The Seventh Circuit has recently ruled that plaintiffs have standing to enforce the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act’s informed consent requirements in federal court. As we have written before, , BIPA regulates the collection, use, and retention of a person’s biometric information, e.g., fingerprints, face scans, etc. For years, federal trial courts have been split on whether a violation of BIPA’s informed consent provision is alone sufficient to confer Article III standing. . The…

For the first time, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) in Van Buren v. United States, No. 19-783. A federal circuit split exists on the issue of whether the statute can only be used against hackers and unauthorized users of electronic systems, or also against authorized users who use the information for unauthorized purposes. In the context of data breaches, companies sometimes look to interpretations of…

At the end of March, Washington, D.C. signed the Security Breach Protection Amendment Act of 2019, which adds some significant changes to D.C.’s existing data breach law, first enacted in 2007. The law is projected to take effect by June 13, 2020. Some of the major changes are summarized below.…

The FTC recently issued comments on how companies can use artificial intelligence tools without engaging in deceptive or unfair trade practices or running afoul of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The FTC pointed to enforcement it has brought in this area, and recommended that companies keep in mind four key principles when using AI tools. While much of their advice draws on requirements for those that are subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA),…

The EDPB recently issued guidelines about how to use health data during the current pandemic in compliance with GDPR. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been many research efforts in place to fight against the virus.  The EDPB’s guidelines shed light on the special rules for processing health data for scientific research, which apply in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic:…

As we move into the second quarter of 2020, governments around the country are analyzing how to best open up their economies. Part of this will include people returning to work, restaurants, retail establishments, and other places of public accommodation. Landlords, business owners, and others want to know how to take steps to reopen safely while government mitigation efforts are being developed to help slow the spread of COVID-19 until a vaccine is developed. And…

During COVID-19, in certain areas of the law, we have seen significant flexibility from regulators and government agencies in how they are addressing typical approval processes and/or compliance requirements. In the context of privacy and cybersecurity regulations, largely, regulators are emphasizing that personal privacy and data security are important now more than ever. New information is being collected and used in new ways. Certain data security vulnerabilities may be more prevalent in this work-from-home environment.…