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 […]
Privacy & Cybersecurity Litigation
David Keating Quoted in Law360
David Keating was quoted in a Law360 article titled “FTC Sets High Bar for COPPA Parental Consent Verification” and discussed the COPPA parental consent verification and how the Federal Trade Commission recently rejected the first attempt under the amended COPPA Rule at proposing a parental consent safe harbor method. “Given that data that is collected from […]
California Privacy Ballot Initiative Moves Forward: Act Would Amend California Constitution to Set Standards for Collection and Protection of Personally Identifying Information, including Financial and/or Health Information
California Secretary of State Debra Bowen has allowed signature collection to commence for a ballot initiative, named the Personal Privacy Protection Act, that could drastically alter the California privacy regime. The initiative, led by former state Senator Steve Peace and retired attorney Michael Thorsnes, seeks to amend the California Constitution to define personally identifiable information […]
California District Court Allows ECPA Claims to Proceed
The United States District Court for the Northern District of California has denied Google’s motion to dismiss the ECPA claims asserted against it in In re Google Inc. Gmail Litigation, No. 13-MD-02430 2013 WL 5423918 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 26, 2013). This decision provides a road map to plaintiffs’ lawyers and has already resulted in the […]
Privacy Co-Chair Paul Martino Quoted on Nationwide Impact of New California Law Establishing Online Privacy Rights for Children Under 18 Years of Age
On September 26, 2013, Paul Martino, co-chair of Alston and Bird’s Privacy and Security practice, was quoted in the Law360 article, “California’s Delete-Button Law Invigorates Teen Privacy Push.” In the article, Martino discussed the likely nationwide impact of a newly enacted California law, entitled “Privacy Rights for California Minors in the Digital Age,” which passed the […]