Security companies that track down stolen laptops don’t necessarily have the right to peek into virtual bedrooms. A U.S. District judge ruled that there are potential grounds for a jury to find that a company violated a couple’s privacy when it recorded their sex chats as it attempted to track down a stolen laptop the woman was using.

Wired reports the couple can proceed with its lawsuit, which the company it’s suing attempted to have thrown out via a summary judgment. In his opinion (PDF), the judge wrote that the company may have violated federal wiretapping laws “by intercepting the electronic communications of the person using the stolen laptop.”

The 52-year-old woman suing the company said she didn’t realize the laptop, which belongs to a school district was stolen when she bought it. The security company allegedly recorded sexually explicit images of the woman when she was webcamming with her boyfriend and turned the images in to police.

Couple Can Sue Laptop-Tracking Company for Spying on Sex Chats [Wired]

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