Clean-Up Bill Advances to Amend the New California Consumer Privacy Act
On Friday, August 31, the California legislature unanimously passed a host of “clean-up” amendments to the new California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), AB 375, as it set about addressing flaws and other concerns in the state’s groundbreaking data privacy law. These amendments are now awaiting Governor Brown’s signature. (more…)
NYDFS Cybersecurity Regulation: Additional Cybersecurity Program Safeguards Due September 4, 2018
Companies subject to New York’s Cybersecurity Regulation are acting quickly to finalize their compliance obligations as the fifth “due date,” September 4, 2018, quickly approaches.
By September 4, 2018, Covered Entities must ensure that their cybersecurity programs have in place certain additional safeguards:
- an audit trail that shows detection of and response to material cybersecurity events;
- written security procedures, guidelines, and standards for the development of in-house applications and for the evaluation and testing of externally developed applications;
- data retention policies and procedures for the disposal on a periodic basis of nonpublic information no longer necessary for business operations;
- risk-based policies, procedures, and controls to monitor the activity of authorized users and detect unauthorized access; and security controls, such as encryption, to protect non-public business relations and personal information.
Notably, for this upcoming deadline, Covered Entities that have received a limited exemption must still comply with the regulatory provision regarding data retention policies and procedures for the periodic disposal of nonpublic information. (more…)
Regulatory Update: NAIC Summer 2018 National Meeting
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) held its Summer 2018 National Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, from August 4 to 7, 2018. This post summarizes the highlights from this meeting. (more…)
HHS Secretary Azar Signals Future Changes to Federal Health Privacy Regulations
In a recent speech outlining the Trump Administration’s healthcare regulatory reform efforts, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar announced that the Administration will soon begin considering changes to federal health privacy regulations. (more…)
South Carolina Becomes the First State to Enact the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Insurance Data Security Model Law
In October 2017, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) adopted an Insurance Data Security Model Law. According to NAIC’s news release announcing this development, the Model Law was meant to build on the organization’s cybersecurity progress and create a “platform that enhances our mission of protecting consumers.” (For more information on the development of the Model Law, see our prior coverage.) (more…)
Board Oversight of Cybersecurity Risks
*This article originally appeared in Practical Law Journal July/August 2018.
In her regular column on corporate governance issues, Holly Gregory discusses the rapidly changing cybersecurity landscape, and the role of the board in addressing cybersecurity risks to the company.
California Enacts Broad Privacy Laws Modeled on GDPR
On June 28, 2018, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (AB 375). According to the bill’s author, it was consciously designed to emulate the new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that went into effect on May 25, and if and when it goes into effect, it would constitute the broadest privacy law in the United States. It is intended to give consumers more transparency regarding and control over their data and establishes highly detailed requirements for what companies that collect personal data about California residents must disclose. (more…)
California’s GDPR? Sweeping California Privacy Ballot Initiative Could Bring Sea Change to U.S. Privacy Regulation and Enforcement
*UPDATE: The ballot initiative has been replaced by a new California law, AB 375. Please see California Enacts Broad Privacy Protections Modeled on GDPR for more information.
On June 25, 2018, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced that a potentially significant privacy initiative is eligible for the Nov. 6 general election ballot. If passed, the ballot initiative — the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) — would immediately make sweeping changes to California’s privacy laws. This initiative would likely create a de facto national standard on transparency around third-party sharing as well as consumer rights to restrict data sharing and could affect many business models that depend on data monetization to offer a free good or service. Many see the law as having echoes of the new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that went into effect on May 25. If voters pass the initiative, it would go into effect shortly after the election — providing little time to develop an extensive internal regulatory program, yet providing immediate exposure to penalties for failures to have those extensive compliance processes in operation. (more…)
A Flurry of Recent Cybersecurity Activity from the Trump Administration
Soon after he took office, President Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 13800, Strengthening the Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure. Given that the President spent much of his campaign and early Presidency trying to distance his Administration from that of his predecessor, commentators noted a surprising amount of continuity between Trump’s cybersecurity EO and the Obama Administration’s approach to cybersecurity. A focus on critical infrastructure and transparency from publicly traded companies that control it; an emphasis on the public and private sectors working together; reliance on standards promulgated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology; a focus on protecting the Federal Government’s networks, including by taking steps toward using shared infrastructure such as the cloud – EO 13800 builds on existing policies and initiatives in each of these areas and others. (more…)
European Lawmakers Call on the EU to Suspend the EU-U.S. ‘Data Transfer’ Privacy Shield
On 11 June 2018, members of a Committee within the European parliament (“MEPs”) narrowly voted in favour of suspending the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield (“Privacy Shield”), an agreement that facilitates the transfer of personal data of EU data subjects to the U.S., unless the U.S. government fully complies with the Privacy Shield data protection requirements by 1 September 2018. Although the resolution is only a draft and has no legal effect, it reflects continued European concerns surrounding Privacy Shield. (more…)
