At the National Consumers League Conference on identity theft, held on December 12, 2013 in Washington, D.C., Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Chairwoman Edith Ramirez pushed for a federal data breach law featuring the FTC as the “enforcer.” Chairwoman Ramirez engaged in a keynote discussion with former FTC Chairwoman Deborah Platt Majoras and made her position […]
Board Governance & Cyber Risk Management
Congress Considers Cybersecurity Bills
Earlier last week, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) introduced H.R. 3696, a bill to amend the Homeland Security Act to make certain improvements regarding cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection. The committee circulated the draft earlier this year, and had planned to mark up the bill when the Edward Snowden revelations became public. The bill […]
EU Data Protection Authorities Note Serious Reservations with Proposed General Data Protection Regulation
Several members of the Alston & Bird Privacy and Security Group attended the IAPP Europe Data Protection Congress held in Brussels this past week. Much of the discussion at the Congress centered on the proposed new General Data Protection Regulation (the “Regulation”), which if enacted would replace the European Union Privacy Directive (Directive 95/46/EC) in effect since […]
New Malaysian Data Privacy Law
After enactment in 2010, Malaysia’s Personal Data Protection Act, and implementing regulations, finally went into effect on November 15, 2013. The law applies to the processing of “personal data” by entities operating in Malaysia but generally does not apply to data processed entirely outside of Malaysia.[1] Additionally, official registration requirements will extend to many classes […]
California’s New Privacy Law Covering Utility ‘Smart Meter’ Data Takes Effect on January 1, 2014
On January 1, 2014, California’s new “smart meter” privacy law goes into effect, which may impact Internet Service Providers, financial institutions and other businesses that handle or receive smart meter data. On October 5, 2013, California Governor Brown approved the law passed by the Assembly (A.B. 1274) that will require certain non-utility businesses to obtain the […]