Earlier this week we blogged about Senator Blumenthal's (D-CT) proposed Personal Data Protection and Breach Accountability Act of 2011. Today, InfoLawGroup partner Boris Segalis spoke on Fox Live about the advantages of federal information security legislation.
Building on the InfoLawGroup's depth of experience in social networking and social media, Attorneys David Navetta and Richard Santalesa have co-authored a new whitepaper with the ACE Group, a global leader in insurance and reinsurance, entitled Social Media: The Business Benefits May be Enormous, But Can the Risks - Reputational, Legal, Operational - be Mitigated?
On July 20, 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee's Trade Subcommittee approved the Secure and Fortify Electronic Data Act (the "SAFE Data Act"). The Act would require any business that maintains personal information to implement an information security program and notify affected individuals in the event of an information security breach. The SAFE Data Act would preempt the over 45 existing state information security and breach notification laws and task the Federal Trade Commission with developing information security rules implementing the Act.
Last week, the upper house of Russia's federal legislature approved amendments to the country's federal data protection law. The amendments impose detailed information security requirements on businesses that process personal data and revise some of the statute's data subject consent provisions.The amended law will come into force when it is published in the official newsletter.
On May 3, 2011, the Federal Trade Commission announced that Ceridian Corporation and Lookout Services, Inc. agreed to settle the FTC's allegations that the companies failed to safeguard their business customers' employee personal information. Ceridian's services include payroll processing, payroll-related tax filing, benefits administration and other human resource services for business customers. Lookout provides a web-based computer product that is designed to help employers comply with their obligations under federal law to complete and maintain a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Form I-9 about each employee in order to verify that the employee is eligible to work in the United States.
As we have reported previously on our blog, federal agencies, including the FTC, NLRB and EEOC have been very active in taking action against privacy and information security violations. This trend continues with the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC's) recent announcement of a settlement with three former executives a brokerage firm (GunnAllen Financial, Inc.). The SEC alleged that the former executives violated the Commission's Privacy Rule and Safeguards Rule (Regulation S-P) and aided and abetted the firm in violating these rules. This enforcement action marks the first time the SEC assessed financial penalties against individuals charged solely with violating Regulation S-P.
InfoLawGroup was recently profiled in the Los Angeles Daily Journal. "The Social (Law Firm) Network" is reprinted here with permission from the Daily Journal. We wish all of our clients, friends, and readers a great weekend.
The Google Buzz settlement that the Federal Trade Commission announced on March 30, 2011 is the latest in the line of the Commission's numerous Section 5 actions related to privacy and data security violations. The Google Buzz settlement, however, is unique in several important ways. The settlement represents (i) the first FTC settlement order has requires a company to implement a comprehensive privacy program to protect the privacy of consumers' information, and (ii) the Commission's first substantive U.S.-EU Safe Harbor framework enforcement action. Let's dive in (make sure to read the "Action Item" at the conclusion of the post!).
As we have previously reported on our blog, 2011 has seen a whirlwind of privacy enforcement activity. The FTC, NLRB, EEOC, HHS and FINRA have all taken privacy enforcement actions this year. This March, the FTC has announced privacy settlements with Chitika and Twitter.
On February 1, 2011, the Department of Energy announced the launch of the Cyber Security Initiative to develop cyber security risk management process guidelines for the electric grid. The Department's Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability will lead the effort in collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation.
The Blog of Legal Times is reporting that late on December 7, 2010 the House of Representatives passed a bill on a voice vote that amends the definition of "creditor" in the Fair and Accurate Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and, as a result, dramatically limits the scope of the Red Flags Rule. The House bill is identical to the legislation enacted by the Senate last week. We previously covered in detail on our blog both the House bill and the Senate bill.The legislation has the effect of largely limiting the applicability of the Red Flags Rule to financial institutions and entities commonly understood to be "creditors". It will generally exclude from the Rule's scope organizations whose "credit" activities are limited to providing a product or service and allowing customers to pay for the product or service at a later time. The legislation leaves open the possibility that the FTC would bring various types of creditors within the scope of the Rule through rulemaking. However, it sets a procedural threshold for expanding the scope of the Rule and appears to require the determination to be specific to the type of creditor. "When I think of the word 'creditor,' dentists, accounting firms and law firms do not come to mind," said Rep. John Adler (D-N.J.), speaking on the House floor.
Many of you probably read earlier this month that California's Office of Administrative Law approved the California Department of Insurance's proposal to repeal certain privacy regulations. The California changes actually have greater significance than may be apparent on a quick glance. Although rarely noted in the media coverage, State insurance privacy regulations across the country (not just in California) find their roots in the federal Gramm Leach Bliley Act, so California's decision to make such changes provides a helpful illustration of the extraordinarily complex and confusing web of privacy regulation that governs even small organizations in this country. Also, California's move with respect to these changes contravenes the conventional wisdom that California is a renegade pro-consumer state when it comes to privacy regulation. Many of our followers have asked me to break down this newest California development, so here goes.
Today, the Federal Trade Commission announced the launch of a business center portal to help businesses understand and comply with privacy and information security requirements that the FTC enforces. The new portal provides centralized access to the FTC's privacy and information security regulations, enforcement actions and guides. The main portal also offers information about compliance with advertising, credit, telemarketing and myriad other requirements. A series of short videos explain what businesses need to know to comply, and the business center blog offers latest compliance tips and information.