Privacy & Data Security

July 6, 2020

Today, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants, which addressed the constitutionality of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Although the Court splintered in its reasoning—producing four separate opinions—the justices nevertheless coalesced around two core conclusions: (1) the TCPA’s exception for government debt collection calls is unconstitutional, and (2) the exception can be severed from the rest of the TCPA. Six justices determined that the TCPA’s government-debt exception violates…

Cyberblog

Episode 323: Hats off to the French! (And I don’t say that often.)

By Stewart Baker

July 6, 2020

In the News Roundup, Dave Aitel (@daveaitel), Mark MacCarthy (@Mark_MacCarthy), and Nick Weaver (@ncweaver) and I discuss how French and Dutch investigators pulled off the coup of the year this April, when they totally pwned a shady “secure phone” system used by massive numbers of European criminals. Nick Weaver explains that hacking the phones of Entrochat users gave them access to large troves of remarkably candid criminal text conversations. And, I argue, it shows the…

Trade Secrets Law Blog

Federal Court of Appeals Rules That Ownership of Trade Secret Not Necessary to Recover Punitive Damages for Its Theft

By Travis Anderson & Wesley Shelton

July 6, 2020

The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently affirmed a District Court opinion awarding punitive damages against a former employee who stole confidential information from his former employer, even though the employer did not “own” the stolen information. Advanced Fluid Sys., Inc. v. Huber, 958 F.3d 168 (3rd Cir. 2020). This is a first of its kind decision in the federal circuit courts. The Third Circuit held that the non-owner employer…

Carpe Datum Law

Post-Pandemic Litigation Webinar Series

By Scott A. Carlson, Giovanna A. Ferrari, William Hanlon, J. Scott Humphrey, James McGrath, Kristine Argentine, Jesse M. Coleman, Tonya M. Esposito, Richard Lutkus, EnCE, EnCEP, CEH, Kate Schumacher & Rebecca Woods

July 6, 2020

From court closures and the way judges conduct appearances and trials to the expected wave of lawsuits across a multitude of areas and industries, the COVID-19 outbreak is having a notable impact in the litigation space—and is expected to for quite some time. To help navigate the litigation landscape, we are kicking off a webinar series that will take a look at what’s happening now and what to expect in terms of litigation practice and…

The Global Privacy Watch

Post-Pandemic Litigation Webinar Series

By Scott A. Carlson, Suzanna Bonham, Giovanna A. Ferrari, William Hanlon, J. Scott Humphrey, James McGrath, Kristine Argentine, Jesse M. Coleman, Tonya M. Esposito, Richard Lutkus, EnCE, EnCEP, CEH, Kate Schumacher & Rebecca Woods

July 6, 2020

RopesDataPhiles

Universities and Hospitals Facing Increased Cyber Attacks

By Kelsey McIntosh

July 6, 2020

While the pandemic has brought economic downturn to many industries, a recent uptick in data security breaches suggests business is booming for cybercriminals. Universities and health care institutions dealing with the coronavirus have been particularly targeted by hackers attempting to exploit the current climate of confusion, urgency, and stress. In this post, we discuss the attacks and provide steps organizations can take to prevent and respond to breaches.…

Privacy Zone

In a Win Against Robocalls, the Supreme Court Severs TCPA Federal Debt Collection Exemption

By Jennifer Maisel

July 6, 2020

Today the U.S. Supreme Court found in Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants, Inc. that the federal debt collection exemption to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s general prohibition on autodialed calls violates the First Amendment. The Supreme Court held that the exemption was a content-based restriction on speech because it favors speech made for the purpose of collecting government debt over political and other speech. Such content-based restrictions are subject to the “strict…

Privacy Compliance & Data Security

Effort to Extend CCPA’s Employee and B2B Exemptions Advances

By Odia Kagan

July 6, 2020

To extend or not to extend? AB 1281, extending the employee and B2B exemptions for the California Consumer Privacy Act, has been amended in the California Senate. Previously a bill dealing with limitations on facial recognition, the legislation now focuses only on the CCPA exemptions. If passed, the exemption, currently set to expire on January 1, 2021 will be extended until January 1, 2022. Credit for the news to colleague Alanna Elinoff. Read the full …

Privacy Compliance & Data Security

CCPA Regulations: What Are Reasonable Security Procedures and Practices?

By Odia Kagan

July 6, 2020

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), a data breach resulting from a lack of “reasonable security procedures and practices” gives rise to a private right of action (e.g. for a class action lawsuit). Comments to the final CCPA Regulations asked the California Attorney General for more explicit guidance as to what constitutes such measures. The answer: This is a fact specific determination and would be too limiting to prescribe. What to do in the…

Inside Privacy

Lawful Access to Encrypted Data Act Introduced

By Trisha Anderson, Alexander Berengaut, Jim Garland & Chloe Goodwin

July 6, 2020

Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) have introduced the Lawful Access to Encrypted Data Act, a bill that would require tech companies to assist law enforcement in executing search warrants that seek encrypted data. The bill would apply to law enforcement efforts to obtain data at rest as well as data in motion. It would also apply to both criminal and national security legal process. This proposal comes in…