Kashmir Hill reports: The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA)– which protects electronic communications from government searches — was created in 1986 and is ripe for a makeover. The Senate Judiciary Committee discussed the need for a facelift for the Act today with attorneys from law enforcement, the Commerce Department, the tech industry, and civil rights…
Category: Featured News
Online Data Broker Settles FTC Charges Privacy Pledges Were Deceptive
An online data broker that charged consumers $10 based on the promise that it could “lock their records”so others could not see or buy them, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that its claims were deceptive and violated federal law. The settlement requires that the operation refund the fees it charged to nearly…
Evercookie: the latest way to subvert browser privacy settings?
Just what we needed: another way to subvert our privacy preferences and browser settings. Evercookie is generating a lot of (negative) buzz on Twitter among those concerned with privacy. It was released a few days ago by Samy Kamkar, who describes it this way: evercookie is a javascript API available that produces extremely persistent cookies…
Hannaford Litigation Ruling Finds Plaintiffs Cannot Prove Damages
Andy Serwin of Foley & Lardner comments: Harm in the privacy litigation context is a difficult concept for plaintiffs to prove. There have been a number of cases that have ruled that plaintiffs cannot meet their burden and prove damages sufficient to state a claim. Courts have consistently ruled that plaintiffs cannot easily meet their burden…