On October 25, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Google had entered into an agreement to resolve a dispute over the loss of data responsive to a search warrant issued in 2016.
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Stored Communications Act
Supreme Court Holds Warrant Required to Obtain Historical Cell Phone Location Information
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Posted in Information Security, U.S. Federal Law
On June 22, 2018, the United States Supreme Court held in Carpenter v. United States that law enforcement agencies must obtain a warrant supported by probable cause to obtain historical cell-site location information from third-party providers.
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Second Circuit Holds Microsoft Cannot Be Compelled to Turn Over Emails Stored Abroad
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Posted in Enforcement, U.S. Federal Law
On July 14, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that Microsoft Corporation cannot be compelled to turn over customer emails stored abroad to U.S. law enforcement authorities.
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Industry, Privacy Advocates Join Microsoft to Protect Customer Emails in Foreign Servers
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Posted in European Union, International
On December 15, 2014, Microsoft reported the filing of 10 amicus briefs in the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals signed by leading technology and media companies, computer scientists and trade associations and advocacy organizations, in support of Microsoft’s litigation to resist a U.S. Government’s search warrant purporting to compel the production of Microsoft customer emails that are stored in Ireland.
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Federal Court: Non-Public Facebook Wall Posts Are Protected Under the Federal Stored Communications Act
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As reported in the Hunton Employment and Labor Perspectives Blog, a federal district court in New Jersey recently ruled that non-public Facebook wall posts are protected under the Stored Communications Act. This blog post outlines the court’s analysis of the relevant SCA provisions and exceptions applicable to the case.
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Stored Communications Act Can Apply to Reading Personal Emails on a Former Employee’s Company-Issued Device
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Posted in U.S. Federal Law, Workplace Privacy
On June 5, 2013, a federal district court in Ohio held that the Stored Communications Act can apply to an employer reading a former employee’s personal emails on a company-issued mobile device that the employee returned at the end of the employment relationship.
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Court Finds Fourth Amendment Protects Email Privacy
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Posted in Online Privacy
On December 14, 2010, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the government’s warrantless seizure of a defendant’s private emails violated the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures.
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Appeals Court Finds Employee Who Auto-Forwarded Supervisor’s Emails Violated Wiretap Act
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Posted in Online Privacy, Workplace Privacy
The Seventh Circuit recently rejected a defendant’s argument that the Wiretap Act applies only to emails “in flight” as opposed to communications at rest or in storage.
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Continue Reading Appeals Court Finds Employee Who Auto-Forwarded Supervisor’s Emails Violated Wiretap Act
Privacy Settings on Social Networking Sites May Determine Protection Under Stored Communications Act
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Posted in Online Privacy
A federal district court in California recently quashed a civil subpoena for private messages sent through Facebook and MySpace, but found that more evidence regarding the plaintiff’s privacy settings was needed to determine whether his wall posts and comments should be similarly protected.
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Continue Reading Privacy Settings on Social Networking Sites May Determine Protection Under Stored Communications Act