In a 2-1 decision on August 16, the Sixth Circuit refused to dismiss a claim against the maker of an online surveillance tool for wiretapping under both federal and state laws, and for intrusion against seclusion. While the breadth of this holding is unclear, and the case may be an outlier, the Sixth Circuit’s reasoning … Continue Reading
Courts continue to grapple with how to apply existing privacy laws to new (and even not-so-new) technology. The recent Ninth Circuit decision, affirming the Northern District of California’s decision to dismiss a proposed class action suit against Pandora for disclosure of listener music preferences in violation of Michigan’s Preservation of Personal Privacy Act (PPPA), resolved … Continue Reading
A person who makes an accidental “pocket dialed” call has no reasonable expectation of privacy in the conversations exposed to the person who picks up that call, the Sixth Circuit ruled last week. The court compared this situation to a homeowner that mistakenly fails to cover his windows, exposing his actions to public view. In … Continue Reading
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari and agreed to consider Robins v. Spokeo, Inc., in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that Thomas Robins had adequately alleged Article III standing to sue website operator Spokeo, Inc. (“Spokeo”) under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. § 1681 … Continue Reading
In the closely-watched case of Spokeo, Inc. v Robins, the Solicitor General recently filed an amicus brief urging the Court to deny certiorari and leave in place the 9th Circuit’s holding, which could encourage the rising tide of privacy class action litigation. The Solicitor General’s brief—coauthored by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau—argued that the dissemination … Continue Reading
Last week, the D.C. Circuit heard oral argument in the lawsuit filed against Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie over their collection of customer ZIP codes at the point of sale. The plaintiffs alleged that the practice of requesting ZIP codes at the point of sale during credit card transactions violated two D.C. statutes, the Consumer Protection … Continue Reading
Last month a federal court found Dish Network liable for calls that were alleged by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) to violate various provisions of the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (“TSR”). Specifically, the FTC’s 2009 complaint asserted that Dish Network initiated, or caused a telemarketer to initiate, calls to numbers on the National Do Not … Continue Reading
By Brian Ryoo The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington recently dismissed in part an online privacy lawsuit alleging that Amazon “circumvented” browser privacy controls in order to track users’ web browsing activities. The plaintiffs in Del Vecchio v. Amazon had alleged that Amazon “exploit[ed]” browser controls in Internet Explorer by … Continue Reading
