Full question:
Can a spouse legally use a GPS device on car? Can a spouse legally 'spy' on the other spouse's online communications? Can information found by any of these means be used in divorce proceedings? Is this an invasion of privacy for any persons who the spouse communicates with?
- Category: Civil Rights
- Subcategory: Privacy
- Date:
- State: Texas
Answer:
The answer will depend on the charges and all the facts and circumstances involved. Generally, to defend against a claim of invasion of privacy for installing a monitoring device or program on a vehicle or computer, the installer must have at least joint ownership in the property involved in the installation.
Hacking is the deliberate and unauthorized access, use, disclosure, and/or taking of electronic data on a computer and is covered under federal and varied state criminal statutes. The computer crime of hacking is committed when a person willfully, knowingly, and without authorization or without reasonable grounds to believe that he or she has such authorization, attempts or achieves access, communication, examination, or modification of data, computer programs, or supporting documentation residing or existing internal or external to a computer, computer system, or computer network.
Invasion of privacy is the intrusion into the personal life of another, without just cause, which can give the person whose privacy has been invaded a right to bring a lawsuit for damages against the person or entity that intruded. It encompasses workplace monitoring, Internet privacy, data collection, and other means of disseminating private information. A non-public individual has a right to privacy from: a) intrusion on one's solitude or into one's private affairs; b) public disclosure of embarrassing private information; c) publicity which puts him/her in a false light to the public; d) appropriation of one's name or picture for personal or commercial advantage.
For further discussion, please see:
http://www.divorcenet.com/states/new_jersey/spying_on_your_spouse
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
