Federal Court: Accidental Calls Not Protected By Right To Privacy

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. -- A federal court of appeals in Cincinnati has ruled that someone who accidentally makes a phone call, commonly known as butt-dialing, is not protected by a right to privacy, according to Bloomberg Business.

This court decision can be summed up as "Butt dialers beware."
Photo Credit: *File*

by Jason Bisnoff

07/27/2015 3:30 p.m.

This unique case happened as a result of a scenario where two board members of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport mistakenly called an assistant and revealed personnel information, Bloomberg Business said. When it was discovered that the assistant had recorded the information she was sued by her superiors. charging that she had violated a federal wiretap act that makes it illegal to intercept electronic or oral communications intentionally, according to Bloomberg Business.

The district court ruled for the assistant, prompting an appeal last year. In the appellate decision, Judge Danny Boggs said butt-dialing was kind of like accidentally leaving your window uncovered. You aren't legally protected from people looking into your home, according to Bloomberg Business.

"A person who knowingly operates a device that is capable of inadvertently exposing his conversations to third-party listeners and fails to take simple precautions to prevent such exposure does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy," Boggs wrote, according to Bloomberg Business.

Click here to read the full story at Bloomberg Business.

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