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Cybersecurity, Privacy, Data Protection, Artificial Intelligence, Internet Law, and Policy

January 31, 2022

1. What has the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced?

On January 27, The UK’s competition regulator, the CMA, has formally launched a market study into music streaming; see its Market Study Notice.

The market study will look at whether competition in the music streaming value chain is working well for consumers. It will focus on three key areas: competition among music companies; competition among music streaming services; and the impact on competition of agreements between music companies and music streaming services. (more…)

Patrick J. Harrison

London

pharrison@sidley.com

Tom Bainbridge

Monika Zdzieborska

London

mzdzieborska@sidley.com

Ken Daly

Brussels

kdaly@sidley.com

Jan 282022

U.S. and Foreign Cybersecurity and Intelligence Agencies Recommend Measures to Counteract Threat of Russian Cyberattacks

Cybersecurity, Information Security, International, National Security

Vishnu Tirumala, Alan Charles Raul, Sujit Raman and Stephen W. McInerney

January 28, 2022

On January 11, 2022, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the National Security Agency (NSA) recently released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory warning critical infrastructure operators about the threat of Russian state-sponsored cyberattacks and recommended best practices to minimize disruption from such an attack (the “Advisory”).

The advisory was promptly endorsed by the National Cyber Security Centre, a division of Government Communications Headquarters (“GCHQ”), a UK intelligence agency. Within a few days, data security experts at Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks (“PANW”), and Mandiant confirmed reports of increasing Russian cyberactivity and offered their own recommendations for hardening measures (many of which overlap with the Advisory). (more…)

Vishnu Tirumala

Washington, D.C.

vtirumala@sidley.com

Alan Charles Raul

Washington, D.C., New York

araul@sidley.com

Sujit Raman

Stephen W. McInerney

Chicago

smcinerney@sidley.com

Jan 272022

5 Key European Data Protection Trends for 2022

EU, International, Legislation, Policy

William RM Long, Francesca Blythe and Subhalakshmi Kumar

January 27, 2022

It seems there will be a packed agenda for EU and UK data protection this coming year. We set out below the 5 hot topics to watch in 2022 including expected legislative reforms, the most interesting cases to follow, and areas which are expected to continue to receive regulatory attention. (more…)

William RM Long

London

wlong@sidley.com

Francesca Blythe

London

fblythe@sidley.com

Subhalakshmi Kumar

Jan 262022

Caremark’s Comeback Includes Potential Director Liability in Connection With Data Breaches

Information Security, Litigation, SEC, Security Breaches

Robert S. Velevis and Christina C. Koenig

January 26, 2022

A Caremark-based claim against a board of directors alleging a failure to monitor corporate operations has been said to be “the most difficult theory in corporation law upon which a plaintiff might hope to win a judgment,” or at least to withstand a motion to dismiss. Yet, Caremark has taken on renewed importance following recent high-profile successes on duty-to-oversee claims, most notably in Marchand v. Barnhill in 2019 and In re Boeing in September 2021, and recent shareholder lawsuits alleging that data breach- and cybersecurity-related failures would have been preventable were it not for oversight failures by corporate officers and directors, are being plead asserting Caremark claims. (more…)

Robert S. Velevis

rvelevis@xxxxxx.com

Christina C. Koenig

Dallas

christina.koenig@sidley.com

Jan 242022

Uniform Law Commission Proposes “Reasonable” Uniform Personal Data Protection Act for State-by-State Adoption as Federal Privacy Bills Languish

Legislation, Online Privacy, Policy, U.S. State Law

Vishnu Tirumala, Colleen Theresa Brown, Alan Charles Raul and Michele L. Aronson

January 24, 2022

Introduction

As data breaches become more common, increased public attention on privacy has led to a flurry of state-level activity on the issue. With a federal privacy bill languishing in Congress, the states have taken the lead. California, Colorado, and Virginia have all passed comprehensive privacy laws in the past three years. In 2021, an additional twenty-one states considered a comprehensive privacy bill.

Considering the serious risk of fragmentation that could arise from dozens of distinct privacy statutes, the Uniform Law Commission has proposed a model bill – the Uniform Personal Data Protection Act (“UPDPA”). The Uniform Law Commission’s model bills, such as the Uniform Commercial Code, are often influential in the development of state laws. The UPDPA will be available for states’ 2022 legislative sessions, with a bill having already been introduced in the District of Columbia.

If adopted, the UPDPA offers a more business-friendly framework than many of the existing and proposed state privacy laws. (more…)