert in a case challenging the warrantless use of DNA left on the arms of a chair at the police station. The Supreme Court let stand the ruling by Maryland’s top court upholding the rape conviction of Glenn Joseph Raynor, who refused to…

Mar 3, 2015 11:38 AM CST

Nurse who got Ebola from first US patient sues hospital, says privacy was violated

A Texas nurse who got Ebola after caring for the first U.S. patient with the deadly disease, has sued her employer. In a complaint filed Monday in Dallas County court, nurse Nina Pham contends that Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas not only failed to take appropriate precautions to protect…

Mar 3, 2015 10:15 AM CST

Revenge-porn website operator wants his own photos taken down, blasts media ‘shame narratives’

The operator of a now-defunct revenge-porn website has filed a takedown request with Google that contends his own photo and unauthorized information are being used without his permission in stories about his settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. The Washington Post sees karma in the takedown request by Craig Brittain,…

Feb 26, 2015 8:45 AM CST

Tea Party Alliance and ACLU back Minnesota amendment to protect email from warrantless searches

A proposal to amend Minnesota’s constitution to protect emails and texts from warrantless searches has met some resistance in the state senate. State lawmakers must approve the proposal before it is put before voters in November, report the Minnesota Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Among those supporting…

Feb 18, 2015 10:26 AM CST

Be careful what you say when your smart TV is on, Samsung warns customers

Do you have a smart television? Better watch what you say in front of the TV set, Samsung is warning its customers. Even if the owner opts out of the voice-recognition feature, which allows owners to request content by simply asking for it, the set will still capture what is…

Feb 9, 2015 10:15 AM CST

Trial lawyers group is sued for alleged junk-fax violation; US Chamber calls attention to suit

The American Association for Justice is facing a class-action lawsuit claiming it violated federal law when it sent faxes marketing health insurance without a notice that allows recipients to opt out. The Federal Communications Commission ruled in October that opt outs must be included on all fax advertisements, including solicited…

Feb 6, 2015 6:15 AM CST

6th Circuit upholds $3.5M judgment against former assistant AG for stalking gay college student

An appellate court upheld a $3.5 million verdict, as well as sanctions, against a former assistant attorney general in Michigan who became notorious for using social media to attack the University of Michigan’s first openly gay student body president. The Detroit Free Press and The Ann Arbor News reported Monday…

Feb 3, 2015 4:24 PM CST