The decision to send a Montreal man to prison for pirating movies has set a dangerous precedent that could threaten privacy rights, say civil rights advocates in Vancouver. On Tuesday, Gérémi Adam, 27, became the first Canadian jailed for breaking cinematic copyright, when he was sentenced to 2½ months after pleading guilty to two counts…
Category: Court
Federal judge approves Facebook ‘Beacon’ class-action settlement
Jessica Guynn reports: After reviewing objections, a San Jose federal judge has approved a $9.5-million settlement of a class-action lawsuit over social networking site Facebook’s program Beacon that published what users were buying. Facebook denied any wrongdoing but agreed to end the Beacon program last November. Read more on the L. A. Times. David Kravets…
ACLU sues state over police cell phone tracking
John Curran reports: The ACLU of Vermont is suing the state after unsuccessfully seeking to find out whether police agencies are using cell phone tracking technology to keep tabs on people’s whereabouts. The state Attorney General refused public records requests by ACLU seeking information about the practice, saying that information is exempt from public records…
Eleventh Circuit Decision Largely Eliminates Fourth Amendment E-mail Protections
Orin Kerr writes: Last Thursday, the Eleventh Circuit handed down a Fourth Amendment case, Rehberg v. Paulk, that takes a very narrow view of how the Fourth Amendment applies to e-mail. The Eleventh Circuit held that constitutional protection in stored copies of e-mail held by third parties disappears as soon as any copy of the…