After a significant delay, on February 3, 2023, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) unanimously approved amended regulations. The new regulations have not yet gone into effect as they must first be approved by the Office of Administrative Law (OAL). The CPPA’s General Counsel advised that there is no guarantee that the regulations would be
“Get a Life” – Another Dentist Responds to Patient’s Online Review, This Time Faces a $50,000 OCR Penalty
It can be cathartic responding to a negative online review. It can also backfire, as can failing to cooperate with an OCR investigation as required under HIPAA.
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently announced four enforcement actions, one against a small dental practice that imposed a $50,000 civil monetary penalty under HIPAA. The OCR
OCR is Serious About Patients’ Rights to Access Records, Announcing Enforcement Actions Against 5 Providers
When providers, health plans, business associates, and even patients and plan participants think of the HIPAA privacy and security rules (‘HIPAA Rules”), they seem to be more focused on the privacy and security aspects of the HIPAA Rules. That is, for example, safeguarding an individual’s protected health information (PHI) to avoid data breaches or avoiding
California Attorney General Issues CCPA FAQs
With the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) now in effect (January 1, 2020) and enforceable by California’s Attorney General (“AG”) (July 1, 2020), the AG has published Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Designed to aid consumers in exercising their rights under the CCPA, the FAQs also contain helpful reminders for businesses and service providers regarding
Privacy and Cybersecurity Issues to Watch in 2019
Privacy and cybersecurity risks continue to emerge for organizations large and small. While by no means exhaustive, we briefly discuss some key issues that organizations may need to focus on in 2019 and beyond.
Business Email Compromise (BEC)/Email Account Compromise (EAC) – BEC and EAC attacks are widespread and show no sign of slowing in
D.C. Circuit Court Finally Rules on FCC’s 2015 TCPA Order
After two and a half years, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a highly anticipated ruling reviewing the Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC” or “Commission”) July 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order (“2015 Order”) in which the FCC issued interpretative guidance on several aspects of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (”TCPA”). Over
EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Q&A
Last month, the European Union and U.S. officials announced final approval of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield (Privacy Shield), replacing the Safe Harbor which was invalidated by the Court of Justice of the European Union in October 2015. Like it predecessor, the Privacy Shield will allow organizations based in the United States to self-certify compliance with
Pokémon GO – Next Stop: Regulation & Litigation
As everyone is aware, the Pokémon GO craze has taken the world by storm in the past month. Reports estimate there have been over 75 million downloads of the digital game since the program became available on July 6. Apple has not issued any concrete numbers, but has confirmed that it was the most downloaded
EU, U.S. Agree On Revisions To Privacy Shield
According to reports, the European Union and the United States have agreed on changes to the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield (Privacy Shield) which will be sent to the EU member states and the college of the 28 EU commissioners ultimately paving the way for final approval early next month. “We have agreed on the changes
Dwolla Fined $100,000 by CFPB in First Data Security Enforcement Action
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) gave the fintech online payment sector a “wake up call” with an enforcement action against a Des Moines start up digital payment provider, Dwolla, Inc. (“Dwolla”).
The CFPB alleged that Dwolla misrepresented how it was protecting consumers’ data. Dwolla entered into a Consent Order to settle the CFPB charges