On April 2, 2020, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S Department of Health and Human Services released a notification related to the discretion that OCR will exercise concerning HIPAA enforcement during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Effective immediately, OCR will not impose penalties for violations of certain provisions of the HIPAA Privacy … Continue Reading
In an effort to give consumers more control over the data businesses collect from and about them, the California legislature passed the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in 2018 (and amended it a few months later). The CCPA gives consumers the right to know about and have deleted the data businesses have gathered about them, among … Continue Reading
Businesses and California consumers are one step closer to understanding what their respective obligations and rights are under the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (the “CCPA”). The CCPA is California’s landmark legislation that seeks to give California consumers the rights to learn about and control certain aspects of how a business handles the personal … Continue Reading
Reflecting the movement to toughen data security laws on a state-by-state basis, on July 25, 2019, Governor Cuomo signed into law the Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act (the “SHIELD Act” or the “Act”). The Act amends New York State’s current data breach notification law, which covers breaches of certain personally-identifiable computerized data … Continue Reading
Per our previous post, the European Parliament and the Member States agreed to adopt new rules that would set the standard for protecting whistleblowers across the EU from dismissal, demotion, and other forms of retaliation when they report breaches of various areas of EU law. According to a press release issued by the European Parliament … Continue Reading
According to a press release issued by the European Commission today, the European Parliament and the Member States have agreed to adopt new rules that set the standard for protecting individuals who blow the whistle on breaches of EU law from dismissal, demotion, and other forms of retaliation. This reform, which was first proposed by … Continue Reading
The New York Department of Financial Services cybersecurity regulation 23 NYCRR 500 (the “Regulation”) came into effect in March 2017 and established four staggered compliance deadlines for its various requirements. By the third deadline of September 3, 2018, Covered Entities are required to be in compliance with sections 500.06 (audit trails), 500.08 (application security), 500.13 … Continue Reading
On March 21, 2018, South Dakota Governor Daugaard signed S.B. 62, enacting the state’s first data breach notification law, which will go into effect July 1, 2018. Previously, Alabama and South Dakota were the only U.S. states without data breach notification. As of July 2018, Alabama will be the last state without a data breach … Continue Reading
State financial regulators in Colorado and Vermont recently adopted cybersecurity rules that apply to broker-dealers and investment advisers regulated by those states as well as certain other “securities professionals” in Vermont. The broad definition of “securities professional” in Vermont’s regulation (“any person providing investment-related services in Vermont”) could include entities that do not generally consider … Continue Reading
We previously reported on the FCC’s 2016 Privacy Order, “Protecting the Privacy of Customers of Broadband and Other Telecommunications Services” impacting Internet service providers’ data privacy practices and obligations and the corresponding timeline for compliance. Intervening events, however, have made the rules imposed by the 2016 Privacy Order moot. On June 26, 2017, the FCC … Continue Reading
In April 2017, the New York Department of Financial Services (the “DFS”) released guidance on interpreting 23 NYCRR Part 500, its recently promulgated regulation that requires banks, insurance companies and other financial services institutions regulated by the DFS to adopt broad cybersecurity programs (the “Regulation”), in the form of a frequently asked questions (“FAQ”) document … Continue Reading
On February 16, 2017, the New York Department of Financial Services (the “DFS”) released a final version (the “Final Regulation”) of its proposed regulation, previously released in an earlier revised form on December 28, 2016, that would require banks, insurance companies and other financial services institutions regulated by the DFS to adopt broad cybersecurity protections … Continue Reading
The European Commission has released proposals for new legislation that seeks to create stronger privacy in electronic communications. The draft Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulation (the “Regulation”) is intended to replace the ePrivacy Directive (2002/58/EC) and will also bring the law in line with the new rules as set out in the General Data Protection … Continue Reading
As we previously reported, in December 2016 the New York Department of Financial Services (the “DFS”) announced that it was revising its proposed regulation that would require banks, insurance companies and other financial services institutions regulated by the DFS to adopt broad cybersecurity protections (the “Original Proposal”). On December 28, 2016, the DFS released a … Continue Reading
As we previously reported, in September 2016 the New York Department of Financial Services (the “DFS”) proposed a regulation that would require banks, insurance companies and other financial services institutions regulated by the DFS to adopt broad cybersecurity protections (the “Proposal”). The comment period for the Proposal closed in mid-November. In late December, a DFS … Continue Reading
On September 13, 2016, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the New York Department of Financial Services (the “DFS”) proposed a regulation that would require banks, insurance companies, and other financial services institutions regulated by the DFS to establish and maintain a cybersecurity program (the “Proposal”). If the Proposal is adopted, New York would … Continue Reading
Oregon became the first state to adopt the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (“Revised UFADAA”) when Governor Kate Brown signed Oregon Senate Bill 1554 into law on March 3, 2016. The law will become effective on January 1, 2017.… Continue Reading
After nearly four years of negotiation and wrangling, European Officials announced yesterday that they had finally reached agreement on the language for the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation (“Regulation), which will replace the aging 1995 Data Protection Directive (“Directive”). In many ways, the announcement is welcome news as it will harmonize what had become … Continue Reading
On January 1, 2016, the Delaware Online Privacy and Protection Act (“DOPPA”) will go into force, a law that provides strong online privacy protection for its residents. The new law targets three areas of compliance: (1) advertising to children; (2) conspicuous posting of a compliant privacy policy; and (3) enhancing the privacy protections of users … Continue Reading
The average American today generates more media than they did at any other point in history, and the ease with which our communications, photos, and videos are sent and stored digitally means most of us have more media stored in the cloud or on a single digital device than previous generations would have created in … Continue Reading
On June 30, 2015, the Governor of Connecticut signed into law S.B. 949, “An Act Improving Data Security and Agency Effectiveness.”[1] The new law updates Connecticut’s data security laws, including by adding a 90-day hard deadline for data breach reporting, requiring companies in some cases to offer data breach victims a year of free identify theft … Continue Reading
A brief rundown of developments in recent weeks in the area of EU data protection law: EU Data Protection Regulation On Monday, June 15, the EU Council (comprised, for purposes of data protection reform, of the justice ministers from each of the EU member states) reached an agreement on a draft data protection regulation, marking … Continue Reading
On April 23, 2015, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee signed into law a bill strengthening the state’s data breach notification law (amending Wash. Rev. Code §§ 19.255.010 and 42.56.590 and creating a new section). H.B. 1078 makes the following substantial changes to the existing law: Under the current law, businesses and agencies that own or … Continue Reading
Traditionally, a person’s most valuable assets to be distributed upon death consisted of tangible items such as real property, cash, jewelry and personal effects of sentimental value like photographs and letters. However, the advent of the digital age has brought a shift from file cabinets, mailmen and photo albums to cloud storage, e-mail accounts and … Continue Reading
