Call Ahead: Officers Use Cellphone Towers to Spot Offenders

Jan 1, 2013 9:08 AM CST

Millions of Names Likely Missing from FBI Database for Gun Background Checks

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1997 that the federal government cannot force state officials to participate in the background check system for gun ownership, leading to the omission of likely millions of names. Nineteen states have submitted fewer than 100 records of those with mental illness, while Rhode Island…

Dec 21, 2012 12:52 PM CST

As Freaked-Out Social Media Users Exit, Instagram Says Newest Service Terms Will End ‘Confusion’

Updated: In response to social media users freaking out over new Instagram terms of service that seemingly give the site the right to use an individual’s photos—“along with any associated metadata”—for advertising purposes, a leader of the site is promising that the new terms of service will be revised to…

Dec 18, 2012 8:49 PM CST

Kagan Sees Privacy as One of Most Important Future Issues for Court

Justice Elena Kagan highlighted a future important issue for the U.S. Supreme Court and reflected on a past high-profile remark in a speech on Thursday evening. Kagan said privacy in a changing world is a big issue likely to come before the court, Politico reports. She spoke in a question…

Dec 17, 2012 2:54 PM CST

Little Known Agency Gets Expanded Powers to Scour Databases for Terrorism Patterns

Attorney General Eric Holder has signed guidelines giving expansive new powers to a little-known agency to scour vast databases for patterns indicating terrorism, according to a published report. Holder approved the grant of new power to the National Counterterrorism Center despite objections by lawyers concerned about the privacy implications, the…

Dec 13, 2012 7:22 PM CST

Michigan Appeals Court to Consider Anonymity for Blogger Who Criticized Cooley Law School

The Michigan Court of Appeals will consider today whether to protect the identity of a blogging former law student who criticized his alma mater, the Thomas M. Cooley School of Law. Public Citizen lawyer Paul Levy will appear on behalf of the anonymous blogger who questioned Cooley’s employment statistics and…

Dec 12, 2012 3:26 PM CST

Student’s Lawsuit Tests High School’s Microchip ID Policy; Will Religion Trump Need to Count Heads?

Many adults have essentially thrown up their hands over the ubiquitous electronic tracking—via cellphones, computers and cameras strategically placed along the roadside and retail shelves—that has eliminated the concept of privacy as we knew it only a decade or so ago. But a 15-year-old is making a federal-court fight out…

Dec 10, 2012 10:21 PM CST

Ohio Lawyer Sues Mugshot Websites, Claims Right-of-Publicity Violation

An Ohio lawyer has filed a lawsuit that claims five websites that publish mugshots are violating state law. The websites will remove mugshots if individuals pay a fee, and that is the problem, according to Toledo lawyer Scott Ciolek. He says the websites are violating a right-of-publicity law that generally…

Dec 7, 2012 12:00 PM CST

Hacker Finds Tech Millionaire John McAfee in Guatemala by Using Info Embedded in Smartphone Photo

A tech millionaire whose whereabouts haven’t been made public since police in Belize sought to question him about a neighbor’s body found near his waterfront home last month is now back on the grid. After a journalist participating in a group interview apparently posted a smartphone photo of John McAfee,…

Dec 5, 2012 10:10 PM CST

Civil Liberties Advocates Worried About Bus Cameras with Audio Recording

Video recording on trains and buses has become common, but some cities are adding audio recording to capture drivers’ conversations, a development that has is raising concerns among civil liberties advocates. The concern is that the audio devices can also capture passenger conversations, the Washington Post reports. In Montgomery County,…

Dec 3, 2012 12:31 PM CST

Beamed Defibrillator Info Is So Private that Patients Can’t Access It

Some patients are clamoring for information from the medical devices they use, but the medical privacy law designed to protect them isn’t helping. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, passed in 1996, gives patients the right to information held by doctors and hospitals, while restricting use of data from…

Nov 30, 2012 11:30 AM CST

Lawyer for Jill Kelley Says He’ll Sue US Attorney in Tampa if Leaks Continue re Petraeus Case

A lawyer representing Tampa socialite Jill Kelley, whose complaint about threatening emails wound up linking her name to a sex scandal that led to David Petraeus’ resignation from his position as CIA Director, has threatened to sue the U.S. Attorney in Tampa. Abbe Lowell wrote in a letter to W.…

Nov 28, 2012 5:52 PM CST

Icon Experiment Aims to Simplify Website Privacy Policies

Lawyers and coders are working together in an experiment to make website privacy policies easier to dissect. Meeting at Mozilla headquarters Friday, experts read through privacy policies of 235 websites and assigned icons that will summarize their content, according to the New York Times Bits blog. Web users who use…

Nov 21, 2012 11:30 AM CST

Supreme Court to Decide if Police Can Take DNA from Suspects Arrested for Serious Crimes

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether police can collect DNA samples without a warrant from suspects arrested for serious crimes. The case pits privacy rights against public safety, report the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press. At issue is…

Nov 12, 2012 1:12 PM CST

Ex-Cop Awarded More Than $1 Million After Officers Illegally Accessed Her Driver’s License Info

A number of Minnesota cities have settled with a former police officer who sued them after more than 100 of their officers illegally performed hundreds of searches for her photo and address in the state’s driver’s license database. Minneapolis approved a $392,500 settlement with Anne Marie Rasmusson last week and…

Nov 9, 2012 5:00 PM CST