A right to be forgotten? Top EU court rules for lawyer who wants Google to delete some links

A lawyer who wanted Google to remove links to embarrassing legal notices from 1998 has won in the European Union’s top court. The ruling by the European Court of Justice, based on a 1995 data-protection law, endorses a right to be forgotten, report the New York Times, CNN, the Associated…

May 13, 2014 12:34 PM CDT

Tech giants refuse to keep government requests for data secret

Some of the largest tech companies in the country are no longer complying with secret governmental demands for information and data. Instead, they’re actually telling users that they’re being targeted. The Washington Post reported that companies including Facebook, Apple, Microsoft and Google have taken a stand against governmental agencies that…

May 2, 2014 8:19 PM CDT

Suit claims Princeton violated rights of suicidal student by pressuring him to leave

A pending lawsuit against Princeton University claims the school discriminated against a suicidal student by pressuring him to leave and exposing medical confidences. The closely watched suit (PDF) raises “a sensitive issue shrouded in legal murkiness,” the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. Most suits against schools involving suicides are…

May 1, 2014 4:45 PM CDT

States considering bans and fines for mug shot ‘extortion’ websites

Image from Shutterstock. The California state senate Monday passed a bill that, if it becomes law, would make mugshot “extortion” websites illegal, Reuters reports. The legislation seeks to impose a $1,000 fine on violators or force them to pay subjects’ damages and attorney fees. Five states already have such a…

Apr 29, 2014 6:29 PM CDT

Murder defendant seeks to have ‘murder’ neck tattoo removed before trial

A Kansas man awaiting trial next week on a first-degree murder charge would rather the jury not see the giant mirror-image “MURDER” tattoo he is sporting around his neck. Jeffrey Wade Chapman, who is charged with the 2011 murder of a man whose body was found by hunters, contends in…

Apr 23, 2014 8:45 PM CDT

Artists say ‘Conversnitch’ lamp planted at McDonald’s posts public chatter on Twitter

Conversnitch from Kyle McDonald on Vimeo. Concerned about a lack of privacy in daily life, two adjunct professors who consider themselves artists are, paradoxically, trying to focus attention on the issue by planting a secret recording device in public locations. Kyle McDonald and Brian House created the so-called Conversnitch, which…

Apr 23, 2014 5:20 PM CDT

Detroit newspaper wins right to publish mug shots of criminal defendants in federal court

A federal judge has held that the U.S. Marshals Service must turn over the mug shots of four Detroit-area police officers awaiting trial on public corruption charges to the Detroit Free Press. But U.S. District Judge Patrick Duggan, in a 34-page ruling Monday, stayed his decision pending an expected appeal…

Apr 22, 2014 7:40 PM CDT

Google seeks ‘Holy Grail,’ will help track shoppers and link computer ad clicks to in-store sales

Seeking what one advertising executive calls the Holy Grail of Internet marketing, Google Inc. has launched a pilot program to help companies link consumers’ computer clicks on its AdWords to subsequent in-store purchases. Six advertisers are currently participating in the Internet giant’s In-Store Attribution Transaction Reporting in AdWords program, the…

Apr 11, 2014 9:40 PM CDT

Google Glass is already causing legal experts to see problems

Apr 1, 2014 9:10 AM CDT

Low-tech high court to weigh police search of smartphones

Apr 1, 2014 8:50 AM CDT

Tools for lawyers worried that NSA is eavesdropping on their confidential conversations

Are you concerned that Big Brother (including the National Security Agency) is not only watching, but listening, recording and even transcribing your confidential client conversations? The good news for lawyers worried about maintaining their duty of confidentiality is that there are tools and safeguards to help them. In a session…

Mar 30, 2014 5:44 PM CDT

4 types of employees who put your cybersecurity at risk, and 10 things you can do to stop them

You’ve probably heard of Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor accused of leaking top-secret information about government surveillance programs to the news media, and Bradley Manning, the former Army intelligence analyst convicted of leaking reams of classified material about the war in Iraq to WikiLeaks. But have you…

Mar 28, 2014 5:45 PM CDT

Lawyer sues to learn whether the FBI accessed his law firm’s computers

A Virginia lawyer wants to know whether the FBI obtained access to his law firm’s computers as part of an investigation into his possession of three classified documents. Kel McClanahan filed a federal suit last Friday in Washington, D.C., seeking records under the Freedom of Information Act that would answer…

Mar 26, 2014 2:49 PM CDT

Obama, lawmakers reportedly set to unveil plan to restrict NSA collection of phone data

The Obama administration and leaders of the House Intelligence Committee will reportedly unveil plans to restrict the National Security Agency’s collection of phone records. Unnamed senior intelligence officials tell the New York Times that Obama’s plan would leave the data with phone companies, which would not be required to retain…

Mar 25, 2014 2:01 PM CDT

Does Fourth Amendment protect computer data? Scalia says it’s a really good question

Justice Antonin Scalia told students at Brooklyn Law School on Friday he didn’t want to answer questions about mass surveillance by the National Security Agency. But the justice went on to say that conversations aren’t protected by the Fourth Amendment, and he appeared intrigued by a law student’s question about…

Mar 24, 2014 1:06 PM CDT