Corporations have Personal Privacy Rights

[RoyGBiv]

Sorry if this is a dupe.

Most privacy practitioners would not consider a legal entity to have privacy rights. Rather, a legal entity may have trade secrets or contractual confidentiality protections. However, in its novel holding, the Third Circuit found that a corporation (AT&T) was protected by an exemption in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that applies to "unwarranted invasions of personal privacy." Specifically, FOIA exempts "records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information … could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy…"

http://privacylaw.proskauer.com/2009/09/articles/foia/since-when-does-a-legal-entity-have-privacy-rights/

PDF of the decision: http://www.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/084024p.pdf

Discussion on /. :http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/10/02/1251203/Corporations-Now-Have-a-Right-To-Personal-Privacy?art_pos=7

[Orrex]

1. Would I risk the death penalty if I murdered a corporation?

Capitalist punishment, perhaps?

It might just be worth it...

[RoyGBiv]

8. I'll contribute to your defense fund ...

Hell, I'll help you bury the body ... wait ... what body.

As one person on that Slashdot thread said, sorta, when corporations have deal with the reality of death, then we'll talk about "personhood" rights. Otherwise, screw 'em.

This decision is just one more piece in the overly bizarre history of corporate personhood. Almost every law involved has had, at least on the surface, a positive intention involving the rights of *real* people or corporations (unions, newspapers, etc.) attempt to help or speak for real people. And in every case, the law has been perverted in a manner like this.

It's those damn activist judges again. ;)

[valerief]

2. Humans are getting more and more obsolete. nt

[nebenaube]

3. That term applied to their customers not to the company!

This is bullshit.

[kenny blankenship]

4. Hey, corporations ARE people

in fact they are increasingly the ONLY people who can access and affect the decisions of the political and legal system. Face it, any NYSE or NASDAQ traded corporation is several million times more powerful than you are, and compared to you they are going to live forever.

Corporations: Snuggle up to one today!

[aquart]

5. That's an insane decision.

[Echo In Light]

6. Private tyrannies obligated by law to put shareholders ahead of the public trust/common good

[DJ13]

7. If corporations want personhood as described in the Constitution

Then they should be bound to extending full Constitutional Rights to their employees.

[Gman2]

9. We're moving towards like the founding, only corp emps. can vote.

And they'll vote how the corp tells them.

[RoyGBiv]

10. They pretty much alredy do, I think ...

Note the recent health care committee votes and legal decisions on whether money is the equivalent of speech.

The jump to casting a real ballot can't be all that far behind.