The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently ruled that a plaintiff may maintain a suit for receiving an unsolicited text message under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991, even though the plaintiff was not actually charged for receiving the message. In the ruling, the court noted that in enacting the TCPA, Congress was concerned with consumers’ privacy rights and the nuisances of telemarketing.
privacy interests
Department of Education Issues Final Regulations Amending FERPA
By Natalie Newman on
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) (“FERPA”) imposes various requirements on educational institutions regarding the privacy of personally identifiable information contained in education records of students. On December 9, 2008, the U.S. Department of Education (“DOE”) published final rules amending the regulations that implement FERPA.
Originally proposed on March 28, 2008, the DOE published a notice which proposed various changes to FERPA and its implementing regulations “to implement various statutory changes made to FERPA to implement two recent US Supreme Court decisions, to respond to changes in information technology, and to address other issues identified through the Department’s experience in administering FERPA.” (73 FR 74806). According to the DOE, approximately 121 parties submitted comments in response to the March, 2008 NPRM. The Final Rules become effective January 8, 2009.
Wrath of Quon?
By Proskauer Rose on
The June 18, 2008 Ninth Circuit panel decision in Quon et al. v. Arch Wireless et al., No. 07-55282 (9th Cir. June 18, 2008) has sparked a flurry of news reports and speculation regarding employers’ ability to monitor employees’ e-mails and text messages. In fact, the decision appears to change very little for private employers who wish to review employee communications stored on, or sent through, their own servers and computers. However, Quon does limit employers’ ability to request from third-party providers the contents of employees’ electronic communications.
Court Rules that Legitimate Privacy Concerns Do Not Outweigh SEC’s Interest in Discovering Relevant Financial Records in Backdating Matter
By Proskauer Rose on
Balancing privacy and evidentiary interests in a stock option backdating matter, the Northern District of California held on June 11, 2007 that the SEC’s interest in obtaining banking account information of defendant Gregory Reyes, ex-CEO of Brocade Communications, outweighs Reyes’ financial history privacy interests. SEC v. Reyes, No. C 06-04435 CRB (N.D. Cal. 2007).
…