On August 20, 2021, China passed its first general data protection law, called the Personal Information Protection Law (“PIPL”). The law is set to take effect on November 1, 2021 (two months away), and it applies to both (1) in-country
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When Machines Discriminate – NIST Tackles Bias in AI
At this point you have probably heard about one of the many incidents where an AI-enabled system discriminated against certain populations in settings ranging from healthcare, law enforcement, and hiring, among others. In response to this problem, the National Institute…
Supreme Court Rules CFAA Does Not Criminalize Every Violation of a Computer-Use Policy
In Van Buren v. United States, the Supreme Court resolved a circuit split as to whether a provision of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) applies only to those who obtain information to which their computer access does…
FTC Stripped of Authority to Pursue Equitable Monetary Relief in Federal Court – What Now?
On April 22, 2021, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision finding that the FTC lacks authority to pursue equitable monetary relief in federal court under Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (the “FTCA”). The result means that…
The Future of Human-Computer Interaction: Electromyography Wrist Interfaces for Augmented Reality Applications
As part of its three-part series on the future of human-computer interaction (HCI), Facebook Reality Labs recently published a blog post describing a wrist-based wearable device that uses electromyography (EMG) to translate electrical motor nerve signals that travel through the…
Virginia is 2nd to Enact Consumer Privacy Law, And It Has a Couple of Twists
Yesterday, Virginia passed the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA), making it the second state (behind California, with its California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) to enact a general consumer privacy law. The VCDPA will take effect on January 1, 2023,…
10 Thoughts Regarding Apple’s New “Privacy Nutrition Labels”
In December 2020, Apple started requiring Apps to display mandatory labels that provide a graphic, easy-to-digest version of their privacy policies. They are being called “privacy nutrition labels,” presumably a reference to the mandatory FDA-required “Nutrition Facts” labels that have…
Supreme Court: The FTC – The Chief Federal Agency on Privacy Policy and Enforcement Since the 1970s – May Not Have Ever Had Authority to Demand Monetary Relief
While Europe is leveraging hefty fines against violators of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (here is a tracker of recent fines: https://www.enforcementtracker.com/), the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments last month on whether the FTC –…
Outer Space Real Estate Wars May Signal a Beginning of Outer Space Privacy Disputes
A recent article from CNN reported on SpaceX and Amazon sparring over their competing satellite-based internet business. The article reports that at the center of the dispute is “a recent attempt by SpaceX to modify its license for Starlink, a…
Southwest Leverages the Lanham Act Against Alleged Scraper of Website Fares
Website operators can consider a host of potential legal claims against entities that scrape their sites’ content without authorization, such as breach of a well-crafted terms of service agreement, copyright infringement, trespass, conversion, common law misappropriation, unfair competition, violations of…