Court Says Butt Dial not Subject to Privacy Rules
Posted by: Timothy Weaver on 07/27/2015 09:28 AM
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You’re not protected by a right to privacy if you’re prone to butt-dialing your friends.
A federal court in Cincinnati yesterday ruled that if you accidentally call someone, with your butt or otherwise, you’re not protected by a right to privacy if someone overhears sensitive information.
The case landed in the courts because Carol Spaw, assistant to the CEO of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, was butt-dialed by James Huff, chairman of the airport’s board. What she heard was Huff talking to his wife about firing the CEO. Spaw took notes and informed the other members of the board.
Huff sued Spaw. He alleged it was illegal to intercept electronic or oral communications intentionally. The district court sided with Spaw and said it was quite simple to avoid such incidents by simply locking your phone.
“A person who knowingly operates a device that is capable of inadvertently exposing his conversations to third-party listeners and fails to take simple precautions to prevent such exposure does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy.”
Source: The Next Web
A federal court in Cincinnati yesterday ruled that if you accidentally call someone, with your butt or otherwise, you’re not protected by a right to privacy if someone overhears sensitive information.The case landed in the courts because Carol Spaw, assistant to the CEO of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, was butt-dialed by James Huff, chairman of the airport’s board. What she heard was Huff talking to his wife about firing the CEO. Spaw took notes and informed the other members of the board.
Huff sued Spaw. He alleged it was illegal to intercept electronic or oral communications intentionally. The district court sided with Spaw and said it was quite simple to avoid such incidents by simply locking your phone.
“A person who knowingly operates a device that is capable of inadvertently exposing his conversations to third-party listeners and fails to take simple precautions to prevent such exposure does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy.”
Source: The Next Web
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