Former New York Yankee Lou Gehrig died 71 years ago from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, now known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Now some legislators in Minnesota want to make his medical records, maintained at the Mayo Clinic, public. A story in the Star Tribune raises the question of how long a patient’s personal health
“Friend” Request Lands Attorneys In Hot Water
Two New Jersey defense lawyers face attorney ethics charges in connection with the way they allegedly accessed Facebook. Regardless of how these charges are resolved, the facts in the case should serve as a reminder to attorneys to become more familiar with social media, and perhaps be more specific in the direction they give to
Monitoring and Accessing Social Networking Content–New Jersey District Court Weighs In Again
The District Court of New Jersey recently denied an employer’s motion to dismiss a former employee’s causes of action for invasion of privacy following a supervisor’s alleged unauthorized access to the employee’s Facebook account. 
In Ehling v. Monmouth-Ocean Hospital Service Corp., the plaintiff, a registered nurse and paramedic, alleged that the defendants engaged in a
“Liking” A Facebook Page Is Not Protected By The First Amendment
A Virginia district court recently held that an employee’s clicking of the Facebook “like” button is not comparable to speech. Accordingly, the court affirmed the dismissal of First Amendment retaliation claims brought by employees of a Virginia sheriff’s office finding that the employees’ action was insufficient to merit constitutional protection.
Sheriff B.J. Roberts of the Hampton
Keyloggers Beware–Companies Risk Being Sued By Employees
A U.S. District Court in Indiana has ruled that a company’s use of keylogger software to access an employee’s personal e-mail account may have violated the Stored Communications Act (“SCA”).
Keylogging or keystroke logging is the tracking of the keys struck on a keyboard, typically in a covert manner. 
In Rene v. G.F. Fishers, Inc.
Alleged HIPAA Violation Supports State Common Law Negligence Claim
A Missouri federal district court has ruled, in I.S. v. Washington University, that a HIPAA-covered entity’s disclosure of protected information can form the basis for a state-law negligence claim. The Court reached this holding despite the well-accepted principle there is no private cause of action under HIPAA.
The plaintiff, I.S., was undergoing medical treatment
Ban On Employer Demands For Worker, Applicant Website Passwords–Maryland
The Maryland Senate recently referred Senate Bill 971 which prohibits Maryland employers from demanding that workers and job applicants turn over their passwords to specific websites or web-based accounts. 
Under the bill, employers would be prohibited from refusing to hire applicants and disciplining, terminating, or taking other adverse employment action against employees who refuse to provide
The White House’s Cybersecuirty Legislative Proposal
Today the White House issued a Cybersecurity Legislative Proposal. The proposed legislation focuses on protecting the American people, the nation’s critical infrastructure, and the federal government’s computers and networks. While legislation of this nature would simplify the breach reporting process for businesses, and overall streamline cybersecurity laws, a number of legislative attempts to do this have previously
The Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights Act
Two Senators who clearly did not let the potential government work stoppage affect them, formally introduced the Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights Act of 2011 on April 12. In a bipartisan effort, Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and John McCain (R-Arizona) introduced the legislation which sets forth privacy rules governing businesses that collect, use, or share
“Tagged” Facebook Photos Admissible as Evidence
Trying to keep up with the fast-moving world of social media, the Kentucky Court of Appeals has ruled that “tagged” or captioned photographs posted on Facebook may be admitted as evidence. The ruling in the case has implications for employers. In LaLonde v. LaLonde, the appellant-wife objected to the trial court’s admitting into evidence photographs