On October 10, 2019, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra issued proposed regulations implementing and interpreting the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The draft regulations address privacy policies, consumer notices, practices for handling consumer requests, ways to verify consumer requests, requirements regarding minors, and rules governing nondiscrimination practices. The regulations are currently in draft form, with
State attorneys general work with telecom giants to address robocalls
Robocalls: everyone receives one or two, but more likely dozens. While some are helpful, most are annoying, and the worst can result in financial fraud. While the FCC and Congress have been taking steps toward addressing the issue, state attorneys general (AGs) have taken the first major action to end unwanted robocalls. On August 22,
Equifax agrees to enhanced security and privacy measures and will pay states and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at least $575 million to resolve multistate investigation of 2017 data breach.
The recently announced multistate settlement between credit reporting company Equifax Inc. and the Attorneys General of 48 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia (the AGs) demonstrates the increasingly active role of state regulators in policing the privacy and security practices of businesses that handle consumers’ personal information. The multistate settlement is part of a comprehensive agreement between Equifax, the AGs, and other state and federal regulators, under which Equifax will pay at least $575 million and up to $700 million to resolve investigations and litigation arising out of a 2017 data breach alleged to have affected over 147 million consumers.
Continue Reading Equifax agrees to enhanced security and privacy measures and will pay states and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at least $575 million to resolve multistate investigation of 2017 data breach.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce assembles key stakeholders to discuss data privacy
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (the “Chamber”) recently hosted a data privacy summit, “#DataDoneRight”, which brought together a group of industry professionals, government stakeholders, and privacy thought leaders to talk about data privacy.
The Chamber, which has proposed federal privacy legislation, engaged a wide variety of speakers, covering multiple viewpoints, to demonstrate the need
GA AG Carr talks data privacy at U.S. Chamber of Commerce
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce last week gathered a diverse, bipartisan group of policymakers, regulators, industry representatives and thought leaders to discuss all things data privacy at #DataDoneRight, its 2019 privacy summit. Topics included the California Consumer Privacy Act, the possibility of federal privacy legislation and working with privacy regulators, and the summit featured a
State AGs continue to consider new ways to protect data privacy
As states’ “top cops,” one of the primary responsibilities of state attorneys general (AGs) is consumer protection, and more and more AGs are focusing on how to protect consumer data privacy. Discussions at the recent Conference of Western Attorneys General (“CWAG”) Annual Meeting in Santa Barbara reflect this focus and demonstrate that state enforcers are
Nevada and Oregon expand their data privacy laws
May was a busy month for state privacy law updates and amendments. In addition to amendments made by Texas to its breach notification law, both Oregon and Nevada expanded their privacy-related laws this month, while Illinois’s CCPA-like law failed to pass after a variety of amendments related to whether the law would allow for
FTC and DC Attorney General’s office discuss federal and state privacy trends at Reed Smith
On May 21, 2019, representatives of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Office of DC Attorney General (AG) Karl Racine visited Reed Smith to discuss data privacy trends to watch at the federal and state level. In an IAPP KnowledgeNet presentation moderated by Reed Smith partner Divonne Smoyer, Maneesha Mithal (associate director of the FTC’s Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, Bureau of Consumer Protection) and Ben Wiseman (director of AG Racine’s Office of Consumer Protection) discussed their expectations for a federal privacy law, expanding state authority in the privacy arena, and privacy resources, among other things, in a wide-ranging conversation.
Continue Reading FTC and DC Attorney General’s office discuss federal and state privacy trends at Reed Smith
An interview with Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan
Check out this month’s edition of The Privacy Advisor, a publication of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), for Aaron Lancaster and Divonne Smoyer’s and Q&A with Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan. As attorney general, he has taken an active role in advocating for consumers’ rights with respect to privacy and
State Attorneys General and the data economy: lead, protect, enforce
With the passage of the California Consumer Privacy Act but no clear federal consumer privacy law on the imminent horizon, state Attorneys General (AGs) continue to investigate and analyze how best to protect their consumers. To further that goal, the National Association of Attorneys General hosted a panel entitled Emerging Issues in the Data Economy at its Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C. The panel was convened to discuss the role AGs can and should play in data privacy in an ever-changing economy. Doug Peterson, Nebraska’s AG, moderated the panel, which included Maneesha Mithal, Associate Director, Division of Privacy and Identity Protection at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Ryan Krieger, Assistant AG, Public Protection Division of the Vermont Attorney General’s Office, and Daniel Castro, Vice President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
As with recent House and Senate Hearings addressing these topics, the focus remained on balance: what the legal landscape should look like, who should be doing the enforcing and how that enforcement should work, and how to protect consumers without stifling innovation and entrepreneurship.Continue Reading State Attorneys General and the data economy: lead, protect, enforce