Cybersecurity & Privacy

  • September 25, 2024

    FTC Targets 'Robot Lawyer,' Others In AI Enforcement Sweep

    The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday revealed a flurry of recent enforcement actions aimed at cracking down on the use of artificial intelligence to "supercharge" harmful and deceptive business practices, including a case targeting "lofty" claims made about a service that promised to provide "the world's first robot lawyer."

  • September 25, 2024

    City's Public Crash Reports Defy Privacy Law, NC Judge Says

    The city of Charlotte violated federal privacy law by making car accident reports public such that law firms could use the disclosed data for marketing purposes, a North Carolina federal judge said in granting summary judgment and certification to a class of drivers.

  • September 25, 2024

    Meta Wants 'License' To Cover Up Past Events, Justices Told

    Meta Platforms Inc. shareholders say the U.S. Supreme Court should not be swayed by the social media company's attempt to shake off a proposed class action tied to the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, warning a high court ruling in favor of Facebook's parent company could give publicly traded companies "license to intentionally mislead investors."

  • September 25, 2024

    Marriott Gets $8M Default Win In TM Robocall Scam Case

    A Virginia federal judge has granted Marriott International Inc. the maximum damages that the law allows for the company's trademark infringement claims against a pair of Mexican firms it accused of using its "Marriott Marks" for a robocall scam, ending the claims with an $8 million default judgment.

  • September 25, 2024

    Imprisoned Ex-CEO's Attys Want Out Of Lawsuits With Co.

    Citing an irretrievable breakdown in the attorney-client relationship, lawyers with the Connecticut firm Spears Manning & Martini LLC have moved for permission to stop representing an imprisoned former tech CEO in legal battles with the company he ripped off.

  • September 25, 2024

    Bloggers In EBay Stalking Case Can't Pinpoint Lost Sources

    A Massachusetts couple suing eBay after their blog's critical coverage of the e-commerce giant made them the target of a corporate harassment scheme told a federal judge on Wednesday they aren't able to specifically identify potential sources who were allegedly chilled into silence by the scheme.

  • September 25, 2024

    Veteran Federal Prosecutor Joins King & Spalding In Texas

    King & Spalding LLP has strengthened its government investigations, cybersecurity and special matters offerings with a counsel in Austin, Texas, who led efforts to combat cybercrime and pandemic-era fraud during his more than 15 years as a federal prosecutor.

  • September 25, 2024

    Prince Lobel Says Rapper Owes $237K For Fraud Defense

    Prince Lobel Tye LLP says Chicago rapper G Herbo owes the Boston firm more than $237,000 for its work on a criminal case alleging he used stolen credit card information for personal luxuries like renting private jets and a Jamaican villa and buying puppies.

  • September 24, 2024

    Dentons Accused Of Hacking Laptop, Aiding Vape Co. Usurper

    Dentons helped the founder of vape distributor Next Level sabotage and usurp manufacturer Avid Holdings' brand, including breaking into its founder's laptop to access confidential information, Avid alleged in a sprawling lawsuit filed Tuesday in California federal court.

  • September 24, 2024

    Google Can't Ditch Privacy Suit Over Period App Data Sharing

    A California federal judge has refused to release Google from a proposed class action alleging the company used a data analytics tool to wrongfully retrieve data from menstruation tracking app Flo, rejecting the tech giant's arguments that the plaintiffs lacked standing and had consented to the disclosures. 

  • September 24, 2024

    Amazon Scolded Over Improper Privilege In Alexa Privacy Suit

    Amazon.com Inc. must re-produce documents it clawed back during discovery from unregistered Alexa users who allege they were illegally recorded, a Washington federal judge ruled Monday, scolding the e-commerce giant for "improperly" trying to conceal its business and strategic documents behind attorney-client privilege.

  • September 24, 2024

    Fox Exec Must Show Cell Data In Smartmatic Defamation Suit

    A Florida state court judge has ordered a Fox News board member to turn over cellphone data in connection to a New York defamation lawsuit over unfounded reports that Smartmatic USA Corp.'s voting systems helped rig the 2020 election, finding the phone may contain relevant information to the case.

  • September 24, 2024

    Google Investors' Atty Defends Fees For $350M Privacy Deal

    Counsel for Google LLC shareholders who reached a $350 million settlement with Alphabet Inc. over claims they were deceived about a 2018 data breach urged a California federal judge Tuesday to approve the deal, including about $66.5 million for attorneys, calling the fees more than reasonable.

  • September 24, 2024

    Feds Say BitMEX Should Owe $428M For Flouting AML Rules

    Federal prosecutors urged a Manhattan federal judge to impose a $428 million penalty for offshore crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX after the firm admitted to lax anti-money laundering procedures, arguing the more than $100 million the firm and founders have already paid to regulators is not enough to deter other crypto firms from Bank Secrecy Act violations.

  • September 24, 2024

    1st Circ. Affirms Tossing Of IRS Crypto Doc Seizure Case

    A New Hampshire federal court correctly dismissed a bitcoin investor's claim that the IRS violated his privacy and property rights when it seized his records from the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, the First Circuit ruled Tuesday, agreeing that he lacked a reasonable expectation that his account information would be kept private.

  • September 24, 2024

    Musk, X Seek To End Ex-CNN Anchor's Talk Show Fraud Suit

    Elon Musk and his social media platform X have asked a California federal judge to toss former CNN anchor Don Lemon's suit against over a collapsed talk show deal, saying the claims are insufficiently supported, Musk wasn't properly served, and there's no jurisdiction to proceed in the Golden State.

  • September 24, 2024

    Think Tank Can't Get Prince Harry's Visa Records, Judge Says

    A D.C. federal judge has shot down conservative think tank's attempt to pry loose Prince Harry's visa records, saying the U.S. Department of Homeland Security rightfully withheld them to protect the Duke of Sussex's privacy.

  • September 24, 2024

    SEC Says Blockchain Cybersecurity Co. Ran $5M Fraud

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued a former blockchain cybersecurity and supply chain management company and its founder, alleging they deceived investors and fraudulently raised more than $5 million by falsely claiming that the company had secured contracts and that it expected to generate millions in revenue.

  • September 24, 2024

    Ex-Google Privacy Chief Joins Gibson Dunn As Practice Head

    Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP has hired a former vice president and chief privacy officer at Google, who for more than 13½ years has helped lead a team of privacy specialists working to achieve Google's data protection and privacy goals.

  • September 24, 2024

    Firms Allowed To Exit IP Case After Gaining Philips' Consent

    A North Carolina federal judge allowed Dentons and Morningstar Law Group to withdraw as Transtate Equipment Co. Inc.'s counsel in a copyright and unfair competition case, after a stipulation was struck with opposing attorneys representing a Dutch health technology conglomerate that initially scoffed at the request.

  • September 24, 2024

    Man In Mueller Report Asks DC Circ. To Revive Privacy Claim

    A Georgian American businessman named in special counsel Robert Mueller's report on 2016 Russian election interference has petitioned the D.C. Circuit for an en banc review of a panel's decision not to revive his Privacy Act damages claim related to supposed inaccuracies, arguing the panel erred in finding he had abandoned damages arguments.

  • September 24, 2024

    Star Witness Against Bankman-Fried Gets 2 Years In FTX Case

    A Manhattan federal judge sentenced former cryptocurrency executive Caroline Ellison to two years in prison Tuesday, crediting her decision to testify against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried but saying the $11.2 billion fraud was too big to warrant a "get out of jail free card."

  • September 24, 2024

    Ex-MoFo Cybersecurity Partner Joins Cooley In NY

    Cooley LLP announced on Tuesday the hiring of a former global privacy and data security partner at Morrison Foerster LLP.

  • September 23, 2024

    Nike, Others Let TikTok 'Fingerprint' Sites, Suits Claim

    Nike, its subsidiary Converse and telehealth company Teladoc were each hit with proposed class actions on Friday in California federal court over allegations that they violated the state's "trap and trace" law by using TikTok software to collect personal data from visitors to their websites.

  • September 23, 2024

    Calif. Gov. Vetoes Privacy Bill, OKs Social Media Addiction Law

    California's governor has refused to enact legislation that would have required browser developers to make it easier for consumers to stop the sale and sharing of their personal information, while approving a bill that will block online platforms from using algorithms to deliver addictive feeds to children without parental consent.

Expert Analysis

  • Car Apps, Abuse Survivor Safety And The FCC: Key Questions

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    A recent request for comment from the Federal Communications Commission, concerning how to protect the privacy of domestic violence survivors who use connected car services, raises key questions, including whether the FCC has the legal authority to limit access to a vehicle's connected features to survivors only, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • Opinion

    'Natural Person' Or Not, AI-Made IP Deserves Protection

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    The entire legal edifice rests on a determination that an artificial system is not a so-called natural person, and although this may appear to be straightforward on its face, rapid advances in technology may soon force us to revisit our understanding of a natural person, says Manav Das at McDonnell Boehnen.

  • Lessons On Challenging Class Plaintiffs' Expert Testimony

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    In class actions seeking damages, plaintiffs are increasingly using expert opinions to establish predominance, but several recent rulings from California federal courts shed light on how defendants can respond, say Jennifer Romano and Raija Horstman at Crowell & Moring.

  • Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance

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    A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.

  • A GC's Guide To Multijurisdictional Regulatory Compliance

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    Overlapping cybersecurity regulation has created an increasingly fragmented regulatory landscape with elevated oversight for organizations across the globe, but general counsel can help develop a best-in-class approach to manage these complexities by building a compliance strategy holistically, say David Dunn and Meredith Griffanti at FTI Consulting.

  • Series

    Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.

  • A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System

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    As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.

  • Examining Illinois Genetic Privacy Law Amid Deluge Of Claims

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    After a federal court certified an Illinois Genetic Information Privacy Act class action in August, claims under the law have skyrocketed, so employers, insurers and others that collect health and genetic information should ensure compliance with the act to limit litigation risk, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • 8 Legal Issues Influencing Investors In The Creator Economy

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    The rapidly expanding digital creator economy — funding for which more than doubled in the U.S. in the first quarter — comes with its own set of unique legal issues investors must carefully consider before diving in, say Louis Lehot and Alan Pate at Foley & Lardner.

  • Action Steps To Address New Restrictions On Outbound Data

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    Companies should immediately assess all their data-based operations so they can consider strategies to effectively mitigate new compliance risks brought on by recently implemented transaction restrictions, including a Justice Department proposal and landmark data legislation, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data

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    Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • CFPB Reality Check: Video Game Cash Is Still Money

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent report examining payments within online video games indicates that financial services offered within the game marketplace are quickly evolving to the point where they are indistinguishable from traditional financial services subject to regulation, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Keeping Up With Class Actions: A New Era Of Higher Stakes

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    Corporate defendants saw unprecedented settlement numbers across all areas of class action litigation in 2022 and 2023, and this year has kept pace so far, with three settlements that stand out for the nature of the claims and for their high dollar amounts, says Gerald Maatman at Duane Morris.

  • How New Rule Would Change CFIUS Enforcement Powers

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    Before the May 15 comment deadline, companies may want to weigh in on proposed regulatory changes to enforcement and mitigation tools at the disposal of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, including broadened subpoena powers, difficult new mitigation timelines and higher maximum penalties, say attorneys at Venable.

  • 8 Questions To Ask Before Final CISA Breach Reporting Rule

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    The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s recently proposed cyber incident reporting requirements for critical infrastructure entities represent the overall approach CISA will take in its final rule, so companies should be asking key compliance questions now and preparing for a more complicated reporting regime, say Arianna Evers and Shannon Mercer at WilmerHale.

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