Coldplay concert scandal reveals potential troubles with technology
Technology can get people into trouble, as evidenced by last month’s sticky situation at a Coldplay concert in Massachusetts.
During the July 16 concert near Boston, lead singer Chris Martin was in the middle of the band’s “kiss cam” segment, where they panned to loving couples in the crowd and happened to catch Andy Byron, the married CEO of tech company Astronomer, with his arms around Kristin Cabot. Cabot was Astronomer’s chief people officer and not Byron’s wife.
After the pair realized they were on the jumbotron and jumped apart, Martin reportedly joked that “either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy.” A video of the incident went viral, leading viewers on the internet to quickly uncover their identities.
In the fallout, Astronomer announced it had placed Byron on leave. He later resigned, as did Cabot. “Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met,” the company said in a statement.
When considering the legal implications of these situations, Jeffrey Bellin, a professor at Vanderbilt Law School, says developments in technology “can be good or bad depending on the situation and perspective.”
“The ability to broadcast and observe accurate information is often a positive development,” says Bellin, who teaches criminal law, criminal procedure and evidence. However, he notes that this makes it difficult to control, “which can lead to embarrassing revelations—and worse.”
Cellphone location tracking, text messaging and surveillance cameras are among the technologies that attorneys have used to establish facts, locations and events in criminal and other legal matters. Data from smart devices, including wearable fitness trackers and doorbell cameras, also increasingly has become crucial evidence.
In one high-profile case, prosecutors presented both cellphone data and security camera footage as evidence against Aaron Hernandez, the former NFL star who was ultimately convicted of killing friend Odin Lloyd in 2015. In another, cellphone video played a role in the 2023 conviction of Alex Murdaugh, a once-prominent South Carolina lawyer who murdered his wife and son.
Bellin emphasizes that attorneys need to be mindful of the ways technology and data collection “can corroborate or debunk their client’s stories.”
Chief Anthony Holloway shares a similar perspective from where he sits in the St. Petersburg Police Department in Florida. In recent years, he says more people—and especially teenagers and young adults—brag on social media about stealing cars.
“What they do after they steal all these [cars], they will post on Facebook all the keys and key fobs,” says Holloway, the chair of the ABA Criminal Justice Section’s Law Enforcement Committee. “It really helps us with closing cases out.”
Holloway sees people post photos of themselves with drugs or guns on social media, which he also uses to make arrests.
“What it comes down to is people just get so comfortable posting things,” Holloway says. “It’s now a simple: Take a picture and post it. But sometimes it’s good to keep whatever you’re doing private.”
Other risks
Other legal issues may arise from increasing developments in and reliance on technology.
When people use ChatGPT or other AI tools, they could be creating documents that are subject to discovery in future litigation, says Stephen Embry, a Kentucky lawyer and the publisher of the TechLaw Crossroads blog. He wrote about the potential risks after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said publicly in July that ChatGPT conversations do not have legal confidentiality protections.
Embry notes that people didn’t immediately think of emails, text messages or Slack messages as communication that could be discoverable either.
“What it comes down to is people just get so comfortable posting things,” says Chief Anthony Holloway in the St. Petersburg Police Department in Florida. “It’s now a simple: Take a picture and post it. But sometimes it’s good to keep whatever you’re doing private.”
“But it was, and it has created a whole new industry of e-discovery providers and experts,” says Embry, a past chair of the ABA Law Practice Division. He also is a member of the ABA Techshow 2026 Board.
“That’s one area that is going to be impactful, particularly as people are using these generative AI tools for all sorts of things, including virtual therapy,” he adds. “As a former litigator, I shudder to think what may be in some of those chats back and forth with people.”
As for the Coldplay concert situation, Embry contends that video cameras could be anywhere, including in seemingly private places like Airbnb rentals. The company allowed security cameras in common living spaces in rental properties until 2024, when it announced a ban on all indoor cameras. However, that doesn’t guarantee all property owners will follow the rules.
“It creates not only privacy issues for occupants if they do something that ultimately could become relevant in a criminal or civil matter, but it also creates potential liability for the owner of the Airbnb,” Embry says.
People in public should have different expectations, Embry adds. They need to assume they have no privacy and could be captured on video at any time.
“So, if you want to do something embarrassing or stupid, go someplace where you have no chance of being on camera,” he says. “The Coldplay situation is a prime example of people not understanding their conduct could be recorded.”
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