Declan McCullagh reports that a Senate committee will be considering a bill today that updates both the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) and the Electronic Communication Privacy Act (ECPA). The strategy of combining updates to both is puzzling some privacy advocates, who support Senator Leahy’s attempt to set a warrant standard for law enforcement to…
Category: Laws
Federal court considers if California’s mandatory DNA sample law violates arrestees’ rights
Paul Elias of Associated Press reports on today’s 9th Circuit hearing on DNA collection from arrestees: A California deputy attorney general, defending a state law requiring everyone arrested for a felony to provide a genetic sample, endured tough questioning Wednesday from members of an 11-judge federal appeals court panel. At least three of the 9th…
When Privacy Gets Personal For Policymakers
Jay Stanley of the ACLU writes: Data from license plate readers in Minnesota was obtained by a St. Paul car dealer using open-records laws, and used to repossess at least one car, according to a recent article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The article included this amusing tidbit: When the Star Tribune published data tracking Mayor R.T….
Lawyers Ponder Whether ‘Secret Video’ of Romney Violated Privacy Laws
Bruce Carton writes: Politicos want to know whether the “secret video” of Mitt Romney speaking at a private fundraising event will hurt his chances in the upcoming presidential election, but some lawyers are pondering a different question: Did the person who made the tape violate state law? CNBC reports that in Florida, both parties to a conversation must…