In recent weeks, two incidents involving questionable uses of technology have made the news in Gainesville - one in which a man had a private investigator place a Global Positioning System tracking device on a car he owned that was being driven by his wife, another in which a judge dismissed a felony eavesdropping charge against a University of Florida doctoral student for reportedly taping a discussion with Alachua City Manager Clovis Watson Jr. without Watson's knowledge.
In the incident involving the GPS device, the man was completely within his rights to place the device on a car he owned, according to the Alachua County Sheriff's Office. Had he not owned the car, however, what would the law have said?
The charge against doctoral student Charles Grapski was thrown out because the judge determined Watson had no reasonable expectation of privacy. An expectation of privacy is one of the key tenets that makes secretly tape-recording a conversation illegal in Florida
So The Sun checked Florida laws on various issues involving technology. Here are some common legal no-nos involving technology that The Sun confirmed:
Using someone else's wireless connection, accessing someone else's e-mail account and accessing someone's personal or business computer.
What the law says: These are third-degree felony offenses and are defined in state statutes as accessing any computer, computer system or computer network without authorization.
Tape-recording a live conversation, wiretapping a cellular phone or land line.
What the law says: State law prohibits recording a person without their consent when there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, except in public meetings or gatherings. Eavesdropping on telephone conversations is also illegal. Both offenses are third-degree felonies.
What the law says: It is a first-degree misdemeanor to knowingly intercept, receive, decrypt, disrupt, transmit, retransmit or access any communications service without the express authorization of the cable operator or other communications service providers.
What the law says: Videotaping someone by intentionally installing an imaging device (or video camera) to secretly view, broadcast or record that person while they are dressing, undressing or privately exposing their body without that person's knowledge and permission in a place where there's a reasonable expectation of privacy is a first-degree misdemeanor.
What the law says: Tracking someone's whereabouts using a mobile tracking device (like a GPS device) is illegal unless you are an investigative or law enforcement officer with a court order. Installing and using such mobile tracking devices on your own property is not illegal.