On August 24, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a $1.2 million settlement with Sephora over allegations that the cosmetic retailer had violated the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). This first public enforcement action—and subsequent noncompliance letters the Attorney General sent to other retailers—clearly highlight the continued focus of regulators on online tracking practices and opt-out signals such
On July 29, 2022, the New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) released Draft Amendments to its Cyber Security Regulations. The Amendments, if adopted, would further regulatory trends and impose important new requirements on covered entities.
The Amendments contain three significant changes relating to ransomware. First, the Amendment specifically adds “the deployment of ransomware
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently issued a blog post stating that a failure to disclose a data breach may be a violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act. The May 20 blog post, titled Security Beyond Prevention: The Importance of Effective Breach Disclosures, explained that in some instances, the FTC Act
On September 15, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a policy statement affirming the applicability of its Health Breach Notification Rule (the “Rule”), 16 CFR Part 318, to health apps and connected devices that are not subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) but are capable of drawing information from multiple sources.
Continue Reading FTC Guidance Affirms Breach Notification Obligations for Health Apps and Connected Devices
The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has continued its enforcement of HIPAA’s privacy and security rules in the new administration, announcing a number of settlements of alleged violations in the first seven months of 2021. This settlement activity followed a few other significant HIPAA developments
On January 6, 2021, a bipartisan group of New York state lawmakers released a copy of Assembly Bill 27 (AB 27), the New York Biometric Privacy Act. If New York passes AB 27, it will join Illinois, Texas, and Washington as states that have adopted laws that strictly regulate the notice, collection, and handling
With the ongoing covid crisis leaving businesses of all sizes concerned about the short and medium term future, the intimidating task of considering a liquidation or restructuring is inevitably starting to become a reality. Although privacy in the bankruptcy context is nothing new—especially in the context of personally identifiable information (“PII”) held by a company—it
Following on the heels of a few relatively small HIPAA settlements, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced that it has imposed $2,154,000 in civil monetary penalties against Jackson Health System in Florida for its failure to meet HIPAA privacy and security requirements. The OCR announcement and accompanying
On September 13, 2019—the last day of the legislative session—California lawmakers approved five amendments intended to clarify the scope of the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”), but rejected several industry-backed proposals that would have exempted personal information used for targeted advertising and loyalty programs.
Five amendments passed: AB 25, 874, 1146, 1355, and 1564.
Recently, legislators in Texas introduced two bills relating to consumer privacy and data protection: H.B. No. 4518, the Texas Consumer Privacy Act (“Texas CPA”) and H.B. No. 4390, the Texas Privacy Protection Act (“TPPA”). These bills bear a strong resemblance to the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “California CPA”), and would lay the groundwork for extensive administrative schemes protecting consumers’ rights to their personal information.
Texas CPA
The Texas CPA bears strong similarity to California CPA. The Texas CPA, which, if adopted, would take effect September 1, 2020, applies to companies that do business and collect consumer data and:
Continue Reading Texas Legislature Weighing Proposed New Privacy Laws