In the last few years, we've heard a lot of news
from families across the country falling victim to hackers.
But not just your garden-variety computer hackers:
security camera hackers.
Stories like these send chills down my spine,
and I know I'm not the only one left with questions.
On this Weird Question Wednesday, we ask,
"Can you sue someone for hacking into your security camera?"
Let's get started.
I don't have a law degree,
so I talked to someone who does.
Meet Steven Smith,
a former Federal Magistrate Judge.
We talked privacy laws and how you could, in theory,
sue your hackers.
In our conversation, I asked the big question.
Here's what Steve had to say.
First of all, it's a crime for somebody
to gain unauthorized access to protected computer
and get information from it.
So that's the first thing.
That's a federal crime.
So case closed. Well, not so fast.
Like Steve said, it's complicated.
Hacking into a security camera violates two federal laws:
the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
and the Storage Communications Act.
One protects information
while the other protects electronic communications.
But you know, that's just the dumbed-down,
I-didn't-go-to-law-school version.
And, while hacking into a security camera could fall
under either law, only the Storage Communications Act
allows you to Sue for damages because, yeah,
finding out someone's been watching you
through your security camera is pretty emotionally damaging.
There are also laws on the state level called "torts,"
which fall under a kind of common-law category.
There may be a cause of action
for what we call a privacy tort.
The tort invasion of privacy.
Those laws vary from state to state,
but those are judge-made common law type of remedies.
A tort is like, someone assaults you or someone defames you.
Those are causes of action or rights to sue
that are created not by the statute, but just by common law.
A violation like cameras snooping could fall
under one of these torts.
It gets complicated when there are laws
on the federal and state levels for the same crime.
Though to answer the big question, yes.
You could technically sue a hacker for hacking
into your cameras, but you would have to wade
through some murky legal territory to do that.
And then there's the problem of...
First of all, finding out who did it.
Yeah, exactly.
If you can't find the hacker,
maybe you could sue the camera company.
Well, Steve warned against this and said
that companies can be pretty slippery when it comes
to matters like this.
Companies or providers these days is
that your terms of service are probably going to require you
to go through arbitration as opposed
to file an actual lawsuit.
So you may have already agreed to give up your right to sue
by virtue of this contract.
The beauty of arbitration
from the company's perspective too is
that typically you will not be allowed to proceed
as they transact
It's kind of a David vs. Goliath kind of thing.
The good news is people have tried before
and it's come out with some good results.
In 2019, a brave few went up against Ring
after their cameras were hacked.
And because of that suit,
Ring had to make some additional security updates.
You can see a little bit more on that
in our most recent Ring update video.
In the end, the good judge didn't think that suing was the
right way to deal with hackers.
There are practicalities that have to be taken
into account before you decide whether
or not it's really worth going down that line
and trying to sue somebody.
And it's not easy; I put it that way.
Right.
Instead, he recommended going through the standard channels
under these circumstances.
And, in terms of bringing a suit,
it might be better just for you to report it
to a local law enforcement and have them investigate,
and then have them bring the criminal charges.
I mean, that would,
I would feel that I got justice that way,
letting the criminal justice system work,
as opposed to me hiring a lawyer and going out
and going through all the travail of civil litigation.
If something like this does happen to you,
file a police report and give as much information as you can
about your camera and any identifying things
about the hacker, like what they said
or what they sounded like.
If you do know who is behind the camera hacking,
seek legal advice from an attorney.
And, as always, prevention is key to this kind of thing.
We've said it before, and we'll say it again.
Change passwords to your apps, log out when you're done,
and check out our Security Cameras Safety video
to learn a few more ways to make hackers' lives a
little harder.
That's it for us this week.
A big thanks to Steven Smith for sitting down with us
and a big thanks to you for watching.
Like and subscribe to SafeWise
to catch more Weird Question Wednesdays every week,
as well as other videos on home security systems,
security cameras, smart home gadgets, personal safety,
the works.
That's it for us this week.
Thanks for watching.
Stay safe.