Andrew Crocker of EFF writes: Today, along with the ACLU, EFF filed an amicus brief in the Sixth Circuit court of appeals in United States v. Sturdivant, a case where police warrantlessly tracked a suspect’s movements using Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) data. Our brief details the vast, interconnected network of ALPRs that constantly track...

Olivia DeRicco reports: Woodley, et al. v. Google LLC, et al. Filed: October 9, 2026 ◆ § 5:26-cv-11715 Read Complaint A class action lawsuit alleges Google and UPS wrongfully disclose users’ private data to third parties by way of the Google Search tracking widget. A proposed class action lawsuit alleges that the Google Search-based “Track...

Oregon will receive more than $10.4 million, and GM must now get drivers’ clear permission before collecting or sharing their driving and location data Attorney General Dan Rayfield today announced that General Motors will pay $220 million to settle allegations that it sold drivers’ private driving behavior and location data to data brokers, who then...

Kelly Sandberg of Troutman Amin, LLP writes: In Shirley Vanasch et al. v. GoFundMe Inc., Plaintiffs Sal Munoz and Shirley Vanasch brought an action against Defendant GoFundMe for violations of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”), Cal. Penal Code §§ 631 and 638.51, and common law fraud, deceit and/or misrepresentation for the use of...

Mario Trujillo writes: In a victory for data privacy, a federal court in New York definitively ruled that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) violated the law when it disclosed millions of federal employee records to DOGE agents. In a summary judgment ruling issued on October 20, 2026, the court found that OPM violated two...

Oregon will receive more than $10.4 million, and GM must now get drivers’ clear permission before collecting or sharing their driving and location data Attorney General Dan Rayfield today announced that General Motors will pay $220 million to settle allegations that it sold drivers’ private driving behavior and location data to data brokers, who then...

Kelly Sandberg of Troutman Amin, LLP writes: In Shirley Vanasch et al. v. GoFundMe Inc., Plaintiffs Sal Munoz and Shirley Vanasch brought an action against Defendant GoFundMe for violations of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”), Cal. Penal Code §§ 631 and 638.51, and common law fraud, deceit and/or misrepresentation for the use of...

Mario Trujillo writes: In a victory for data privacy, a federal court in New York definitively ruled that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) violated the law when it disclosed millions of federal employee records to DOGE agents. In a summary judgment ruling issued on October 20, 2026, the court found that OPM violated two...

Jim Vorel reports: This has been one hell of a year, especially when it comes to social media giant Meta getting its digital ass handed to it in the courtroom. It’s only been a few months, after all, since Mark Zuckerberg’s goliath reached a landmark settlement with 47 different states, and agreed to pay a...

Margaret Attridge reports: Customers who purchased Samsung Smart TVs sued over claims the technology company collects users’ real-time viewing habits without their permission for commercial purposes. Named plaintiffs Danielle Tillery, Michael Walsh and David Rosenberg, who each bought a Samsung Smart TV between 2014 and 2021, accuse Samsung of violating their data privacy by harvesting...

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Another reminder: if you’re traveling, your cell phone can be searched at the border without a warrant or even reasonable suspicion. They can just do it.  From FourthAmendment.com: At the border, defendant’s cell phone was first manually searched and then forensically searched. Neither was unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment. United States v. Robinson, 2026 U.S....

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Attacks on a woman’s right to choose continue by the Republicans. Expect even more attacks after the midterms. Stephen Preger reports: The Trump administration is intentionally slow-rolling efforts to restrict abortion pill access until after the midterms. Once they’re over, “the gloves will be off,” according to one anti-abortion advocate who spoke with The Washington...

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Edvard Pettersson reports: A federal judge on Wednesday waved portions of a class action by people who say a San Diego-based operator of a genealogical research site allowed third parties, including Meta and law enforcement, access to their DNA profile without their permission. U.S. District Judge James Simmons Jr. partially denied a motion to dismiss...

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Alice Gibbs reports: A candidate who is on bond after being charged with two counts of second-degree rape is set to become a chief of police in Louisiana. Christopher “Chris” Paul was arrested last month after being accused of raping two 13-year-old girls 20 years ago. He is also currently running unopposed to become the...

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Kelsey Reichmann reports: In an emergency order, the Supreme Court on Friday agreed to let the Trump administration resurrect a national citizenship database using Social Security information for voter verification during the midterm elections. A lower court blocked the Department of Homeland Security from collecting individuals’ Social Security numbers, citizenship status and other private data...

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Sydney Haulenbeek reports: Police wanting to use a device mimicking a cellphone tower to locate people must first get a warrant, a Fourth Circuit panel ruled Thursday. Kerron Andrews was arrested by the Baltimore Police Department in May 2014, after the police secured a court order allowing them to use a cell-site simulator to obtain...

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Brian Krebs reports: The consumer data broker Radaris.com has long had a reputation for ignoring requests to remove personal information from its vast empire of people-search services online. That reputation caught up with the company recently in a lawsuit alleging Radaris violated a New Jersey privacy law that provides for hefty fines against data brokers...

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The AP and Mikella Schuettler of Report for America report: A New Mexico jury on Friday found Facebook liable for deceiving users about privacy protections on the platform in the latest legal setback against the social media giant that has already cost it billions of dollars. The jury found over 43 million violations of state...

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Ashley Belanger reports: On Tuesday, two survivors of child sex abuse accused the Justice Department of failing to notify dozens of victims found in Jeffrey Epstein’s massive collection of child sex images. In a proposed class action, survivors explained that Epstein apparently started collecting child sex images in the 1990s, many of which the DOJ...

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Henry F. Fradella The Conversation, George Grispos, and Jihun Joun report: A husband in Taiwan suspected his wife of having an affair. In September 2023, he found a used toothbrush at their holiday home, and garage video showed an unfamiliar man driving his wife there. Three months later, he opened their robot vacuum’s app to...

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