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Privacy Monday - August 18, 2014

August 18, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

There is another retail data breach to talk about in this Privacy Monday post – privacy & security bits and bytes to start your week.
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Privacy Monday - August 11, 2014

August 11, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

We are just two Mondays away from Labor Day, the traditional end of summer in the United States. Here are some privacy tidbits to get your week started. See especially Jake Romero's piece on the new Delaware data destruction law.
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Microsoft Loses Round in Fight Over Email Held in Irish Data Center

August 8, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

Rarely do Microsoft, AT&T, Verizon, Apple, Cisco and the ACLU all agree on a particular subject; rarer still that such an unlikely coalition fails.
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What You Need to Know About Backoff Malware: the New Threat Targeting Retailers

August 5, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

The phrase “back off” is an implied threat typically reserved for bumper stickers and mud flaps, but if you are a retailer that permits the use of remote desktop applications in your business, the name Backoff should be considered much more intimidating.
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Privacy Monday: July 28, 2014

July 28, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

The last Monday in July -- the summer of 2014 is rapidly slipping away! Here are some privacy and security bits and bytes for this last week of July:
US Congress Heads Out on August Recess Soon - Much to Do
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Honing in on the new rules for the transfer of personal data outside of the EEA

July 24, 2014 | Blog

The current mechanisms for legitimizing such transfers, including adequacy assessments, Binding Corporate Rules, model contracts, and express consent, are retained. Also, an important “derogation” for infrequent, small transfers has been endorsed.
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No news doesn’t mean it’s gone away: Timing Update for the EU Data Protection Regulation

July 24, 2014 | Blog

To recap the legislative process, the EU Commission, Parliament and Council all need to agree on the final wording of the new Regulation. The EU Commission put forth a first draft in 2012 and the Parliament proposed a much more pro-individual draft in March 2014. 
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Update on Google Unauthorized Children’s In-App Purchase Class Action: THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

July 23, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

U.S. District Court Judge Ronald M. Whyte has issued an order  granting in part and denying in part Google’s Motion to Dismiss the class action filed against the Company on ­March 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California as a result of unauthorized children’s in-app purchases in the Google Play Store.
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COPPA Update: FTC Provides More Flexibility on Obtaining Verifiable Parental Consent

July 22, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

Some clarification and a bit more flexibility was forthcoming late last week from the Federal Trade Commission to help ease compliance with the "new" COPPA.
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Privacy Monday: July 21, 2014

July 21, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

We are now officially in the throes of "midsummer" on this Privacy Monday.  And, on occasion in the data privacy world, we agree with Will Shakespeare's words....“Lord, what fools these mortals be!”
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Changes in Breach Notification Risk Assessments Under HIPAA

July 18, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

The American Bar Association Health Law Section’s July 2014 eSource publication includes an article by Dianne Bourque, Kimberly Gold, and Stephanie Willis that provides examples of how risk assessments under the Breach Notification Rule have changed since the HIPAA Omnibus Rule went into effect in September 2013.
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Even in Privacy Cases, Risk of Injury Does not Always Equal Injury

July 16, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

It’s an ancient conundrum; if a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Privacy litigation may well offer the closest jurisprudential equivalent; if data is stolen, but no one does anything with it, has there been an injury? 
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Privacy Monday: July 14, 2014

July 14, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

Children, according to Whitney Houston, are our future, but they are also, according to the Federal Trade Commission, willing to spend unlimited amounts of money to purchase virtual items within mobile applications. 
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Backlash Over Facebook Timeline Experiment Serves as a Reminder: User Expectations Still Trump Fine Print

July 9, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

If you are one of the approximately 1.3 billion people who use Facebook, you’ve likely experienced the phenomenon where a single event (like Luiz Suarez biting that Italian guy or pretty much anything involving TSA) manages to raise the ire of a large number of your Facebook friends, causing them to flood your timeline with single-issue Facebook user rage. 
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Hulu Scores a Victory (at least temporarily) in Avoiding Class Certification

July 1, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

Another important decision has been rendered in the ongoing In re: Hulu Privacy Litigation saga pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, this time denying – without prejudice – the proposed certification of a class of Hulu users pursuing claims involving Hulu’s allegedly wrongful disclosure of “cookies.”
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Privacy Monday - June 30, 2014

June 30, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

Not only the last Monday in June, but the last day of June. There are quite a few privacy-related things taking effect tomorrow, July 1.  
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SCOTUS to Police on Cellphone Searches: "Get a warrant"

June 27, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

Finding that cellphones contain the "privacies of life", the U.S. Supreme Court issued a broad endorsement of cell phone privacy, unanimously holding that law enforcement may not search digital information seized from an arrestee’s person without first obtaining a warrant.
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Wyndham Gets Life Preserver in Data Breach Case

June 27, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

New Jersey U.S. District Judge Esther Salas agreed to allow Wyndham Hotels and Resorts LLC to immediately appeal to the Third Circuit a ruling affirming the FTC’s authority to bring data security cases.
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D'oh! OCR Confirms that Medical Records Should Not be Left in the Driveway

June 26, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

The most recent Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) HIPAA enforcement action serves as an important reminder to health care providers of the security risks associated with a mishandled medical records custody transfer and the risks of leaving paper records in the driveway. 
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To our US Readers: Your Privacy & Security Matters Blog Public Service for Thursday, June 26

June 26, 2014 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose

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