Baseball Ruling Bolsters Online Privacy Rights

SACRAMENTO — A federal court ruling in the world of professional baseball may affect online privacy for people.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that federal agents acted improperly when they seized a list of 104 Major League baseball players who had tested for performance enhancing drugs.

Writing for the 9-2 majority, Judge Alex Kozinski said that the list must be destroyed, adding that the action “was an obvious case of deliberate overreaching by the government in an effort to seize data as to which it lacked probable cause.”

The decision marked a victory for the Major League Baseball Players Association, which opposed the probe.

"If the government had never unconstitutionally seized the tests results, there would never have been any leaks," said Elliot Peters, a lawyer for the MLBPA. In addition, the court criticized federal investigators for not calling on more trained technical professionals to narrow their search.

"The government doesn’t need instruction from the court as to what kind of employees to use to serve its own purposes; the representation in the warrant that computer personnel would be used to examine and segregate the data was obviously designed to reassure the issuing magistrate that the government wouldn’t sweep up large quantities of data in the hope of dredging up information it could not otherwise lawfully seize," the justices said.

Sportswriter Chris Chester pointed out the widespread implications this ruling has for privacy advocates.

"The judge issues a search warrant to get some information off of your computer, and they just happen to stumble on your porn stash or maybe some videos of a certain personal nature," he said. "Then the judge decides that the stuff they found is pertinent to the case, and suddenly you've got blown-up pictures of your manparts and a list of all the dirty websites you've visited being argued over by lawyers, all because you had your budget in an excel file or something similarly innocuous. Is that a world we really want to live in?"

Related:  

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Kansas Law Firm Deploys Religion, Bunk Science While Recruiting Plaintiffs Under AV Law

Kansas-based personal injury law firm Mann Wyatt Tanksley is promoting debunked scientific theories and leveraging religious affiliation against the industry while it seeks potential plaintiffs for lawsuits against adult companies under the state’s age verification law.

UK Tech Secretary Lists Age Verification Among OSA Priorities

Peter Kyle, the U.K.’s Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, on Wednesday made public a draft version of his priorities for implementing the Online Safety Act (OSA), including age verification.

10th Circuit Rejects Final FSC Appeal in Utah AV Case

The United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit on Monday rejected a motion by Free Speech Coalition (FSC) requesting that the full court rehear its appeal in Free Speech Coalition v. Anderson, the industry trade association’s challenge to Utah’s age verification law.

Trump Nominates Project 2025 Contributor, Section 230 Foe to Chair FCC

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated, as his pick to head the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr — an author of Project 2025 who has called for gutting Section 230 protections.

Texas AG Briefs US Supreme Court on AV Argument

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday submitted his brief to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the state's age verification law, HB 1181, which is being challenged by a group led by Free Speech Coalition (FSC).

FSC: Kansas Attorneys Seeking Plaintiffs to Sue Adult Companies Over Age Verification

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has released a statement warning that a personal injury law firm in Kansas is soliciting plaintiffs to sue adult companies under the state's age verification law.

Ukrainian Parliament Registers Bill to Decriminalize Porn

Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, registered a bill today to decriminalize the creation and distribution of pornography.

MojoHost Reaffirms Commitment to Adult Industry Amid Project 2025 Implications

In the wake of Tuesday’s election and concerns about Project 2025’s potential ramifications, MojoHost President Brad Mitchell has released a statement affirming its commitment to the adult industry.

Adult Industry Reacts to Trump Victory

On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump was reelected, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris to reclaim the office he lost four years ago.

Project 2025 Leader Claims Big Tech Companies 'Deliberately Fuel Pornography Addiction' Among Men

Heritage Foundation president and Project 2025 leader Kevin Roberts published on Wednesday the text of a speech in which he persists with his past claim that “predatory Big Tech corporations” are “deliberately fueling pornography addiction” among young men.

Show More