Monday, April 23, will begin Cyber Week, during which up to six different bills that focus on various aspects of cybersecurity may be considered on the House floor. The Rules Committee has not yet determined how the bills will be handled, but it is likely that the less controversial bills from the Committee on Science,… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Legislation
Subscribe to Legislation RSS FeedFTC Issues Long-Awaited Privacy Report
Posted in Federal Trade Commission, Legislation, Online Advertising, Privacy RegulationWritten by Adam Veness Earlier today, the FTC held a press conference and issued a final report setting forth best practices for businesses to protect American consumers and to provide consumers with greater control over the collection and use of their data. You can find the full report here: Final Commission Report on Protecting Consumer… Continue Reading
Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights – Summary and Invitation to Comment
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, Legislation, Privacy RegulationThe Department of Commerce has already taken the first steps to implementing the White House’s Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights announced last month. Commerce has invited comment on “what issues should be addressed through the privacy multi-stakeholder process and how to structure these discussions so they are open, transparent, and most productive.” According to the Federal… Continue Reading
President Obama: “American consumers can’t wait any longer….”
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, Federal Trade Commission, Legislation, Online Advertising, Privacy RegulationAt the White House today, President Obama unveiled his administration’s framework for new privacy regulations and the long-awaited white paper entitled “Consumer Data Privacy in a Networked World: A Framework for Protecting Privacy and Promoting Innovation in the Global Digital Economy.” This follows up on the Department of Commerce “green paper” issued well over a year… Continue Reading
A Top Five List: Data Security and Privacy Issues 2012
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, European Union, Federal Trade Commission, Legislation, Privacy RegulationHere is an article published in Westlaw Journal on the top 5 data security and privacy issues in 2012 (and there could be a “top 20″ if we’d had the column inches!) — a little crystal ball-gazing: Top 5 Commercial Data Security and Privacy Issues in 2012
Comprehensive Data Protection Reform Proposal Released by European Commission
Posted in Data Breach Notification, European Union, Legislation, Privacy Regulation, UncategorizedInternational Data Protection and Privacy Day is Monday, January 28th. The European Commission certainly found a way to mark the day. After weeks of intense speculation, the European Commission has released its sweeping package of legislation to reform the Data Protection Directive. We are analyzing the entire legislative package, which includes a new regulation and a directive… Continue Reading
FTC: Facebook “Deceived” Consumers by Failing to Keep Privacy Promises
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, Legislation“Facebook is obligated to keep the promises about privacy that it makes to its hundreds of millions of users” – Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced the long-rumored proposed consent decree with Facebook, settling allegations in a complaint that Facebook violated Section 5 of the FTC Act by failing to live… Continue Reading
Recommended Reading: Privacy Policy Paper on Online Behavioral Advertising Issues
Posted in European Union, Legislation, Online Advertising, Privacy RegulationMost of the legislative privacy buzz this session has centered around online behavioral advertising (OBA) — along with the Federal Trade Commission’s proposal for a universal “do-not-track.” The center of discussion for U.S. legislators and regulators has been clear and conspicuous disclosure to users about OBA and to allow opt-outs. Regulators on the EU are… Continue Reading
Cybersecurity and privacy expert joins ML Strategies
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, Legislation, Privacy RegulationWe have a new expert in the house for cybersecurity, privacy and technology issues. Our government relations affiliate, ML Strategies has announced a new Manager of Government Relations, Rachel Sanford. Before coming aboard ML Strategies, Rachel served as a Senior Consultant on privacy and cybersecurity issues at IBM. While at IBM, Ms. Sanford was a… Continue Reading
House Committee to Discuss EU Privacy Regulation
Posted in European Union, LegislationOn Thursday, September 15, the U.S. House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade will hold a hearing on “Internet Privacy: The Impact and Burden of EU Regulation.” The hearing will focus on the EU’s privacy and data collection regulations and how they have impacted the internet economy. A witness list is available here . Given the most… Continue Reading
Privacy and the Smart Grid: California Public Utilities Commission Adopts Smart Grid Data Protection Rules
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, LegislationWritten by Julia Siripurapu Recently the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in a unanimous decision approved data protection rules for the following Smart Grid providers: Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas and Electric Company, and the companies that assist them in utility operations, companies under contract with the utilities, and… Continue Reading
Privacy Still on Congressional Radar Screen
Posted in Data Breach, Data Breach Notification, Data Compliance & Security, LegislationLawmakers, industry leaders and officials from the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Commerce generally expressed support last week for Federal legislation on Internet privacy and data security during a Senate Commerce Committee hearing. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), who introduced S. 913, the “Do-Not-Track Online Act of 2011,” which… Continue Reading
If you don’t want privacy regulation — FTC advises industry to “move quickly”
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, Legislation, Online AdvertisingThe Federal Trade Commission’s public comment period on its preliminary staff report, Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change: A Proposed Framework for Businesses and Policymakers, has closed. The FTC received over 300 comments during the extended comment period, including several states. It is looking more likely that some form of privacy regulation… Continue Reading
FTC to Industry on Consumer Privacy: You “Must Do Better” – UPDATE
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, Legislation, Online AdvertisingFTC Report Supports “Do-Not-Track” and sets out comprehensive framework for consumer privacy
Analysis of Proposed HHS Regulations Implementing HITECH Act
Posted in LegislationAs promised last week in an earlier post, here is our first Mintz Levin client advisory analyzing the 234 pages of regulations issued on Thursday by the Department of Health and Human Services. Thanks to colleagues Alden Bianchi, Dianne Bourque and Stephen Bentfield. The regulations are slated to be published in the Federal Register tomorrow,… Continue Reading
REMINDER – HITECH/201 CMR 17.00 Compliance Workshop
Posted in LegislationJust a reminder of the FREE upcoming data security compliance workshop – Space is limited, so register today at http://tinyurl.com/35pk3yr! On July 13, Mintz Levin will be joined by Sophos, Six Weight Consulting, and MFA Cornerstone Consulting to hold a free compliance workshop focused on both the gaps and overlap of Massachusetts’ data protection regulation… Continue Reading
First Ever State-initiated HIPAA Enforcement Action Settled
Posted in LegislationWritten by Dianne Bourque Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has settled the first state-initiated HIPAA enforcement action. The settlement totals $250,000 in statutory damages and Health Net’s agreement to implement a variety of measures to improve the security of consumer health and personal information. Health Net also agreed to provide two years of credit monitoring… Continue Reading
HHS (Finally!) Issues Proposed HIPAA Privacy & Security Rule Changes
Posted in LegislationThe long-awaited proposed changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rules have finally been released by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). A joint statement issued today by the HHS and the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) says that the proposed regulations “would expand individuals’ rights to access their information and restrict certain disclosures of… Continue Reading
Latest Postponements and Exemptions of FTC Enforcement of ‘Red Flags’ Rule
Posted in LegislationWritten by Kenneth Gantz At the urging of congressional lawmakers, the Federal Trade Commission has for the fifth time delayed enforcement of the “Red Flags” Rule – this time through December 31, 2010. In the interim, Congress plans to consider legislation that would alter the scope of entities covered under the Rule. Under the Fair… Continue Reading
FTC Highlights Need for Privacy and Security in Internet Commerce
Posted in LegislationWritten by Jillian Collins The Federal Trade Commission has weighed in as part of the Department of Commerce’s public comment process on privacy and security issues. According to the FTC’s comment, consumers trusting that their personal information will be safeguarded is essential to the success of e-commerce, and innovation is essential to ensuring privacy in… Continue Reading
Red Flags Rule Compliance Date Approaching – American Medical Association Sues
Posted in LegislationIt’s been a while since we have visited the Federal Trade Commission’s Red Flags Rule here in this blog. The oft-postponed deadline is now fast approaching on June 1. Except, that is, for lawyers and now, doctors. On Friday, the American Medical Association filed a lawsuit against the FTC for defining physicians as “creditors” and… Continue Reading
Proposed HITECH Regulations Out in May?
Posted in LegislationBuried in a part of today’s Federal Register was the publication of the Department of Health and Human Services’ regulatory agenda. The agenda presents a forecast of expected HHS rulemaking activities and suggests that in May of this year HHS will issue the long-awaited proposed rules to modify the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Enforcement Rules… Continue Reading
Federal Regulators Release Model Consumer Privacy Notice Online Form Builder
Posted in LegislationLast year, the eight federal regulators that regulate the financial services industry issued a “simplified” model privacy notice that was published in the Federal Register on December 1, 2009. Today, the regulators released an “Online Form Builder” to guide a covered institution to select the version of the model form that fits its practices, such… Continue Reading
More detail on Dave & Buster’s FTC Settlement
Posted in LegislationAs we blogged here last week, we were going to post our Client Alert with further details about the settlement and consent order reached by the restaurant chain Dave & Buster’s and the Federal Trade Commission relating to the breach suffered by the chain. Here is the alert — Privacy and Security Alert: Popular Restaurant… Continue Reading
