Virtually everyone has a phone in their hands or a laptop or tablet in their bag these days. It’s hard to imagine life without our electronic devices. However, with the increased reliance on technology comes new safety concerns at our border crossings. In August of 2009, the Department of Homeland Security initiated a policy that stated U.S. … [Read more...]
Investigatory Agencies Using DMV Databases to Conduct Facial Recognition Searches
The word “privacy” does not appear in the U.S. Constitution. However, that does not mean the Constitution does not grant U.S. citizens’ the right to privacy. The 4th, 9th, and 14th Amendments all protect citizens’ right to privacy, so the U.S. Supreme Court has said many times. But, when the safety of our country is at risk, are we willing to give … [Read more...]
Common Privacy Violations You Can Do Something About
If you feel like you are at the mercy of big companies, their constant demands for your private information and their willy-nilly ways of handling it, you are not alone. But you have more rights than you may realize and there are laws in place to protect your privacy. When companies violate your privacy, you can take legal action. You can … [Read more...]
Yahoo Reaches $117.5 Million Data Breach Settlement
Yahoo has struck a revised $117.5 million data breach settlement, says Reuters. Millions of people whose email addresses and other personal information were stolen in the largest data breach in history. Yahoo was accused of being slow to disclose three data breaches affecting about 3 billion accounts from 2013 to 2016. The new … [Read more...]
Appeals Court Ruling on Net Neutrality Will Not Be Reviewed by the Supreme Court
The Obama Administration’s net neutrality laws were solidified in 2015, but after Donald Trump appointed Ajit Pai Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2017, those rules were rolled back. Net neutrality laws require all Internet service providers (ISPs), like Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, and Time Warner, to treat all … [Read more...]
Uber Agrees To Pay $148 Million To Settle Data Breach
According to Automotive News, Uber was hit with the biggest data-breach payout in history. Iowa’s attorney general said Uber Technologies must pay $148 million to settle claims related to a data breach that exposed personal information for more than 25 million users in the US. The states’ agreement stemmed from data compromised in 2016, when … [Read more...]
Google, Big Data and Civil Liberties
We live in an inter-connected world – hundreds of millions of Americans own smartphones, which provide a staggering level of technology, connectivity and access to the wider world in a device the size of your hand. However, this revolution in digital technology has taken place within an analog legal framework, one constructed over centuries long … [Read more...]
Major Shift in Government Surveillance Tactics?
Recent Supreme Court Ruling and NYPD Lawsuit Settlement Suggest Change is in the Air Has the government gone too far when surveilling Muslim communities? Two recent legal developments are causing a look back at previous surveillance programs and tactics, while also creating uncertainty regarding their use in the future. A recent Supreme Court … [Read more...]
Facial Recognition use by Police: Invasion of Privacy or Crime-Solving Breakthrough?
Whether law-enforcement officials should green light facial recognition technology searches of approximately 117 million Americans with drivers licenses, both at U.S. airports and in police department investigations--or whether the sleuthing technique violates the right to privacy--is highly controversial at a time when 31 states already allow … [Read more...]
Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Case Involving Class-Action Question
The US Supreme Court is set to hear a privacy case involving an $8.5 million settlement with Google. A lawsuit filed in San Francisco in 2010 claimed that Google shared search terms with other websites, in direct violation of users’ privacy rights. The settlement, approved by the Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals, divided the total sum of money … [Read more...]
