Balough
December 16, 2013
A class action suit against Apple and some mobile device application developers for violating the privacy rights of users was dismissed by a federal court because the users did not show how they were harmed. The users claimed that Apple and the developers allow apps that run on iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch to collect […]
Balough
December 15, 2013
An individual’s ZIP code is personally identifiable information that cannot be recorded and kept by California retailers as part of a credit card transaction, the California Supreme Court ruled. Under California law, it is illegal for a business to request “personal identification information” during a credit card transaction and keep it. Among the examples of […]
Balough
December 15, 2013
Amazon.com does not have to turn over information to North Carolina tax officials that would link individual users to the specific books and videos purchased online, a federal court ruled. The North Carolina Revenue Department made several requests to Amazon for information concerning online sales made to North Carolina residents so that the state could […]
Balough
December 15, 2013
Email messages are like postcards that anyone can easily read, so there is no expectation of privacy when you send an email using the office computer—at least in New York. “It is today’s reality that a reasonable expectation of internet privacy is lost, upon your affirmative keystroke,” a Criminal Court of the City of New York […]
Balough
December 15, 2013
There is no reasonable expectation of privacy for the content in files stored in a computer linked to an unsecured Wi-Fi connection, even if the access to the network is not authorized. An Oregon federal court denied a motion to suppress evidence found on a convicted sex offender’s computer. A neighbor of the defendant used […]
Balough
December 15, 2013
A Pennsylvania couple’s battle with Google’s street view function remains barely alive thanks to a U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling that there was a technical trespass when the images were taken. Aaron and Christine Boring originally sued Google for various counts of invasion of privacy, unjust enrichment, and trespass. Google had taken images of the […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
While teachers do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their classrooms under federal law, school districts in Illinois cannot audio tape what teachers say in the classrooms, an Illinois appellate court found. The Board of Education for Freeport School District No. 145 sought to audio and videotape teachers in two special education classrooms […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
A&T, Inc. can have “personal privacy” as a corporation, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals found. The court found that when the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exempts from disclosure records for law enforcement purposes that “could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,” corporations were meant to be included. AT&T […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
A Pennsylvania couple’s privacy rights were not invaded when Google Street View captured images of their residence, outbuildings, and swimming pool, a federal district court ruled. Aaron and Christine Boring contended that their privacy was invaded and Google was unjustly enriched because the search company’s Street View showed images of their house, which is located […]
Balough
December 14, 2013
Police do not need to obtain a warrant to place a GPS tracking device on the undercarriage of a van and to subsequently use the information acquired to obtain a conviction for burglary. In a 2-1 decision, a New York appellate court upheld the trial court’s decision to allow information from the GPS device to […]
