Privacy

An Update on the California Consumer Privacy Act and Its Private Right of Action

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While it remains to be seen what the final text of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) looks like when it is ultimately implemented on January 1, 2020, at present it seems likely that businesses and employers can expect an influx of lawsuits from individual consumers proceeding under the CCPA’s private right of action.  Under the current version of the CCPA, the Act provides a private right of action for consumers whose personal information “is subject to an unauthorized access and exfiltration, theft, or disclosure as a result of the business’ violation of the duty to implement and […] Read more

CFPB Changes Annual Notice Requirement Under Reg. P

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On Friday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced its “finalized amendments” to Regulation P, an implementing regulation of the federal financial Gramm Leach Bliley Act. Regulation P governs the provision of privacy notices for covered financial institutions. In response to legislation passed by Congress in late 2015, the final rule issued Friday permits financial institutions to avoid providing annual privacy notices to customers in certain circumstances. In addition, in cases where the annual notice requirement remains, the final rule permits financial institutions additional [...] Read more

Alston & Bird Hosts Sept. 12 Webinar on California Consumer Privacy Act

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Save the date! On Sept. 12, 1 – 2 PM ET, Alston & Bird will host a webinar to analyze the new California Consumer Privacy Act. (You can read our prior advisory.) The California Consumer Privacy Act has been compared to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation due to its creation of important new privacy rights likely to require significant compliance activity by many companies. Partners Jim Harvey, David Keating, and Senior Counsel Peter Swire will lead discussion of this comprehensive new legislation currently slated to enter into force in less than 18 months.   Registration [...] Read more

LabMD: The End of the FTC in Cyber or Just a New Path?

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently issued its opinion in LabMD, Inc. v. FTC, No. 16-16270 (11th Cir. June 6, 2018), declaring unenforceable a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) order requiring LabMD to implement an extensive cybersecurity plan. The case is noteworthy for its lengthy procedural background—during which time LabMD became defunct—and its holding, which has called into question the FTC’s authority to impose wide-ranging, comprehensive cybersecurity plans. The LabMD matter dates to 2005, when LimeWire file sharing software was installed on a company computer, [...] Read more

Landmark New Privacy Law in California to Challenge Businesses Nationwide

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Following our June 4 and July 2, 2018 blog posts tracking California's November 2018 ballot measure turned hastily enacted new California privacy law titled The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA), Alston & Bird's Privacy & Data Security Group released a more detailed "first look" review of California’s sweeping new law.  The advisory provides an overview of the new law, which establishes an array of privacy rights for state residents and worries for businesses nationwide, and concludes with key initial takeaways for business. Read the advisory here. [...] Read more

California Approves the California Consumer Privacy Act in Response to Consumer Privacy Ballot Initiative

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As discussed in this blog’s June 4, 2018 blog post, a group called Californians for Consumer Privacy gathered enough signatures for a new measure called the Consumer Right to Privacy Act to qualify for the November 2018 ballot.  With momentum building for passage of that ballot measure, various stakeholders met with California legislators to devise a bill that could be passed in place of the measure (and to the satisfaction of the measure’s backers).  The legislature and governor had until last Thursday, June 28 – the deadline for the measure’s backers to remove it from the November’s [...] Read more

German DPA Announces GDPR Compliance Survey of Large Companies – Translation Provided

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Following a two-year grace period, EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) entered into force on May 25, 2018.  For many companies, preparing for the GDPR was a multi-year project involving multiple teams and input or assistance from across the organization.  On this blog, we have outlined the items we have seen as particularly time- or resource-intensive. On June 29, 2018, the Data Protection Authority (DPA) of the German state of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) announced it would be surveying GDPR compliance among companies under its jurisdiction.  Germany has 16 state-run DPAs with general [...] Read more

Supreme Court Recognizes Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Historical Cell-Site Location Information

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The Supreme Court recently held in Carpenter v. United States that an individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy in historical cell-site location information (CSLI) that provides a comprehensive view of the individual’s movement. A 5-4 decision, Carpenter marks a significant development for both the third-party doctrine and in the privacy space more generally. Carpenter signals a change in the Court’s traditional view of the third-party doctrine and highlights the ubiquity and all-encompassing nature of CSLI in the process. The petitioner, Timothy Carpenter, was convicted for his [...] Read more

GDPR Fragmentation May Appear More Significant than Intended

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With the entry into application of the GDPR on May 25, 2018, the EU Member States were expected to have adopted national legislation implementing the regulation. To date, however, only 30% of Member States have effectively passed legislation, which still leaves the legal landscape to be precarious. The GDPR allows for deviations and specifications in several areas, for instance to introduce specific conditions or limitations for the processing of biometric, genetic, or health data; to create specific protection regimes for employee data; or to restrict the rights the GDPR grants to individuals. [...] Read more

Privacy Activist Challenges Data Collection for Internet Businesses

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Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems’ organization, NOYB – Center for Digital Rights, filed complaints against Google (Android), Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook on May 25th, the same day on which the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became effective. NOYB filed the complaints based on the GDPR with supervisory authorities in France, Belgium, Germany and Austria.  These “Day 1” complaints could have a definite impact on ad-supported online businesses. The complaints reflect similar criticisms of each company. Assuming that each company processes personal data on the basis [...] Read more