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On October 2, 2015, California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced that her office settled a lawsuit against an online home design company, Houzz Inc., stemming from allegations that the company impermissibly recorded phone calls without appropriately notifying the parties to the calls.
Continue Reading California Attorney General’s Settlement with Houzz Inc. Requires Company to Hire CPO

The Obama Administration is finalizing its review of a statutory electronic surveillance proposal initially developed by the FBI to address concerns regarding the widening gap between law enforcement agencies’ legal authority to intercept electronic communications and their practical ability to actually obtain the information.
Continue Reading Obama Administration Considering Electronic Surveillance Proposal to Address “Going Dark” Problem

The United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in a FISA case is likely to have a significant impact on privacy and data breach-related class actions, possibly thwarting the ability of individuals affected by breaches to assert standing based on a fear of possible future harm.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Finds Lack of Standing to Challenge Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

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

The U.S. Supreme Court has set oral argument for April 19, 2010, to review the Ninth Circuit’s 2008 decision on employee privacy in Quon v. Arch Wireless Operating Co.  Although Quon concerns the scope of privacy rights afforded to public employees under the Fourth Amendment, the case also has forced private employers to renew their focus on ensuring robust and consistent enforcement of employee monitoring policies.  Unlike government employers, private employers are not subject to the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures; instead, they must comply with federal wiretap statutes and state law.  In practice, however, the “reasonable expectation of privacy” test courts apply to state common law privacy claims that govern private employers is virtually identical to the Fourth Amendment test.  Accordingly, the Supreme Court’s review of the Constitutional test likely will affect how courts view privacy claims brought against private employers.
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Continue Reading Supreme Court Sets Oral Argument in Quon v. Arch Wireless for April 19, 2010

The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday that it will review the Ninth Circuit’s 2008 decision on employee privacy in Quon v. Arch Wireless Operating Co.  In Quon, the Ninth Circuit considered whether the Ontario, California police department and the City of Ontario violated a police officer’s privacy rights by reviewing private text messages the officer sent using a two-way pager issued by the police department.  The police officer had on several occasions exceeded the limit on the text messages provided by the department-paid plan.  Each time, the officer paid for the overage without anyone reviewing his text messages.  When the officer again exceeded the limit, his supervisor requested from the service provider and subsequently reviewed transcripts of the officer’s messages to determine if the messages were work-related.
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Continue Reading Supreme Court to Address Employee Privacy