Christopher Hopkins Speaks on Data Breach Law at Florida Atlantic University
Thanks to professor and attorney Larry Buck for inviting me to speak today about Data Breach & Cyber Security Law at Florida Atlantic University. We discussed: Standing: how the Clapper case was filed too soon, they lost in the Supreme Court, and then three months later it was revealed, beyond their …
Understanding Recent Case re First Amendment & Recording of Police
A recent trial court order from a federal judge in Philadelphia regarding whether a person has a First Amendment right to record or photograph police activity has gotten a fair amount of media attention and has even been labeled, “a bizarre ruling.” Agree with it or not, the analysis is …
Injunction for Cyberstalking in Florida Reversed
During the May 2014 Billboard Music Award show, a hologram of Michael Jackson wowed the crowd as he/it performed the song, “Slave to the Rhythm.” You can see the performance here. Lawsuits regarding the hologram arose between two companies involving patent and business tort disputes. According to the allegations, Alkiviades David, …
Fourth DCA: Internet Review of Lawyer Is Libel Per Se
Posting an online review of a lawyer’s services which include false claims that the lawyer lied about attorney fees and falsified a contract is libel per se, ruled the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal on January 6, 2016. Even though the parties had settled their case and at least …
Eleventh Circuit: Florida Firearm Owners Privacy Act is Constitutional
The 11th Circuit has reversed a district court ruling and, instead, concluded that Florida’s “docs vs. glocks” law is constitutional. This is a victory for gun proponents who voice concerns that inquiries from Florida doctors about gun ownership was an invasion of privacy. The case is Dr. Bernd Wollschlaefer et …
One Year After Snowden: How Safe Are Your Calls and Emails?
Back in April 2014, I spoke to the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce about the security of emails and phone communications in the business world (materials are here). This article, “One Year After Snowden: How Safe Are Your Calls and Emails?,” summarizes the key Snowden disclosures over the last year …
NSA Mass Surveillance – How Secure Are Your Calls and Emails?
Special thanks to the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce for hosting “NSA Mass Surveillance – How Secure Are Your Calls and Emails?“ If you would like to download a PDF of the presentation, it is here (also under “Materials, along the right column of this page).
NSA Surveillance – How Secure Are Your Calls & Emails @ Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce
The Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce is presenting “NSA Surveillance – How Secure Are Your Calls and Emails?” on Wednesday, April 30, 2014. This presentation will explain NSA mass surveillance of email and phone communications and will discuss the security of your personal and business communications. It will provide …
Conflicting Court Opinions on NSA Surveillance
One year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the case of Amnesty International v. Clapper and… few people cared. After all, “Clapper I,” as it became known, held that political activists had no standing to even discover if the government was spying on them. But four months later, the floodgates …
Government GPS Tracking Since U.S. v. Jones
The Supreme Court’s 2012 decision in U.S. v. Jones involving GPS tracking is trending towards being a landmark decision in how the Court interprets the Fourth Amendment in technology cases. But what has happened to GPS tracking since the Jones decision? This February 2014 article from the Palm Beach …
No Social Media Privacy for Alleged Colorado Theater Shooter
Defendant James Eagan Holmes, the alleged Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooter, sought to suppress records obtained from two “dating” sites, Adultfriendfinder.com and Match.com (to be clear, the former is for “sex and swinger personals”). TMZ.com apparently broke the story that Holmes, using the alias “classicjimbo,” had a picture of himself …
A Tinfoil Hat Which Works: “Booster Bag” Is An Anti-Shoplifting Device Under Florida Statute
Make jokes about the paranoid and their tinfoil hats, but the “tinfoil bag” is the real-deal. Until you stand right in front of the person you’re stealing from. Most retail stores, as you know, have security tower devices which detect when items with tags pass through the front door, sounding …
Can the Government Compel Your Client to Decrypt a Hard Drive?
The Fourth & Fifth Amendments and technology continue to collide as law enforcement seeks to compel defendants to unencrypt their computer harddrives. Can they force your client to hand over the password? We discussed a similar issue in May about whether, under the Fourth Amendment, the Government could inspect the …
Can the Government Search Your iPhone or iPad at the US Border?
Can Border Patrol rummage through the contents of your digital camera, laptop, smartphones, etc at the border? Yes, according to several recent cases and a broad exception to the Fourth Amendment (search and seizure). Read “Can They Search Your iPad or iPhone at the Border?” from the May 2013 Palm …