4th Amendment Updates in the State Courts
The US Supreme Court is not the only Supreme Court to recently focus on 4th Amendment privacy issues critical to technology. By Ethan Ackerman This blog recently covered the US Supreme Court’s decision to hear a 4th Amendment case dealing…
File Names Can Help Predict File Content in Child Porn Prosecution–US v. Beatty
By Eric Goldman United States v. Beatty, 2009 WL 5220643 (W.D. Pa. Dec. 31, 2009) This is a child porn prosecution. Using Phex P2P software, an undercover investigator accessed the Gnutella network and conducted searches using search terms known to…
November-December 2009 Quick Links, Part 2
By Eric Goldman Copyright * Want Ad Digest Inc. v. Display Advertising Inc. (N.D.N.Y. Sept. 3, 2009). A classified ads publisher wants to stop a competitor from republishing its classified ads. The court said that advertisers, not the publisher, generally…
When the Supreme Court gets in your inbox
The Supreme Court agrees to review one of the very few Circuit Court opinions finding 4th Amendment protection for in-box content. Should netizens tremble or rejoice? By Ethan Ackerman The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal by a…
Online Commenter Did Not Waive Right to Anonymity by Agreeing to News Website’s Privacy Policy — Sedersten v. Taylor
[Post by Venkat] Sedersten v. Taylor, 2009 U.S. Dist LEXIS 114525 (Case No. 09-3031-CV-S-GAF) (W.D. Mo. Dec. 9. 2009). A Missouri district judge rejected a plaintiff’s attempt to unmask an online commenter based in part on the argument that language…
Court Rejects Computer Fraud & Abuse Act Claim Based on Unsolicited Text Messages–Czech v. Wall Street on Demand
[Post by Venkat] Czech v. Wall Street on Demand, Inc., No. 09-180 (DWF/RLE) (Dec. 8, 2009). A Minnesota district judge rejected claims brought under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act based on the receipt of unsolicited text messages. There’s not…
Claims Brought by Express Scripts Data Breach Plaintiffs Rejected on Standing Grounds — Amburgy v. Express Scripts, Inc.
[Post by Venkat] A federal court in Missouri recently rejected a class action brought by consumer plaintiffs on standing grounds. Given the long line of consumer plaintiffs who have suffered a similar fate I thought this case was somewhat unexceptional,…
A Look at Twitter’s Updated Privacy Policy (November 19, 2009)
[Post by Venkat] As noted on Twitter’s blog, Twitter refreshed its privacy policy yesterday. Given that virtually everything Twitter does is placed under the microscope, I’m sure the policy will be pored over in detail. (Here’s a link to the…
Keylogger Software Company Not Liable for Eavesdropping by Ex-spouse — Hayes v. SpectorSoft
[Posted by Venkat] In what probably belongs in the “software doesn’t surreptitiously record conversations, people do” file, a federal court in Tennessee rejected Electronic Communications Privacy Act and product liability claims brought by someone whose ex-spouse used software to log…
Starbucks Data Breach Plaintiffs Try Their Luck in the 9th Circuit — Krottner v. Starbucks
[Post by Venkat] A lost laptop computer containing the personal information of Starbucks employees prompted a class action lawsuit against Starbucks (in Washington). The lawsuit received some coverage (see, for example Bob McMillan here, and Starbucks Gossip here), but the…