Brazilians consider privacy laws in wake of NSA surveillance revelations

Online U.S. and global businesses selling to Brazil-based consumers may have new privacy laws to contend with in the wake of concerns over revelations about National Security Agency surveillance activities. The federal government in Brazil has proposed legislation that would force companies to store personal data collected about Brazilians on…

Aug 21, 2013 2:59 PM CDT

Facial-scanning system for crowds shows improvement in tests by Homeland Security

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security tested a crowd-scanning system last fall that could be used to identify faces of people on a terrorism watch list. The government decided the technology wasn’t ready to be used, though the test results showed that researchers are making significant progress, the New York…

Aug 21, 2013 1:40 PM CDT

Groklaw founder shuts down the blog, citing fear of email surveillance

Updated: The founder of Groklaw has decided to shut down the technology blog because of fears its email communications could be subject to government surveillance. Former paralegal Pamela Jones founded Groklaw in 2003 to cover legal news of interest to the free software and open source community. In this final…

Aug 21, 2013 11:20 AM CDT

Justices send each other paper memos, not email messages, Kagan says

When U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan was asked at an appearance Tuesday whether the justices email each other, she responded that they send each other paper memos—just like they did when she was a Supreme Court clerk in 1987. “The justices are not necessarily the most technologically sophisticated people,”…

Aug 20, 2013 7:12 PM CDT

Don’t fall for phone scam targeting ‘potential jurors’, warns federal judge

Reports of a telephone scam, involving accusations of shirking federal jury duty, are prompting courts to remind the public that they rarely contact potential jurors by phone. Such calls have been reported in New Mexico and Utah, said U.S. Courts spokesman Charles Hall to the ABA Journal. The individuals targeted…

Aug 20, 2013 4:25 PM CDT

Surveillance court chief says it must rely on government to provide accurate information

President Obama has sought to reassure Americans about U.S. surveillance of phone call and Internet records by pointing to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. At a June news conference, Obama said the court’s judges have lifetime tenure and “they’re empowered to look over our shoulder at the executive branch to…

Aug 16, 2013 12:54 PM CDT

NSA broke privacy rules thousands of times in one-year period, Snowden leak reveals

An audit leaked by Edward Snowden to the Washington Post reveals that the National Security Agency collected or accessed legally protected communications 2,776 times in a one-year period at facilities in the Washington, D.C., area. Most of the errors were unintended and involved surveillance of Americans or foreign intelligence targets…

Aug 16, 2013 12:29 PM CDT

Facebook settlement that awarded zilch to class members is challenged in cert petition

A cert petition before the U.S. Supreme Court seeks to overturn a settlement agreement in which Facebook agreed to pay about $6.5 million to establish a new foundation to protect privacy rights. The cy pres settlement is being challenged by objectors who include Ted Frank of the Center for Class…

Aug 14, 2013 10:45 AM CDT

Cheerleader’s defamation verdict against thedirty.com is upheld

A federal judge has upheld a $338,000 defamation verdict against thedirty.com obtained by a former Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader. U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman said the website and its founder weren’t protected from liability because they played a significant role in developing the content, the Associated Press reports in stories posted…

Aug 13, 2013 4:19 PM CDT

Meet Bruce Fein, the lawyer representing Edward Snowden’s dad

Constitutional lawyer Bruce Fein is an originalist who opposed the Patriot Act and supports the right to be left alone. He is also the pro bono lawyer for Lon Snowden, the father of Edward Snowden. The Washington Post profiles Fein, 66, in an article that notes his “fashion-resistant” glasses, his…

Aug 13, 2013 11:15 AM CDT

First Amendment doesn’t protect video game maker for using athlete avatar, 9th Circuit says

A federal appeals court is allowing a former college athlete to pursue a right-of-publicity lawsuit against a video game maker that used an avatar with his jersey number and looks. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the company, Electronic Arts Inc., was not protected by…

Aug 1, 2013 1:17 PM CDT

No warrant is needed for records showing general location of prior cellphone calls, 5th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has ruled that the federal government doesn’t need a warrant to obtain historical data showing the general location of cellphone calls. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of a provision of the Stored Communications Act that allows the government to…

Aug 1, 2013 11:35 AM CDT

Witness harassment has gone digital, and the justice system is playing catch-up

Aug 1, 2013 9:40 AM CDT

SCOTUS should decide if cops need warrant to search cellphones at arrest, two appeals judges say

Two federal appeals judges are explaining why they voted to deny an en banc rehearing of a decision requiring police to get a warrant before searching cellphones incident to arrest. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the rehearing in an order (PDF) released Monday, the Wall Street…

Jul 31, 2013 11:25 AM CDT

Walgreens must pay customer $1.44M after pharmacist shared her prescription records

An Indiana jury awarded $1.44 million Friday to a customer whose prescription records were provided by a Walgreen’s pharmacist to the customer’s ex-boyfriend. The pharmacist was married to the plaintiff’s ex-boyfriend at the time she looked up Abigail Hinchy’s prescription records and shared them with Davion Peterson, pharmacist Audra Peterson’s…

Jul 29, 2013 6:50 PM CDT