Privacy Law

NH Asks Judge for Broad Access to Hospital Patient Records, Seeking Full Info re Hepatitis Outbreak

In an ongoing effort to determine how many patients at a New Hampshire medical center may allegedly have been infected by a rogue medical technician with hepatitis C, an assistant state attorney general has asked a Merrimack Superior Court judge to order Exeter Hospital to provide broad access to patient…

Oct 19, 2012 4:35 PM CDT

Dog Sniff Cases to Be Argued on Halloween Have Haunting Implications, Law Prof Says

Two dog sniff cases to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on Halloween haven’t snared a lot of press, but they could have an impact on the right to privacy in years to come, a law professor asserts. Writing in the New York Times, visiting Yale law professor Jeffrey…

Oct 19, 2012 10:30 AM CDT

Report: Verizon Sells Smartphone App Usage, Browsing and Location Data; Critics Claim Wiretap Issues

A CNET News report that Verizon Wireless is selling aggregated information about its customers’ geographic location, application use and Internet browsing habits has raised questions about whether this practice could violate laws against wiretapping. Verizon says that its Precision Market Insights program, which offers reports to third-party marketers about customers’…

Oct 18, 2012 8:33 PM CDT

Hackers Post Lawyers’ CLE Info from Rutgers; Group Says It Accessed Data to Protest Education Costs

More than 1,500 lawyers who took continuing legal education courses from Rutgers’ law schools were notified on Tuesday that some of their personal data was posted by hackers. Names, addresses, encrypted passwords, telephone numbers and email addresses were accessed, the New Jersey Law Journal reports. The information posted online by…

Oct 12, 2012 11:31 AM CDT

Some Advertisers Say Their Compliance with Computer Browser Do-Not-Track Feature Is Optional

Setting up a possible showdown between advertisers and the government agencies that are supposed to protect consumer privacy, three advertiser trade groups announced this week that they don’t support the do-not-track feature built into new Internet browsers manufactured by Microsoft, and said some companies might even ignore it. On Tuesday…

Oct 11, 2012 5:00 PM CDT

New Facebook Program Matching Users, Brick-and-Mortar Retail Data Sparks Complaint to FTC

Facebook users, knowing that they might be targeted by advertisers based on what they posted online, have been willing to trade some privacy for the convenience of easy online access to other individuals throughout the country and globally. But the social networking site has now embarked on a new marketing…

Oct 3, 2012 7:53 PM CDT

High-Profile Litigants Get Cases Sealed in Chicago Courts

Chicago-area judges have sealed hundreds of cases in the last dozen years, benefiting several high-profile litigants. A Chicago Tribune investigative report revealed some of the well-known litigants whose names were kept out of the public record in Cook County. They included: • Chef Laurent Gras, who sued for injuries in…

Oct 1, 2012 12:24 PM CDT

Prison Guard Reinstated After Investigation Shows Other Guards Were Friends with Inmate on Facebook

After being fired in May for violating Texas prison policy by friending an inmate on Facebook, a Huntsville corrections officer has been reinstated. The reinstatement comes after an investigation showed several others at the prison, including the prison’s chief financial officer, were associated on Facebook with the same convicted murderer.…

Oct 1, 2012 10:30 AM CDT

Regulators Moving to Strengthen Privacy Rules for Children on the Web

Alarmed by the sheer volume of personal information being collected by companies looking to target advertising and products to children, federal regulators are moving to overhaul privacy rules. Collecting the data is legal, though parents and regulators alike have concerns about how personal information about children is being stored and…

Sep 28, 2012 10:24 AM CDT

7 Retailers Settle with FTC, Agree to Stop Spying on Up to 400,000 Computer Rental Customers

Seven rent-to-own companies and a software design firm have agreed to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission concerning computers that the retailers rented to customers and then used to spy on them without disclosing in advance that the companies intended to do so. They will not be fined, but…

Sep 26, 2012 4:40 PM CDT

Driverless Cars Get Green Light in California

Clearing the way for testing and regulations, California became the third state to legalize driverless cars, prompting Gov. Jerry Brown to quip that the state is one step closer to making science fiction a reality. Lobbying for the so-called autonomous vehicles has intensified as manufacturers tout the eventual safety improvements…

Sep 26, 2012 1:36 PM CDT

Judge Refuses to Order YouTube to Remove Anti-Muslim Video

A Los Angeles judge has refused to order YouTube to remove an anti-Muslim video in a suit by an actress who claims she was duped into appearing in the film. Judge Luis Lavin refused to grant a temporary restraining order on Thursday, report the Wall Street Journal Speakeasy blog, the…

Sep 21, 2012 1:41 PM CDT

Actress in Anti-Muslim Film Says She Was Duped, Sues Producer and YouTube

An actress who appeared in the anti-Muslim film sparking protests across the globe has sued the producer for fraud and YouTube in a bid to get the video removed. Cindy Lee Garcia says she has received “credible death threats” since starring in Innocence of Muslims, has been fired from her…

Sep 20, 2012 11:32 AM CDT

Texas Lawyers Warned: Ignore That Email from ‘Barthelemy William’

The Texas Supreme Court is warning lawyers that it does not have an employee named Barthelemy William who is seeking property information. Emails purporting to be from this person are apparently a scam or a “phishing” attempt to get personal information, according to the state supreme court website. Texas Lawyer’s…

Sep 19, 2012 3:22 PM CDT

California Divorce Lawyer Is Charged in Plot to Bug Cars of Her Clients’ Spouses

A California divorce lawyer has been accused in a criminal indictment of planting listening devices in the vehicles of her clients’ spouses to obtain information for legal proceedings. Mary Alice Nolan, 60, of San Ramon is accused of referring clients to a private investigator who installed the listening devices, report…

Sep 19, 2012 11:38 AM CDT