Evan Brown writes: U.S. v. Meregildon, — F.Supp.2d —, 2012 WL 3264501 (S.D.N.Y. August 10, 2012) The government suspected defendant was involved in illegal gang activity and secured the assistance of a cooperating witness who was a Facebook friend of defendant. Viewing defendant’s profile using the friend’s account, the government gathered evidence of probable cause…
Category: U.S.
Location, location, location: two warrantless surveillance cases in the courts
EFF has issued a press release about U.S. v. Jones, a case in the District Court for the District of Columbia: A federal district court is poised to determine whether the government can use cell phone data obtained without a warrant to establish an individual’s location. In an amicus brief filed Monday, the Electronic Frontier…
Hulu’s attempt to dismiss privacy lawsuit fails
Hulu’s attempt to dismiss a consolidated class action complaint alleging violations of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) failed when federal Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler denied their motion on Friday. The lawsuit (previous coverage) is one of a few that were filed over the use of re-spawning cookies (“supercookies”). In this case, the plaintiffs allege…
Stratfor emails reveal secret, widespread TrapWire surveillance system
Former senior intelligence officials have created a detailed surveillance system more accurate than modern facial recognition technology — and have installed it across the US under the radar of most Americans, according to emails hacked by Anonymous. Every few seconds, data picked up at surveillance points in major cities and landmarks across the United States…