Data breaches are on the rise.  So are the lawsuits that follow.  This has led to an environment where cyber-forensics service providers are more important than ever.  Clients seeking these services, however, often do so after becoming the unwilling victims of a data breach.  And those circumstances create uncertainty for protecting — either as attorney-client

2023 has seen a flurry of general state privacy laws, with twelve (12) such laws now on the books.  The next one to “go live,” on December 31, 2023, is the Utah Consumer Privacy Act (UCPA).  With no general federal privacy law in sight, the state privacy landscape continues to get more crowded and challenging

As consumer demand for new artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools continues to grow, businesses must be prepared to build tools with “privacy by design” principles in mind, and to remain educated about privacy best practices and risk mitigation strategies when working with AI. The following areas provide the greatest opportunities to manage data privacy risks and

Earlier this month, the Oregon state legislature introduced Senate Bill (SB) 619, “relating to protections for the personal data of consumers.”  The bill has since been referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary and the Joint Committee on Ways and Means.  Of course, Oregon would not be the first state to enact general, or omnibus, privacy legislation; to date, five states (California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, and Utah) have done so, with the first two operative as of today.  Likewise, Oregon is not the only state to introduce new omnibus privacy legislation this month.  The introduction of this bill (and other general state privacy legislation) remains significant because the prospect for omnibus federal privacy legislation (in the near term) fizzled out when the 117th Congress adjourned.   

No bill exists in a vacuum.  Structurally, SB 619 generally follows the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA), as do the laws enacted by Colorado, Connecticut, and Utah. 

SB 619 is only 17 pages long, not as slim as the VCDPA (8 pages), but not as bulky as the California Consumer Privacy Act (59 pages).  Unlike the CCPA, SB 619 does not reference any implementing regulations; however, implementing regulations could be added.

As with any omnibus state privacy bill, the proposed legislation raises some key questions:Continue Reading A New Consumer Data Protection Bill in Oregon: A Summary of SB 619

To say that class action litigation regarding the use or collection of “biometric information” – such as fingerprints, face records, or voice records – is expensive would be a gross understatement.  The damages sought, and sometimes recovered, in litigation under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act and similar laws that impose statutory penalties can be

If you manage a company that collects and otherwise processes personal data (which is just about every company, these days), you may need to protect your own pocketbook.  As governments across the globe continue to enact and enforce data privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity laws, data becomes more readily available, and the volume of incidents

As states fill the legal void for consumer privacy rights,[1] a new federal standard has emerged to assist companies with their compliance efforts. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) Privacy Framework (“PF”) was released last month to help organizations manage the risks associated with their data processing activities.

What the PF Does

The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced in a press release this week that Anthem, Inc. (Anthem), one of the nation’s largest health benefit companies, has agreed to pay $16 million and take substantial corrective action to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules. This settlement