Employer request for Facebook passwords yields legislation, investigation 
Published: March 29, 2012
Tags: Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Department of Justice, Discrimination, DOJ, EEOC, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Facebook, job applicants, privacy, social media, social networking, Stored Communications Act
After recent reports that employers were requesting Facebook passwords from job applicants, state and federal legislators quickly responded with possible legislation and a request for a federal investigation into the legalities of the practice.
Police don’t need warrant for cell site location data
Published: March 13, 2012
Tags: cell phone, Fourth Amendment, search and seizure, Stored Communications Act
Federal investigators didn’t need a warrant in order to obtain the historical cell site location data for cell phones recovered from two robbery suspects, a U.S. District Court in Maryland has ruled in denying a motion to suppress.
Phone customers can sue U.S. gov’t over eavesdropping
Published: January 3, 2012
Tags: civil rights, Electronic Communications Privacy Act, First Amendment, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Fourth Amendment, privacy rights, Stored Communications Act
Residential telephone and Internet service customers have standing to sue the federal government over the program of warrantless eavesdropping implemented in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks, the 9th Circuit has ruled in reversing a dismissal.
Keylogger software may implicate employee privacy
Published: October 3, 2011
Tags: privacy, Stored Communications Act, Wiretap Act
An employer’s use of keylogger software to track computer use by employees may have resulted in liability under federal privacy law, a U.S. District Court in Indiana has ruled in denying a motion to dismiss.
Government can’t get cell phone tracking information
Published: August 29, 2011
Tags: cell phones, Fourth Amendment, search and seizure, Stored Communications Act
Federal agents needed probable cause in order to obtain records from a cell phone service provider concerning the movements of a customer who was the target of a criminal investigation, a U.S. District Court in New York has ruled.
Sixth Circuit decision to bring an end to e-mail seizures
By:
David Frank
Published: April 5, 2011
Tags: Department of Justice, e-mail, e-mail seizures, Fourth Amendment, privacy, search and seizure, Stored Communications Act
Two lawyers who have won a landmark 6th Circuit case say the ruling should spell the end of a long-standing practice across the country of federal prosecutors seizing e-mails without warrants.
Subscriber had expectation of privacy in e-mail
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: December 15, 2010
Tags: e-mail, Fourth Amendment, search and seizure, Stored Communications Act
Government agents violated a wire fraud defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights by compelling his Internet service provider to turn over his e-mails without first obtaining a warrant, the 6th Circuit has ruled.
Probable cause may be needed for cell phone data
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: September 9, 2010
Tags: search and seizure, Stored Communications Act
Federal prosecutors may need to show probable cause in order to compel the disclosure of a cell phone customer’s cell site location information, the 3rd Circuit has ruled.
Facebook, MySpace messages not discoverable
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: June 3, 2010
Tags: Discovery, Facebook, MySpace, Stored Communications Act
Defendants in a breach of contract action could not obtain private messages regarding the alleged agreement that appeared on Facebook, MySpace and another social networking website, a U.S. District Court in California has ruled in overturning a magistrate’s decision.
Plaintiff must prove actual damages from e-mail breach
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: March 23, 2009
Tags: e-mail, privacy, Stored Communications Act
A plaintiff who alleged that her former employer illegally accessed her personal e-mail must show actual harm in order to recover statutory damages under federal privacy law, the 4th Circuit has ruled in vacating a $175,000 jury award.
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