On January 30, 2020, the US Department of Defense (DoD) released version 1.0 of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) framework, which is available here, with appendices available here. This highly anticipated 390-page release supersedes the prior draft versions, the last of which was released in December 2019. The DoD will begin requiring contractors to obtain certification under the CMMC later this year, giving companies in the supply chain little time to assess…

Throughout the past year, the healthcare and life science industries experienced a proliferation of digital health innovation that challenged traditional notions of healthcare delivery and payment, as well as product research, development and commercialization, for long-standing and new stakeholders alike. Lawmakers and regulators made meaningful progress towards modernizing the existing legal framework to both protect patients and consumers and encourage continued innovation, but these efforts still lag behind the pace of digital health innovation. As…

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) has forced companies across the United States (and even globally) to seriously consider how they handle the personal information they collect from consumers. By its terms, however, the CCPA only protects the privacy interests of California residents; other “copy-cat” privacy laws proposed or enacted in other states similarly would only protect the rights of residents of each state. Given the burden on businesses imposed by the rapid proliferation of…

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is not yet one month old, but movement has already started on a new California privacy law. In November 2019, the advocacy group Californians for Consumer Privacy, led by Alastair Mactaggart, the architect of CCPA, submitted a proposed California ballot initiative to the Office of the California Attorney General that would build upon the consumer privacy protections and requirements established by CCPA. In December 2019, as required under state…

On January 1, 2020, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) went into effect. The CCPA applies to a wide range of companies and broadly governs the collection, use and sale of personal information of California residents (i.e., consumers and certain other individuals) and households. The CCPA provides that consumers may seek statutory damages of between $100 and $750, or actual damages if greater, against a company in the event of a data breach…

As businesses have scrambled to obtain compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in recent months, questions surrounding its constitutionality have arisen. As a broad, sometimes unclear state law that imposes significant obligations on businesses around the country, CCPA may be ripe for legal challenge. The strongest bases for such challenges appear to be: (1) that CCPA violates the “Dormant Commerce Clause”; and (2) that CCPA is impermissibly vague. Dormant Commerce Clause The burden…

Minimal Changes Expected to the Final Regulations On October 10, 2019, the Attorney General issued his Proposed Text of Regulations, along with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Action and Initial Statement of Reasons. According to the Attorney General, the regulations will “benefit the welfare of California residents because they will facilitate the implementation of many components of the CCPA” and “provid[e] clear direction to businesses on how to inform consumers of their…