In a decision that may have significant impact on businesses that face Telephone Consumer Protect Act (“TCPA”) related class action litigation, the Supreme Court recently accepted certiorari of a petition to rule on the constitutionality of the TCPA. The Court agreed to review a ruling of the Fourth Circuit which held that a TCPA exemption … Continue Reading
Many businesses and their service providers have been awaiting final guidance from the California Attorney General concerning the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). When news came last Friday of a regulatory update (“Update”), there may have been some initial disappointment that the Update did not announce final regulations, but only revisions to existing proposed regulations … Continue Reading
As reported by Bloomberg Law, data breach class action litigation has begun under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Filed in the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, a putative class action lawsuit against Hanna Andersson, LLC and its ecommerce platform provider, Salesforce.com, alleges negligence and a failure to maintain reasonable safeguards, among other … Continue Reading
With the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) effective for nearly one month, businesses continue to grapple with the many components of this new privacy framework. A key component of the CCPA is granting consumers the right to request information about and to exercise some control over their personal information. Developing sufficient mechanisms to receive, process … Continue Reading
2020 may very well be the most impactful year for data privacy and cybersecurity in the United States. In honor of Data Privacy Day, we discuss some of the reasons why that may be the case. In short, as privacy and cybersecurity risks continue to emerge for organizations large and small, the law is beginning … Continue Reading
The outbreak of a new coronavirus that is believed to have began in central Chinese city of Wuhan and now appears to be spreading to the United States is driving concerns for organizations around preparedness regarding their operations, their customers, and their employees. Both the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the State … Continue Reading
In the final days of 2019, the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (“TRACED Act”) was signed into law to combat the increasing number of illegal robocall practices and other intentional violations of telemarketing laws. The TRACED Act, a bipartisan bill, first introduced in Congress in 2018, broadens FCC authority to levy Telephone … Continue Reading
Websites play a vital role for organizations. They facilitate communication with consumers, constituents, patients, employees, and the general public. They project an organization’s image and promote goodwill, provide information about products and services and allow for their purchase. Websites also inform investors about performance, enable job seekers to view and apply for open positions, and … Continue Reading
When privacy geeks talk “privacy,” it is not uncommon for them to use certain terms interchangeably –personal data, personal information, personally identifiable information, private information, individually identifiable information, protected health information, or individually identifiable health information. They might even speak in acronyms – PI, PII, PHI, NPI, etc. Blurring those distinctions might be OK for … Continue Reading
After years of data breaches, mass data collection, identity theft crimes, and failed attempts at broad-based federal legislation, 2020 may be the year that state privacy and data security legislation begins to take hold in the U.S. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) and the New York Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data … Continue Reading
It’s hard to understate the range of issues the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”) raises for covered businesses and their service providers. One of those issues involves the meaning of “consumer.” If you have been following CCPA developments, you know that at least for the first 12 months the CCPA is effective, the new … Continue Reading
Tax season soon will soon be upon us and many not-so-eager taxpayers will share sensitive personal information about themselves, their dependents, their employees, and others with their trusted professional tax preparers for processing. What many of these preparers might not realize is that federal law and a growing number of state laws obligate them to … Continue Reading
The Washington State Supreme Court ruled recently that state employees’ birthdates associated with their names are not exempt from disclosure pursuant to a freedom of information records request. In so holding, the Court strictly construed the applicable statute that did not expressly exempt birthdates from disclosure. Wash. Pub. Emps. Assn. v. State Ctr for Childhood … Continue Reading
On February 21, 2019, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Assemblymember Marc Levine (D-San Rafael) announced Assembly Bill 1130 which intended to strengthen and expand California’s existing data breach notification law. On September 11, 2019, the bill passed both houses of the legislature and was presented to Governor Gavin Newsom. Last Friday, October 11, 2019, … Continue Reading
Lots of action for the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the last few days! After much anticipation, on October 10th, 2019, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (“the AG”) announced the Proposed Regulations for the CCPA. The next day, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law six amendments to the CCPA. Below is a summary of … Continue Reading
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM)! NCSAM is an annual event designed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and co-led by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCSA). NCSAM is a collaborative effort by both government and industry leaders intended to enhance public awareness regarding cybersecurity . … Continue Reading
No business likes to receive bad reviews on Yelp® or anywhere else in social media. When they do, some feel the need to respond to clarify or rebut the reviews, but they must do so carefully. This is particularly true for HIPAA covered entities, as their responses could include protected health information (PHI). A recent … Continue Reading
The California Consumer Privacy Act takes effect January 1, 2020. Businesses within the scope of the CCPA are taking steps to prepare, including drafting notices to inform California consumers of their right to opt out of the sale of their personal information. However, California will not be the first state to provide a consumer with … Continue Reading
For years now, state laws have required subject organizations to provide notification to affected data subjects and, in some instances, to state agencies, consumer reporting agencies, and the media, when they experience a “breach” of certain categories of information. And a growing number of states – including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Texas, and, most … Continue Reading
The California Consumer Privacy Act is almost here! The groundbreaking law takes effect January 1, 2020. Covered businesses and their service providers have already started preparing, as the CCPA continues to evolve since it was introduced. California’s legislative session ended on September 13th, with some final modifications to bills that would amend certain aspects of … Continue Reading
Last week, the Eleventh Circuit ruled that a single unsolicited text message doesn’t meet the harm requirement necessary to proceed with a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) claim. The Eleventh Circuit ruling, Salcedo v. Hanna, reverses a decision by a lower court allowing the plaintiff to move forward with a TCPA claim on grounds that … Continue Reading
In response to trends, heightened public awareness, and a string of large-scale data breaches, states continue to enhance their data breach notification laws. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker recently signed into law an amendment to the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), SB 1624, effective January 1, 2020. PIPA will now require that most “data collectors,” which includes … Continue Reading
As businesses prepare for the effective date of the California Consumer Privacy Act, many are conducting data mapping to identify the personal information they collect, who it belongs to, how they use it, with whom they share it and whether they sell or disclose it. The information a business collects from this exercise will set … Continue Reading
The Georgia Supreme Court may weigh in on the hot issue plaguing data breach class action litigation across the nation, must a data breach victim suffer actual financial loss to recover damages, or is the threat of future harm enough? On August 20, the Georgia Supreme Court heard arguments in a class action suit stemming … Continue Reading
