In light of several large-scale breaches of late, the New Jersey General Assembly is taking steps to enhance the state’s data breach notification requirements. In late February, Assembly Bill 3245 (AB 3245), introduced by Assembly Members Ralph Caputo and Carol Murphy, was unanimously approved by both the Assembly and the Senate, and is
Maya Atrakchi
California AG Announces Amendment to the CCPA
On February 25, 2019, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson introduced Senate Bill 561, legislation intended to strengthen and clarify the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which was enacted in June of 2018. If enacted, this would be the second amendment to the CCPA, following an earlier amendment in September of…
The Circuit Split Over the Definition of ATDS Under the TCPA Continues
When the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was enacted in 1991, most American consumers were using landline phones, and Congress could not begin to contemplate the evolution of the mobile phone. The TCPA defines Automatic Telephone Dialing System” (ATDS) as “equipment which has the capacity—(A) to store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using…
The Status of the GDPR As the One-Year Mark Gets Closer
In honor of Data Privacy Day (Data Protection Day in Europe), the European Commission (“the Commission”) released a statement on the status of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) which took effect on May 25, 2018. The joint statement by the Commission’s First Vice-President Timmermans, Vice-President Ansip, Commissioners Jourová and Gabriel stressed the importance…
Standing in Data Breach Litigation: Will the U.S. Supreme Court Weigh In?
The U.S. Supreme Court may finally weigh in on the hottest issue in data breach litigation, whether a demonstration of actual harm is required to have standing to sue. Standing to sue in a data breach class action suit, largely turns on whether plaintiffs establish that they have suffered an “injury-in-fact” resulting from the data…
The U.S. Supreme Court Will Rule on FCC Interpretation of the TCPA
Late last year, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in PDR Network, LLC v. Carlton & Harris Chiropractic (No. 17-1705), addressing the issue of whether the Hobbs Act requires the district court to accept the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC’s) legal interpretation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). In 1991, Congress passed the TCPA…
A Trio of OCR HIPAA Breach Resolutions: Is Your Organization HIPAA Compliant?
Over the past thirty days, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) has reached three HIPAA breach resolutions, signaling to organizations that are covered entities and business associates under HIPAA, the importance of instituting basic best practices for data breach prevention and response.
On November 26th, the OCR announced a settlement with Allergy Associations…
California May Lower the Standing Threshold in Data Breach Litigation
A key issue for any business facing class action litigation in response to a data breach is whether the plaintiffs, particularly consumers, will have standing to sue. Standing to sue in a data breach class action suit, largely turns on whether plaintiffs establish that they have suffered an “injury-in-fact” resulting from the data breach. Plaintiffs…
Fourth Circuit Weighs in on Standing in Data Breach Litigation
Cybersecurity incidents are on the rise, and so too is data breach litigation brought by plaintiffs who allege they were harmed by the unauthorized exposure of their personal information. Federal circuits across the United States are grappling with the issue of what satisfies the Article III standing requirement in data breach litigation, when often only…
California Governor Signs Into Law Groundbreaking Consumer Protection Law
As we reported earlier this week, California legislature Democrats reached a tentative agreement with a group of consumer privacy activists spearheading a ballot initiative for heightened consumer privacy protections, in which the activists would withdraw the existing ballot initiative in exchange for the California legislature passing, and Governor Jerry Brown signing into law, a similar…