Albert Gidari, Jr.

Partner Al Gidari was quoted in a CNET article, "DOJ: We Don't Need Warrants for E-mail, Facebook Chats," regarding how the Justice Department has handled warrants since the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals' 2010 ruling in U.S. v. Warshak.

Partner Al Gidari was quoted in a Reuters article, "Obama administration weighs options for expanding wiretap laws."  The article discusses the recent proposal by the Obama administration to end a long-running debate over Internet wiretaps using legislation that would enable law-enforcement agencies to tap into many types of Internet communications, U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter said.

Partner Al Gidari was quoted in a New York Times article, "U.S. Is Weighing Wide Overhaul of Wiretap Laws," regarding the possible implications of the FBI's revised proposal to overhaul surveillance laws.

Partner Al Gidari was quoted in the Washington Post in an article titled "Panel Seeks to Fine Tech Companies for Noncompliance With Wiretap Orders" regarding the increase in online surveillance issues as social media and chat services continue to grow.  He specifically addressed the possible implications of a proposed enforcement provision to the 1968 Wiretap Act.

Partner Al Gidari was quoted in an article in the Wall Street Journal titled "Judge Denies FBI Request to Hack Computer," which discussed a Texas judge's decision to deny a request made by the FBI for a warrant to remotely access a computer suspected of criminal use.  He was quoted as saying "As an investigative tool, when you can’t tell if the perpetrator is in the U.S. or abroad, it raises all kinds of issues.”

Partner Al Gidari was quoted in an article regarding a third party audit of Google's privacy practices.

Al Gidari was quoted in an article titled "Judges Weigh Phone Tracking."  The article discusses how state and federal authorities follow the movements of thousands of Americans each year by secretly monitoring the location of their cellphones, often with little judicial oversight, in a practice facing legal challenges.

Partner Al Gidari was recently quoted in an article covering the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which states that non-US citizens are also entitled to the protection of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). The article, "Federal Court of Appeals upholds that non-US citizens are protected by ECPA," reports on Suzlon Energy v Microsoft Corporation where a corporation sued for disclosure of an Indian national's emails from his Hotmail account. ''The ECPA prohibits the disclosure of the content of user communications in civil matters regardless of whether the user is a citizen of the US, located in the US or living abroad," Gidari was quoted as saying.

Perkins Coie's National Privacy & Security practice was again recognized by Chambers USA, this year climbing to Band 2.

Perkins Coie proudly announces that once again it has been ranked by Chambers & Partners, publishers of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, as a top law firm in the United States.

Perkins Coie Partner Albert Gidari helped Google successfully negotiate a resolution of the FTC's investigation of the company's Buzz social networking service.  This is the first FTC Privacy and EU Safe Harbor settlement and includes a comprehensive privacy program to implement the decree.

Perkins Coie's Privacy & Security practice was ranked in the Best Privacy Advisers 2010 report prepared by Minnesota Privacy Consultants.  The firm was listed in the Best Privacy Adviser - Firm and Best Privacy Adviser Among Large Clients - Firm categories.  In addition, Perkins Coie received recognition as one of the best firms serving the Software & Hardware Technology industry, one of the best firms for giving practical advice and one of the best firms in the Western United States.  The group's work in breach responses and privacy program development was also noted.  Lawyers Albert Gidari and Susan Lyon also ranked among the best individual advisers in the privacy field.  The rankings were compiled through a survey sent for more than 4,000 professionals involved with data protection in their organizations.

Perkins Coie Partner Albert Gidari was quoted this week in an article published in BNA's Privacy & Security Law Report titled "ISPs Allegedly Released Data Without Notice To Meet Flawed Law Enforcement Demands."  (Subscription required to view article.)  The article focuses on three recent class actions filed in Georgia, alleging internet service providers Windstream Corp., Yahoo! Inc., and Comcast Corp., violated federal privacy law when they released subscriber data in response to law enforcement requests without giving the subscribers a chance to object.  Gidari commented on the lack of the likelihood of success of the actions.

Perkins Coie Partner Albert Gidari, a recognized authority on privacy and electronic surveillance issues, was quoted Monday on page one of The New York Times on efforts to revamp federal laws regarding wiretapping by law enforcement and terrorism authorities. Concerned that their ability to conduct wiretaps will be ineffective due to new services and upgrades and consequent technical problems caused by such changes, the officials are advocating increased legal inducements and penalties to ensure compliance. Mr. Gidari remarked that providers "were likely to object to increased government intervention in the design or launch of services," noting that such involvement "could have major repercussions for industry innovation, costs and competitiveness." He added that "Too many services develop too quickly, and that there are too many players in this now."

Perkins Coie Partner Albert Gidari was quoted Thursday morning in a story on NPR's "Morning Edition" about this week's appeals court ruling regarding warrant requirements for cell phone records. The decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit stated judges have the right to require warrants before law enforcement officials can obtain records that may show a cell phone customer's location. A recognized authority on the Wiretap Act and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, Mr. Gidari is a frequent commentator on electronic surveillance issues. He testified before the House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, on May 5, 2010, regarding ECPA reform and digital due process.

In last week's Wall Street Journal article, "Stalkers Exploit Cellphone GPS," Perkins Coie Partner Albert Gidari explained the challenges cellphone carriers face when police request location-tracking data.  "Police, [Gidari] says, often claim they need data immediately for an emergency like a kidnapping, and therefore don't have time to obtain a warrant, in which a judge must approve an information request."

Perkins Coie Partner Albert Gidari was quoted in an Associated Press article this week on a proposed change to federal law that would allow the FBI to obtain electronic records from Internet service providers - without a court order. The article, "FBI access to e-mail and Web records raises fears," says one controversial aspect of the change is that it is buried within an intelligence reauthorization bill. "This is a huge expansion" of the FBI's authority "and burying it this way in the intelligence authorization bill is really intended to bury it from scrutiny," Gidari said.

Ninety Perkins Coie attorneys have been honored by their peers as "Washington Super Lawyers" for 2010. Nine were named to the Top 100 list and four were named to the Top 50 Women list. The list of Super Lawyers is published in the June edition of Washington Law & Politics magazine.

Perkins Coie Partner Albert Gidari testified today before the Committee on the House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, on the need for reform of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). Gidari noted that ECPA is 25 years old and its application to many new services like cloud computing, social networking and location-based services is unclear. He called for clear rules for service providers to disclose user content, communications and information and for more transparency about the amount of information collected by governmental agencies. Read written testimony.

Congress should bring the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) into the twenty-first century.  That was the message from several witnesses, including Perkins Coie Partner Albert Gidari, to the Committee on the House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on the Constittution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties at a hearing Wednesday and described in the PCWorld article, "Lawmakers Consider Changes to Wiretapping Law."

Partner Al Gidari was quoted in a post on CNET about how a coalition of companies, including Google and Microsoft, are partnering with advocacy groups in a push to reform federal privacy laws to protect mobile and cloud computing users.

Perkins Coie Privacy & Security Partner Albert Gidari was quoted in Michael Isikoff's recent Newsweek article entitled "The Snitch in Your Pocket." The article addressed the growing number of law enforcement requests for cell-phone data without warrants. Telecommunication companies are getting "thousands of these requests per month," Gidari told Newsweek, and the amount has grown "exponentially" over the past few years.

On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is to consider whether warrantless tracking of wireless devices is a violation of a citizen's Fourth Amendment right. Police have been using location tracking on a regular basis, yet the legal standards remain unclear. In a recent CNET News article, Perkins Coie Privacy & Security Partner Albert Gidari said such tracking is now "commonplace." "It's in every pen register order these days," he said. He went on to say the appeals court's decision could have far-reaching impact, even beyond the Third Circuit's jurisdiction.

Perkins Coie Partner Albert Gidari was featured yesterday in National Review Online's blog The Corner in a post titled "Re: Dishonorable Recrimination," providing legal analysis of the recent Maryland lawsuit filed by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) against the filmmakers who secretly recorded footage of ACORN employees providing financial advice to a couple posing as a pimp and a prostitute.

Perkins Coie Partner Albert Gidari was quoted this week in an article in BNA's Electronic Commerce & Law Report (subscription required to view article), "Attorneys, Academics Sort Through Landmark Case on Computer Searches." An en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals announced new and enhanced guidelines applicable to all search warrants for electronically stored information in the Ninth Circuit. U.S. v. Comprehensive Drug Testing, Inc., __ F.3d __, 2009 WL 2605378 (9th Cir. Aug. 26, 2009). The decision sets clear ground rules that give teeth to the Fourth Amendment and help protect companies and management from government overreaching in this area.

Perkins Coie Partner Albert Gidari was quoted in "Snooping on Web Traffic Gains Favor Amid Fears," a Wall Street Journal article published on July 29.  The article focuses on the growth of the use of deep packet inspection, a technology that enables network operators to monitor packets of information being transmitted on the Internet.  The technology, which is being used for the management of network traffic, as well as marketing and law-enforcement surveillance, has raised privacy concerns.

In an article on the use of cell phones as an investigative tool for law enforcement, Perkins Coie Partner Albert Gidari told The New York Times that wireless carriers "receive hundreds of requests a month from law enforcement" for real-time tracking. The article focuses on the privacy issues that arise as a result of such tracking. In a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, judges are deciding whether search warrants should be required for law enforcement to obtain cell phone tracking data.

In big and small screen thrillers law enforcement is able to track you via your cell phone signal in seconds flat. But how real is that capability and what privacy safeguards are in place when everyone’s got a cell phone? In an interview featured on the NPR program On The Media, Perkins Coie Privacy Partner Al Gidari explains how your cell phone signal may know you better then you know yourself.

Proposed legislation that would mandate storage of IP address and other information by ISPs may aid law enforcement but would open up ISPs to more civil discovery demands by those seeking to enforce intellectual property rights like the music industry or even in divorce cases when a spouse seeks to show the viewing habits of the other spouse.  ISPs also have their own interest in using the data for advertising and network monitoring purposes.  Gidari discussed the history of the laws that give ISPs broad rights to use the data, and the privacy risks associated with those uses.

Partner Albert Gidari was quoted this week in a CNET article on lawmakers' efforts to require Internet service providers and operators of Wi-Fi access points to keep records about users for two years to aid police investigations.

Partner Albert Gidari was quoted in the January 2009 cover story in Popular Mechanics, "When Hackers Attack: Practicing Cybersecurity at Home." The article describes how the increasing use of digital tools is leaving consumers vulnerable to privacy and data security breaches.

Perkins Coie Partner Al Gidari was quoted in a story focusing on NeuStar, a company that runs a digital directory for telephone companies. The story explains how the FBI sought access a few years ago to one of NeuStar's databases that "contained 310 million phone numbers in the United States and Canada." The request was denied, but NeuStar set up a site where law enforcement officials with court orders can obtain information on telephone numbers.

Perkins Coie Partner Al Gidari was quoted this week in an article in the BNA's Electronic Commerce & Law Report on the New Jersey Supreme Court ruling that "customers of Internet service providers have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their subscriber information."

Perkins Coie Partner Al Gidari was quoted today in CNET's Iconoclast blog in a posting entitled, "FBI's Net Surveillance Proposal Raises Privacy, Legal Concerns."

Perkins Coie Partner Al Gidari was quoted Tuesday in a Washington Post article entitled, "FBI Data Transfers Via Telecoms Questioned."

Seattle Partner Al Gidari was quoted in the cover story of the April 4, 2008, edition of the National Journal. The article, "Surveillance Standoff" reviewed how the evolution of telecommunications technology has impacted surveillance laws and created a push-pull tension between the federal government and technology companies and civil-liberties activists.

Seattle Partner Albert Gidari was quoted in an article titled "Cellphone Tracking Powers on Request: Secret Warrants Granted Without Probable Cause," (registration required) which appeared on page 1 of the Washington Post. 

Seattle Partner Al Gidari was quoted in an article in the Washington Post about pending legislation in Congress that may allow federal intelligence gathering on library patrons without sufficient court oversight.

Perkins Coie is proud to announce that 117 of its attorneys throughout the country were selected for inclusion in the 2008 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Sixty-three Perkins Coie attorneys in 21 practice areas have been honored by their peers as "Washington Super Lawyers" for 2007.

Seattle Partner Al Gidari was quoted about CALEA and surveillance abilities in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Seattle Partner Al Gidari was quoted in an article about parents' rights to access their deceased children's online accounts that appeared in Willamette Week.

Al Gidari, a partner in the firm's Seattle office, was quoted in Telephony's Technology Update.

Al Gidari, a partner in the firm's Seattle office, was interviewed by KIRO 7 Eyewitness News on social networking Web sites.

Al Gidari, a partner in the firm's Seattle office, was interviewed by KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.

Al Gidari, a partner in the firm's Seattle office, was quoted in The New York Times.

Al Gidari, a partner in the firm's Seattle office, was quoted in The New York Times.

Al Gidari, a partner in the firm's Seattle office, was quoted in The National Law Journal. 

Al Gidari, a partner in the firm's Seattle office, was quoted in The National Law Journal.

Seattle partner Al Gidari spoke at the FTC Spam Forum on wireless spam.

Al Gidari, a partner in the firm's Seattle office, was quoted in InfoWorld.

Al Gidari, a partner in the firm's Seattle office, was quoted in CIO Magazine.

Al Gidari, a partner in the firm's Seattle office, was quoted in The Seattle Times.

Al Gidari, a partner in the firm's Seattle office, was quoted in The Seattle Times.

Al Gidari, a partner in the firm's Seattle office, was quoted in Wired Magazine.

Al Gidari, a partner in the firm's Seattle office, was quoted in The New York Times.

Al Gidari, a partner in the firm's Seattle office, was quoted in The National Law Journal.

Al Gidari, a partner in the firm's Seattle office, was quoted in The National Law Journal.

Federal law and most states only require one party to a phone call to consent to recording it, which means the person recording the call doesn’t need anyone else’s permission; however, a minority of states, including California, require all parties to a call to provide consent.  While you might think you are safe if you do the recording in a one-party consent state, like Georgia, California’s highest court has made clear that California law will apply no matter where you are located if you do business in California and record a call with a California client.  Kearney v. Salomon Smith Barney, Inc., 39 Cal. 4th 95 (2006).

Starting a consumer-facing technology company or developing a new application to make a consumer's life easier or more fun is an exciting journey. At this stage, you are all about the development, getting the product or service to market, and making sure it can scale. But neglecting the privacy implications of your product or service during the development stage is a big mistake that will come back to haunt you later.

Imagine, for example, that your dream of building a great company has come true and you are faced with an acquisition offer. During the customary due diligence phase, you quickly discover that your privacy house is not in order. Why?

Earlier this year, Washington state legislators unanimously passed the nation's first criminal law requiring age verification for commercial sexual services advertisements depicting minors. The landmark law's goals are laudable, but its broad reach has some on-line service providers and traditional publishers concerned. For example, on-line service providers that allow users to post content and images on their sites, including on social networking sites, dating sites, discussion forums, blogs and chat rooms, could now face criminal exposure, even if they have absolutely no interest in placing, or permitting the placement of, such ads.

In their article, Partners T. Markus Funk and Al Gidari, together with Associate Nathan Christensen, discuss the nation's first-of-its-kind criminal law requiring online service providers and traditional publishers to conduct in-person age verification for certain adult service advertisements.  Although the law's objectives are unquestionably laudable, the authors examine the significant risks to which the law's broad reach exposes otherwise innocent OSP's and other publishers, and discuss the potential legal obstacles standing in the way of the law's enforcement.

Perkins Coie's Privacy & Security practice maintains a comprehensive chart of state laws regarding security breach notification.  The chart helps keep clients informed about each state's sometimes unique security breach notification requirements.  Lawyers, compliance professionals, and business owners have told us that the chart has been helpful when preparing for and responding to data breaches.

The federal government's long-running investigation into steroid use in Major League Baseball has yielded more than just newspaper headlines and embarrassed sluggers. Last week, an en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reviewing the steroid investigation announced new and enhanced guidelines applicable to all search warrants for electronically stored information ("ESI") in the Ninth Circuit.

The FTC recently extended the enforcement deadline for the Red Flags Rule until November 1, 2009. The Rule was originally scheduled to go into effect on November 1, 2008, but on Wednesday, July 29, 2009, the FTC announced that it was delaying enforcement for the third time because a number of industries and entities within the FTC’s jurisdiction still expressed confusion and uncertainty about what types of entities would be subject to the Rule and what the Rule actually required of covered entities.