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The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that Internet users have a constitutionally protected privacy interest in the disclosure of their identities when surfing the web. (This from a case in which JD Supra contributors EFF and EPIC jointly filed an amicus brief.)

The Court based its decision on the state Constitution - which the New Jersey courts have interpreted to provide greater protection than the federal Constitution - and the factual finding that "Internet users today enjoy relatively complete IP address anonymity when surfing the web." (Read the entire decision here.)

Interestingly, the Court also noted that "if one day new software allowed individuals to type IP addresses into a 'reverse directory' and identify the name of a user . . . today's ruling might need to be reexamined." 

Is the Court saying that companies can eliminate the right to privacy recognized by this decision simply by finding ways to violate it? This seems a bit circular to me. What are your thoughts?

One of our newest contributors, the Electronic Privacy Information Center ("EPIC"), is sharing some very Scoop-worthy filings, including the complaint it filed today seeking documents about the federal government's role in an effort to limit accountability of state "Fusion Centers."   According to EPIC, the Virginia Fusion Center is  a database that collects detailed information on ordinary citizens. The Virginia legislature is considering a bill that would limit Virginia's open government and privacy statutes, as well as Virginia's common law right of privacy, for Virginia agencies connected to the Fusion Center - thereby shrouding it in secrecy.

EPIC  had previously submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Virginia State Police for records relating to the Fusion Center.  EPIC's FOIA request focused on the possible role of the US Department of Justice and the US Department of Homeland Security in the development of the Virginia legislation. The Virginia State Police refused to comply with the request, apparently on the grounds that these documents (correspondence and communications between the Police Department and the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice about e.g. the Fusion Center's funding and development) were "relevant to the identification of criminal activity" among other things.

Sign up to JD Supra's RSS Feed for simultaneous access to new filings as this case progresses, and visit EPIC's Information Fusion Centers and Privacy page to learn more about Fusion Centers and the work that EPIC is doing.

I am running from one great event to another, here in Chicago at the ABA TechShow 2008, which is jam-packed with presentations by some of the greatest minds in legal technology today. 

I just attended the fascinating keynote address by Marc Rotenberg, entitled "Who's Watching You? A Conversation About Privacy on the Internet."  Marc is the Executive Director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), which is doing great work to protect our right to privacy.

Among the interesting topics discussed (and on which EPIC has often taken a stand):

• Government efforts not only to track existing information about individuals, but also to create new tracking methods such as the ability to follow an individual's movements in public spaces - through surveillance combined with face recognition technology (spooky).

• Warrantless border searches of laptops and, worse yet, "body imaging" by the TSA and Homeland Security - which, in the process of going through our airline security checkpoints, essentially captures a nude digital image of fully dressed individuals without their knowledge, that can be shown on any PC compatible device.

• The ability (or lack thereof) to remove your personal data from social networking sites. According to Marc, site operators may make it increasingly possible to remove this data - which heretofore has been difficult to achieve. But, of course, there are also sites that aggregate this data from other sources, and may not allow you to remove it. (As an aside: JD Supra's Terms give every contributor the right to remove their content from the site in the unlikely event they wish to do so and prohibit unauthorized use of the site content by third parties.)

I had an opportunity to speak with Marc after his presentation - and hopefully, EPIC will be sharing some of its great work in the law with all of us on JD Supra, soon :)