Privacy & Data Security

January 17, 2020

On January 16, 2020, the Senate approved the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”), sending it to the President’s desk for ratification. Mexico ratified the Agreement in June 2019, and Canada is expected to follow suit later this month. To coincide with its ratification, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (“CIPL”) at Hunton Andrews Kurth issued a white paper entitled What Does the USMCA Mean for a Federal Privacy Law?…

Trade Secrets Trends

A Crowell & Moring Webinar Recap: “Protecting Trade Secrets and other IP with Blockchain”

By Crowell & Moring

January 17, 2020

On January 14th, 2020, Crowell & Moring hosted a webinar session discussing blockchain and its implications for trade secret protection, as well as its potential implications on other areas of intellectual property (IP). Introduced by Crowell & Moring partner Mark Klapow, attorneys Josh Rychlinski and Kayvan Ghaffari explained general principles of trade secret law, general principles of blockchain, and discussed how blockchain could be used to protect trade secrets, as well as other forms…

Of Digital Interest

US Office of Management and Budget Calls for Federal Agencies to Reduce Barriers to Artificial Intelligence

By Bernadette M. Broccolo & Adriana Fortune

January 17, 2020

On January 7, 2020, the Director of the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a Draft Memorandum (the Memorandum) to all federal “implementing agencies” regarding the development of regulatory and non-regulatory approaches to reducing barriers to the development and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Implementing agencies are agencies that conduct foundational research, develop and deploy AI technologies, provide educational grants, and regulate and provide guidance for applications of AI technologies, as determined…

Of Digital Interest

California Bill Proposes CCPA Exceptions for HIPAA De-identified Information, Other Health Data

By Daniel F. Gottlieb & Deepali Doddi

January 17, 2020

On January 6, 2020, the California State Senate’s Health Committee unanimously approved California AB 713, a bill that would amend the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) to except from CCPA requirements additional categories of health information, including data de-identified in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), medical research data, personal information used for public health and safety activities, and patient information that is maintained by HIPAA business associates…

Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

FTC Finalizes Five Privacy Shield Settlements

By Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

January 17, 2020

On January 16, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission announced that settlements with five companies of separate allegations that they had falsely claimed certification under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework had been finalized.…

Workplace Privacy, Data Management & Security Report

Combating Improper Robocalls: The TRACED Act Signed into Law

By Jason C. Gavejian, Joseph J. Lazzarotti & Maya Atrakchi

January 17, 2020

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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 Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) civil penalties and extends the time period for the FCC to catch and take civil enforcement…

Of Digital Interest

A Sale or Not a Sale? The Digital Advertising Debate

By Amy C. Pimentel, Austin Mooney & Wendy Zhang

January 17, 2020

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) requires businesses who engage in sales of personal information, to offer consumers the right to opt out of such sales through a “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” link or button on their websites. These “Do Not Sell” obligations present a particularly thorny question for businesses that participate in a digital ad exchange or otherwise use advertising tracking technologies on their websites. Because data elements such as IP address,…

Byte Back

Analyzing the 2020 Florida Consumer Data Privacy Act

By David Stauss & Malia Rogers

January 16, 2020

Keypoint: Florida lawmakers have proposed legislation that would require certain operators of websites to make online disclosures and accept requests to opt-out of sales of personal data but that would stop far short of creating CCPA-like privacy rights for Florida residents. Florida lawmakers have introduced companion bills in the Florida House (HB 963) and Senate (SB 1670) that would create limited online privacy rights and obligations in the state. The legislation…

SECURITY & PRIVACY // BYTES

ICO Issues Fine Against National Retailer for Security Failings

By Andrea Ward

January 16, 2020

An unhappy new year for Currys PC World and Dixons Travel stores, as the ICO has issued owners DSG Retail Limited with a Monetary Penalty Notice of £500,000 for serious security failings involving Point of Sale (“POS”) terminals in stores. Although the incident was investigated and addressed under the pre-GDPR legislation, the fine represents the maximum available to the Commissioner, under the Data Protection Act 1998, who in her findings observed that “but for the…

Inside Privacy

French Supervisory Authority Publishes Second Guidance on Cookies and Similar Technologies

By Kristof Van Quathem & Anna Oberschelp de Meneses

January 16, 2020

On January 14, 2020, the French Supervisory Authority (“CNIL”) published a new draft guidance on the use of cookies and similar technologies on websites and applications (see here, in French). The draft guidance is open for public consultation until February 25, 2020. In its nine articles, the guidance sets out how to properly inform users and collect their consent in this context. For each requirement, the guidance provides examples and best practices.…