On June 4, 2021, the European Commission adopted an updated and long-awaited set of standard contractual clauses (SCCs) for the international transfer of personal data. The previous SCCs were created prior to the implementation of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and required substantive revisions to bring them in line with the GDPR and the Court of Justice of the European Union’s July 2020 Schrems II decision (previously covered here).
Continue Reading  The European Commission’s Adoption of New SCCs

On May 12, 2021, President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order to implement new policies aimed at strengthening the nation’s cybersecurity. The Executive Order was issued in response to the recent SolarWinds, Microsoft Exchange, and Colonial Pipeline cybersecurity incidents, which were, according to the White House, “a sobering reminder that U.S. public and private sector entities increasingly face sophisticated malicious cyber activity from both nation-state actors and cyber criminals.”
Continue Reading  President Biden’s Cybersecurity Executive Order Has Implications for the Private Sector

On April 29, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hosted a virtual workshop, entitled “Bringing Dark Patterns to Light,” to examine “dark patterns.” In her opening remarks, Acting FTC Chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter broadly described “dark patterns” as “user interface designs that manipulate consumers into taking unintended actions that may not be in their interest.” Chairwoman Slaughter highlighted several examples of dark patterns, including confusing cancellation procedures that force users to navigate multiple screens, online applications that hide the material terms of a product or service through the use of inconspicuous drop down links and auto-scroll features, and the addition of products to users’ shopping carts without their knowledge or consent.
Continue Reading  FTC Workshop Signals Increased Regulatory Focus on Dark Patterns