The European Data Protection Board recently requested comments on its data protection “by design and default” guidelines. Comments are due by mid-January of next year. The Guidelines provide clarity about how to address GDPR’s requirement that companies take “appropriate” technical and organizational steps to protect personal information and individuals. Part of the law’s requirements, according to the guidelines, is that companies can show that the measures they took are effective.…

As we reported in our sister blog, “One ‘Chirp, Buzz, Or Blink’ Is Not Enough To Sue Under the TCPA”, a recent court decision makes it more difficult for plaintiffs to establish standing under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. In its decision, the Eleventh Circuit ruled that a single text message from an attorney to his former client did not amount to sufficient harm to sue in federal court. The Court concluded that…

One of the amendments we’ve been watching over the past months is one that impacts rights of employees —both the company’s and other company’s employees. Under AB25, which passed the California Senate and is now awaiting governor signature, companies will be (for a year) exempted from providing current and former employees, job applicants, and contractors with the full suite of CCPA rights. Starting January 2020, however, these individuals must be provided with notice of…

Illinois has updated its breach notice law to require, effective January 1, 2020, notice to the Illinois Attorney General of a data breach involving more than 500 Illinois residents.…

As we recently reported, New York’s new SHIELD Act contains data security provisions. It also contains a number of key changes to New York’s existing breach notification obligations. These changes will become effective October 23, 2019.…

New York recently passed the SHIELD Act, which, among other things, newly establishes data security requirements for companies that collect private information about New York residents. The data security protections required by the Act go into effect in March 2020. Companies that are already subject to and compliant with data security requirements under HIPAA, GLBA, or the NYDFS will be deemed compliant with this new law. Between now and March companies will want to think about…

Maryland has amended its breach notification law to require businesses that maintain data, not just those that own or license the data, to conduct “a reasonable and prompt investigation” into whether personal information has been or will be misused. This requirement will go into effect in October 2019. Starting then, vendors who maintain information will also have a duty to investigate, not just data owners. This is unlike other states with “duty to investigate” requirements,…