Cybersecurity & Privacy

May 15, 2024
State Farm Can't Dodge TCPA Suit Over Robocalls

State Farm must face a proposed class action alleging it violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by using a third-party company to make automated telemarketing calls without prior consent, an Illinois federal judge has ruled, saying the suit states a plausible claim of the insurer's vicarious liability for the robocalls.
May 15, 2024
Flexibility In Info Security Policy May Add Compliance Burden

New federal guidance for contractors handling sensitive, but unclassified information could introduce confusion and compliance burdens if agencies implement security controls without consulting contractors.
May 15, 2024
UnitedHealth Concealed DOJ Merger Investigation, Suit Says

UnitedHealth Group has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging that it failed to disclose that the U.S. Department of Justice had reopened an antitrust investigation into the health insurance giant following its acquisition of a healthcare data company, and that top executives had sold more than $120 million of shares knowing about the investigation before a news report revealed it to the public.
May 15, 2024
En Banc 9th Circ. Will Mull Jurisdiction In Shopify Privacy Suit

The Ninth Circuit agreed to review en banc a panel's decision dismissing a suit alleging payment processing company Shopify collects shoppers' sensitive information without permission, after the plaintiff argued the full court should hear the case to resolve how to assess personal jurisdiction in online misconduct cases.
May 15, 2024
Anti-Trans Groups Fail To Block Wash. Youth Shelter Law

A federal judge on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit filed by two anti-transgender groups challenging a Washington state law intended to ensure shelter for teens seeking gender-affirming care or reproductive health services, ruling that speculating on possible injury was not enough to clear a standing hurdle.
May 15, 2024
FTC Chair Khan Defends Request For 25% Budget Increase

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina M. Khan defended a 25% budget increase request during a House appropriations hearing Wednesday, calling it "healthy" that aggressive Biden administration merger enforcement has made antitrust considerations top of mind for companies mulling transactions.
May 15, 2024
House Panel Advances Tax-Exempt Org Oversight Bills

The House Ways and Means Committee approved a package of bills Wednesday that would increase scrutiny of foreign donations to tax-exempt organizations, including legislation that would require those organizations to publicly report the donations.
May 15, 2024
FCC Could Require ISP Reports On Internet Routing Security

The Federal Communications Commission will vote on a plan next month to require the largest broadband providers to file confidential reports on security of the internet's main routing technology, the Border Gateway Protocol.
May 15, 2024
Ex-FTX Exec Seeks Leniency, Saying He Was Kept In The Dark

A former top FTX official has asked a Manhattan federal judge for a lenient 18-month sentence, saying he was not part of company co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle and was as shocked as everyone else to learn that the crypto exchange was operating a fraud that siphoned billions in customer funds.
May 15, 2024
Senators Release 'Road Map' For Crafting Federal AI Policy

A bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday laid out a "road map" for artificial intelligence policy that calls for increased AI innovation funding, testing of potential harms posed by AI and consideration of the technology's workforce implications.
May 15, 2024
Kirkland Guiding Billionaire McCourt On Bid To Buy TikTok

Billionaire Frank McCourt, advised by Kirkland & Ellis, says he's building a consortium to purchase TikTok and redesign the platform to eliminate the collection of users' information, putting "people in control of their [own] digital identities and data."
May 15, 2024
Mortgage Co.'s $2.4M Data Breach Settlement Gets Initial OK

A Connecticut federal judge gave her initial sign-off to a $2.4 million settlement between mortgage firm Planet Home Lending LLC and a consolidated class of customers whose personal data, including their Social Security numbers, was exposed in a cyberattack.
May 14, 2024
Gunster Data Breach Affected 9K Clients' Data, Suit Says

A former client of Gunster Yoakley & Stewart PA has filed a proposed class action in Florida federal court, alleging the law firm's weak cybersecurity systems allowed outsiders to access clients' personal and sensitive health information and that the firm waited over a year to inform those affected.
May 14, 2024
Davis Wright-Led TikTok Creators Challenge Potential Ban

Following TikTok Inc.'s lead, a group of creators on Tuesday lodged their own challenge to a new federal law that would exclude the popular app from the U.S. market unless it cuts ties with its Chinese parent company, telling the D.C. Circuit that the measure undermines the First Amendment.
May 14, 2024
Telecoms Settle FCC Probe Into Undersea Cables For $2M

Two telecoms will pay $1 million each to resolve a Federal Communications Commission probe into an undersea cable system that connected the U.S. with Colombia and Costa Rica without FCC approval.
May 14, 2024
Chamber Cautions FCC Against Making Anti-Arbitration Rules

Business leaders told the Federal Communications Commission that it cannot bar wireless providers from requiring arbitration clauses with customers to resolve disputes arising from cellphone SIM card and port-out fraud.
May 14, 2024
NIST Finalizes Revised Security Guidelines For Sensitive Info

The National Institute of Standards and Technology on Tuesday released a final version of revised guidelines for contractors and other entities who handle sensitive unclassified federal information, intended to clarify and streamline those requirements.
May 14, 2024
Casino App User Can't Hide Arbitration Details, Chancery Says

A mobile app slot-machine player who lost an arbitration dispute with the game's operator may not keep the details of the arbitration award confidential in Delaware court filings, a Chancery Court vice chancellor said Tuesday, denying a request for ongoing confidential treatment.
May 13, 2024
11th Circ. Says Class Attys Self-Dealt In $35M TCPA Settlement

The Eleventh Circuit on Monday dismissed a proposed $35 million settlement of a class action alleging GoDaddy.com violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by sending unwanted marketing texts, saying the deal may have come by through nefarious means.
May 13, 2024
Vt. On Brink Of Enacting Privacy Bill With Lawsuit Mechanism

The Vermont legislature has sent to the governor's desk a comprehensive data privacy bill that would not only require companies to scale back their data collection efforts and ramp up safeguards for children, but also give consumers the rare opportunity to sue large businesses that violate the law in certain circumstances.
May 13, 2024
Student Loan Servicer Faces Suit Over Tax Form Data Breach

An education-focused subsidiary of payment processor Global Payments Inc. faces a proposed class action accusing it of negligence after it disclosed that part of its website allowed bad actors unfettered access to certain student tax documents for months at a time.
May 13, 2024
SEC, FinCEN Propose Money Manager Customer ID Rule

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network on Monday proposed a rule that would require money managers such as hedge funds and private equity firms to document and maintain customer identification programs.
May 13, 2024
FTC Can't Modify $5B Meta Privacy Deal, DC Circ. Told

Meta Platforms Inc. told the D.C. Circuit on Monday that the Federal Trade Commission lacks the ability to unilaterally modify a $5 billion privacy settlement, contending that the courts are the ones responsible for enforcing the agreement.
May 13, 2024
Wash. Hospital Scores Exit In Facebook Privacy Suit, For Now

A Washington federal judge has tossed a proposed class action accusing a Seattle-area hospital of sharing patients' confidential health information by using Facebook browser tracking tools, ruling on Monday the plaintiff has failed to show that her own private information was input into the website and shared with a third party.
May 13, 2024
50 Cent, GC Accused Of Federal Wiretap Violations

A liquor business consultant has told a New York state court that Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and the rapper's general counsel violated federal and New Jersey wiretap statutes, after the court dismissed an earlier counterclaim lodged under the Illinois Eavesdropping Act.

Expert Analysis

Takeaways From FTC Children's Privacy Rule Proposal

The Federal Trade Commission’s recently issued and long-awaited proposed revisions to its Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule are not as seismic as might have been expected under current leadership, and show that the agency's COPPA rulemaking is far from over, says Phyllis Marcus at Hunton.
Series

Baking Bread Makes Me A Better Lawyer

After many years practicing law, and a few years baking bread, I have learned that there are a few keys to success in both endeavors, including the assembly of a nourishing and resilient culture, and the ability to learn from failure and exercise patience, says Rick Robinson at Reed Smith.
3 Key Class Action Trends To Use As Guidance In 2024

Telephone Consumer Protection Act, privacy and false advertising class actions saw significant shifts last year — including a trend toward expanding the application of preexisting laws to current technologies — that businesses should keep in mind to navigate the class action landscape in 2024, say attorneys at Mintz.
Federal Courts And AI Standing Orders: Safety Or Overkill?

Several district court judges have issued standing orders regulating the use of artificial intelligence in their courts, but courts should consider following ordinary notice and comment procedures before implementing sweeping mandates that could be unnecessarily burdensome and counterproductive, say attorneys at Curtis.
Series

NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4

New York's banking and financial sector saw a number of notable regulatory and legislative changes in the final quarter of 2023, including guidance on climate risks and heightened cybersecurity protocols issued by the New York State Department of Financial Services, as well as final revisions to virtual currency listings in the state, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
How Data Brokers Can Prep For Calif. Delete Act Compliance

As California Delete Act obligations approach in late January, data brokers should proactively assess and scrutinize their compliance with the act, taking proactive measures to mitigate potential risks associated with noncompliance, say Goli Mahdavi and Gabrielle Harwell at BCLP.
How 4 State AGs Are Shaping Data Privacy Compliance

As the landscape of state data privacy laws continues to grow across the nation, understanding how state attorneys general — such as in California, Colorado, Connecticut and Virginia — are thinking about these laws is critical to begin forecasting how enforcement will play out, say Michelle Kallen and Daniel Echeverri at Jenner & Block.
7 E-Discovery Predictions For 2024 And Beyond

The legal and technical issues of e-discovery now affect virtually every lawsuit, and in the year to come, practitioners can expect practices and policies to evolve in a number of ways, from the expanded use of relevancy redactions to mandated information security provisions in protective orders, say attorneys at Littler.
DOD's Proposed Cyber Rule: What Contractors Must Know

A review of the U.S. Department of Defense's recently published Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification proposed rule, requiring independent third-party cybersecurity assessments for many defense contractors, suggests that there will be a competitive advantage to prompt demonstration of full compliance with the rule, says Robert Metzger at Rogers Joseph.
Top Considerations For Retailers Using AI To Combat Theft

The Federal Trade Commission's recent enforcement action against Rite Aid indicates a significant evolution in the landscape surrounding biometric information and artificial intelligence data collection by retailers, meaning retailers should take reasonable measures to prevent harm to customers, say attorneys at Dentons.
Major EU AI Banking Ruling Will Reverberate Across Sectors

Following the European Court of Justice's recent OQ v. Land Hessen decision that banks' use of AI-driven credit scores to make consumer decisions did not comply with the General Data Protection Regulation, regulators indicated that the ruling would apply broadly, leaving numerous industries that employ AI-powered decisions open to scrutiny, say lawyers at Alston & Bird.
Trends That Tech Lawyers Should Keep An Eye On In 2024

Worldwide technology spending is projected to strengthen in 2024, spurred by artificial intelligence-driven solutions, and five areas of growth may affect lawyers' practice in this sector, says Sonia Baldia at Kilpatrick.
CFPB As Pay App Watchdog May Invite More Fintech Regs

While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent proposal to enhance federal oversight of the biggest consumer payment applications would impose no new regulatory obligations, the rulemaking could provoke heightened scrutiny for all participants in the digital payments market, say attorneys at Steptoe.
Emerging Risks Affecting The Tech Legal Landscape

The tech industry has become a battleground for various legal challenges shaped by geopolitical events, partisan politics, regulatory initiatives, patent disputes and class action trends, but companies can adopt several proactive legal strategies to safeguard their interests, say Natasha Allen and Louis Lehot at Foley & Lardner.
5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2024

Over the next year and beyond, litigation funding will continue to evolve in ways that affect attorneys and the larger litigation landscape, from the growth of a secondary market for funded claims, to rising interest rates restricting the availability of capital, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.