Cybersecurity & Privacy

  • January 09, 2025

    Autotrader Can't Ditch Suit Over Tracking Of Website Visitors

    A California federal judge has refused to toss a proposed class action accusing Autotrader of unlawfully sharing website visitors' search queries with third parties, rejecting the contention that tracking software isn't covered by the state's wiretap law and finding that the plaintiff would likely be able to fix separate standing deficiencies. 

  • January 09, 2025

    Texas Hits TikTok With Another Suit Over Child-Online Safety

    Texas hit TikTok with another lawsuit in the Lone Star State court following similar consumer protection suits, accusing the social media giant — which is facing a ban in the U.S. — of deceptively marketing its purportedly addictive app as safe for minors despite letting explicit material run rampant on the platform.

  • January 09, 2025

    Vape Laptop Hacking Suit Belongs In Court, Co. Says

    A vape-maker has urged a California federal court to deny a bid by the founder of vape distributor Next Level to arbitrate the manufacturer's claims that he broke into a laptop to access its confidential information, saying he's not a signatory to an underlying arbitration agreement.

  • January 09, 2025

    CFPB Taps First Open Banking Industry Standards Setter

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has given Financial Data Exchange Inc. the green light to set standards for open banking in a first of its kind approval aimed at giving customers more control over their financial data.

  • January 09, 2025

    SPEX's Data Security Patent Award Boosted To $553M

    A California federal judge has tacked on about $237 million in interest to the $316 million damages verdict SPEX Technologies won after a jury found Western Digital infringed a patent related to hardware encryption technology.

  • January 09, 2025

    Highgate Hotels Hit With Suit Over Months-Long Data Breach

    A former employee seeking to represent a class claimed in New York federal court that real estate and hospitality management company Highgate Hotels failed to use basic cyberattack prevention tools, allowing hackers to access employee records for months.

  • January 09, 2025

    VITAS Must Face Wiretap Suit Over Customer Service Calls

    A California federal judge declined to toss a putative class action alleging VITAS Healthcare violated wiretapping laws by helping a third-party software developer eavesdrop on calls with VITAS' customers, noting Wednesday the third party was capable of using the data derived from the calls for its own purposes.

  • January 09, 2025

    5 Questions Attys Have About Supreme Court's TikTok Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Friday in TikTok's challenge to a law requiring the wildly popular social media platform to be divested from its Chinese parent company over national security concerns or face a nationwide ban, in an unusual First Amendment case attorneys say also raises broad procedural and legal questions.

  • January 09, 2025

    DOJ Fights Apple's Intervention In Google Search Remedies

    The U.S. Department of Justice is opposing Apple Inc.'s "eleventh-hour effort" to have a say in what should be a proper fix for Google's search monopoly, telling a D.C. federal judge that the company has had ample opportunity to defend its lucrative revenue-sharing agreement with Google.

  • January 09, 2025

    Texas Appeals Court Frees Google Of Incognito Mode Suit

    A Texas appeals court wiped Texas' deceptive trade practices suit alleging Google misleads consumers about the privacy available through its "Incognito" mode, finding in a Thursday opinion the lower court doesn't have jurisdiction to hear the case.

  • January 09, 2025

    MoFo Opens Fourth European Office In Amsterdam

    Morrison Foerster LLP has opened an office in Amsterdam to grow its privacy and data security practice, the firm announced Thursday.

  • January 08, 2025

    Consumers Get Class Cert. In Suit Over Law Firm's Robocalls

    A West Virginia federal judge has granted class status to consumers who are accusing a plaintiffs' firm of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by blasting them with unsolicited calls seeking their participation in litigation against the federal government over contaminated water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.

  • January 08, 2025

    Meta, Microsoft, Google Seek To Toss DNA Data-Sharing Suit

    DNA-testing platform Nebula Genomics, Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Google urged a Chicago federal judge to toss a putative class action accusing the companies of surreptitiously misusing customers' genetic data through tracking software on Nebula's website, arguing that the complaint lacks specifics tying the defendants to alleged wrongdoing.

  • January 08, 2025

    FCC Hikes Fines For Failing To Comply With Robocall Rules

    The Federal Communications Commission unveiled rules Wednesday to increase the penalties that telecommunication companies could face if they don't comply with their obligation to send information to a central database that tracks anti-robocall compliance.

  • January 08, 2025

    PowerPlan To Pay $24M, Ending Rival's Monopoly Claims

    Roper Technologies subsidiary PowerPlan Inc. has agreed to pay $24 million in a settlement with a rival firm formed by former employees who said the utility software giant tried to lock them out of the market by threatening litigation against them and prospective clients.

  • January 08, 2025

    Epic Gets Backing For Google App Store Changes

    Epic Games has received support from federal antitrust enforcers, Microsoft and others at the Ninth Circuit as the game developer fights Google's bid to appeal an order forcing the tech giant to loosen its policies surrounding the distribution of apps on Android devices.

  • January 08, 2025

    Rivers Casino Hit With Pa. Suit Over Data Breach

    The owner of Rivers Casino in Philadelphia has been accused of not doing enough to safeguard customers' personal information, which was exposed during a data breach incident last year, according to a new class action filed Wednesday in federal court.

  • January 08, 2025

    CFPB Hit With Industry Suit Over Medical Debt Reporting Rule

    A top trade group for the credit reporting industry has moved to challenge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new rule that would take billions of dollars in medical debt off credit reports, accusing the agency of overreach in a lawsuit filed in Texas federal court.

  • January 08, 2025

    H&R Block To Pay $7M Fine In False Ad Settlement With FTC

    Tax preparation giant H&R Block will pay a $7 million fine to help customers harmed by what the Federal Trade Commission called its deceptive advertising practices and make it easier for customers to downgrade to cheaper products under a settlement with the agency announced Wednesday.

  • January 08, 2025

    Google Still Has To Face Users' Mobile App Privacy Suit

    Google is facing the prospect of another trial, this time over allegations it secretly tracked millions of Google app users' browsing and ad interactions, after a California federal judge rejected the tech giant's bid for summary judgment.

  • January 08, 2025

    Ariz. Tribe Sues Social Media Giants Over Youth Mental Health

    An Apache tribe has hit all the social media giants with a suit in California federal court claiming the companies' platforms are designed to addict young people but have a particularly bad effect on Native American youth, who already face a high risk of depression, addiction and suicide.

  • January 08, 2025

    Mortgage Cos. Fined $20M Over Cybersecurity Breach

    Bayview Asset Management LLC and three affiliates on Wednesday agreed to pay a $20 million fine and improve their cybersecurity programs to settle allegations from 53 state financial regulators that the mortgage companies had deficient cybersecurity practices and didn't fully cooperate with regulators after a 2021 data breach.

  • January 08, 2025

    EU Commission To Pay €400 For Sending IP Address To Meta

    A European Union court ordered the bloc's commission on Wednesday to pay a German citizen €400 ($412) in compensation for operating a website that disclosed his IP address to Meta in breach of its own data regulations — a first for the executive branch.

  • January 07, 2025

    HHS Fines Mass. Health Firm $80K Over Ransomware Attack

    Elgon Information Systems, which provides digital medical record and billing support services, will pay $80,000 over alleged healthcare data protection rule violations following a ransomware attack on its systems in March 2023 that impacted roughly 31,248 customers, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday.

  • January 07, 2025

    'Cyber Trust Mark' To Soon Adorn Smart Devices, Gov't Says

    The makers of internet-connected devices such as home security cameras and voice-activated assistants will soon be able to obtain a label to certify that their products meet certain cybersecurity standards, under a new program officially launched by the Biden administration Tuesday. 

Expert Analysis

  • A Look At Calif.'s New AI Law For Health Insurers

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    A newly enacted California law prohibits artificial intelligence tools from making medical necessity determinations for healthcare service plans or disability insurers, addressing core questions that have arisen around AI's role in coverage decisions, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • To Report Or Not To Report Others' Export Control Violations

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    A recent Bureau of Industry and Security enforcement policy change grants cooperation credit to those that report violations of the Export Administration Regulations committed by others, but the benefits of doing so must be weighed against significant drawbacks, including the costs of preparing and submitting a report, says Megan Lew at Cravath.

  • Can SEC's Consolidated Audit Trail Survive Post-Chevron?

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is currently in a showdown at the Eleventh Circuit over its authority to maintain a national market system and require that the industry spend billions to maintain its consolidated audit trail, a case that is further complicated by the Loper Bright decision, says Daniel Hawke at Arnold & Porter.

  • State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape

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    Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.

  • How BIS' Rule Seeks To Encourage More Voluntary Disclosure

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    Updated incentives, penalties and enforcement resources in the Bureau of Industry and Security's recently published final rule revising the Export Administration Regulations should help companies decide how to implement export control compliance programs and whether to disclose possible violations, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • 8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney

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    A new school year is underway, marking a fitting time for attorneys to reflect on some fundamental life lessons from early childhood that offer a framework for problems that no legal textbook can solve, say Chris Gismondi and Chris Campbell at DLA Piper.

  • Navigating Complex Regulatory Terrain Amid State AG Races

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    This year's 10 attorney general elections could usher in a wave of new enforcement priorities and regulatory uncertainty, but companies can stay ahead of the shifts by building strong relationships with AG offices, participating in industry coalitions and more, say Ketan Bhirud and Dustin McDaniel at Cozen O’Connor.

  • Recent Securities Cases Highlight Risks In AI Disclosures

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    Increasing public disclosure about the use and risks of artificial intelligence, and related litigation asserting that such disclosures are false or misleading, suggest that issuers need to exercise great care with respect to how they describe the benefits of AI, say Richard Zelichov and Danny Tobey at DLA Piper.

  • Opinion

    This Election, We Need To Talk About Court Process

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    In recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has markedly transformed judicial processes — from summary judgment standards to notice pleadings — which has, in turn, affected individuals’ substantive rights, and we need to consider how the upcoming presidential election may continue this pattern, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Navigating HHS' New Reproductive Healthcare Privacy Rule

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    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' new final rule regarding protections for the privacy of reproductive health information will require regulated entities to grapple with difficult questions about whether to comply with state law requirements or federal privacy prohibitions, says Christine Chasse at Spencer Fane.

  • Series

    Playing Diplomacy Makes Us Better Lawyers

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    Similar to the practice of law, the rules of Diplomacy — a strategic board game set in pre-World War I Europe — are neither concise nor without ambiguity, and weekly gameplay with our colleagues has revealed the game's practical applications to our work as attorneys, say Jason Osborn and Ben Bevilacqua at Winston & Strawn.

  • Open Questions In Unsettled Geofence Warrant Landscape

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    The Fourth and Fifth Circuits recently reached radically divergent conclusions about the constitutionality of geofence warrants, creating an uncertain landscape in which defendants should assert and preserve the full range of conventional Fourth Amendment challenges, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.

  • A Look At 5 States' New Data Privacy Laws

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    With new data privacy laws in Utah, Florida, Texas, Oregon and Montana recently in effect or coming into force this year, state-level enforcement of data privacy creates significant challenges and risks for how businesses interact with employees and consumers, and for companies that provide and use technologies in multiple jurisdictions, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Antitrust In Retail: Why FTC Is Studying 'Surveillance Pricing'

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    The Federal Trade Commission's decision to study targeted "surveillance pricing" should provide greater clarity into the nature of the data aggregation industry, but also raises several issues, including whether these practices are in fact illegal under any established interpretations of U.S. antitrust law, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Mental Health First Aid: A Brief Primer For Attorneys

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    Amid a growing body of research finding that attorneys face higher rates of mental illness than the general population, firms should consider setting up mental health first aid training programs to help lawyers assess mental health challenges in their colleagues and intervene with compassion, say psychologists Shawn Healy and Tracey Meyers.

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