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On Friday, August 2, Governor J.B. Pritzker of Illinois signed into law SB2979, an amendment to the state’s landmark biometric privacy law. The amendment offers a welcome step forward to correcting the rapid overexpansion of potential damages associated with violations of the law without curbing any of its privacy protections. The measure amends the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”) in two significant ways. First, the law, as amended now expressly includes electronic signatures as a form of “written release.” Second, the amendment limits actions for recovery to a maximum of one violation per plaintiff, rather than one violation per instance of collection or transmission of biometric information. This post examines the amendment and its impacts on businesses collecting biometric information in the state. We also highlight notable biometric privacy developments in Texas.Continue Reading Biometric Privacy Update: Illinois Legislature Balances BIPA, but Don’t Mess with Texas

Following up on announcements of sweeps from late January, last week California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a settlement with the popular food delivery service DoorDash related to allegations that DoorDash breached the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA). The announcement doubles down on the Attorney General’s reiteration that privacy will continue to be priority for his office, while the new California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) is getting up to speed.Continue Reading DoorDash and California Attorney General Reach Settlement Over Privacy Allegations

Just before the July 4th holiday, the California Superior Court in Sacramento gave businesses struggling to comply with the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”) a small gift by delaying enforcement of the CPRA’s regulations until March of 2024 at the earliest. While helpful in some respects, discussed below, the ruling does not expressly prohibit the California Privacy Protection Agency (“Agency”) from enforcing the underlying text of the CPRA where implementing regulations are not required. Ashkan Soltani, the executive director of the Agency, has been quoted as stating that “significant portions” of the law can still be enforced immediately. 

In short, businesses should not assume the Agency will remain idle. CPRA compliance remains a priority, though the Agency has indicated that enforcement is likely to proceed slowly at first—given staffing shortages at the Agency—with an initial emphasis on voluntary compliance. Further clarity on the Agency’s enforcement plans may be forthcoming on July 14, when the Agency is scheduled to hold a board meeting featuring Michael Macko, the Agency’s Deputy Director of Enforcement, who will provide an update on the Agency’s enforcement priorities.Continue Reading Enforcement of CPRA Regulations Delayed, but CPRA Compliance Still a Priority

On July 18, 2022, the UK Government introduced into Parliament the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (the Data Reform Bill), which proposes legislation to reform the UK data protection regime.  A recent article in Entertainment Law Review by Ropes & Gray attorneys Rohan Massey, Christopher Foo & Edward Machin analyzes the Data Reform Bill’s…

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On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade and holding that there is no constitutionally protected right to abortion. The significance of the decision cannot be overstated. Dobbs not only rolled back the Court’s prior protection of reproductive rights, it also raised still-unanswered questions about the privacy of digital data and could lead to the overturning of other previous Court opinions that are similarly grounded in privacy interests. In sparking such questions, Dobbs appears to have reinvigorated a national conversation regarding the protection of personal information and, more generally, the need for stronger data privacy safeguards in the United States.Continue Reading Four Months after Dobbs, Privacy Concerns Remain in the Spotlight

The California Attorney General’s office (OAG) recently released its first formal written opinion on the scope of the rights granted to consumers under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), specifically, the right for a consumer to know about the personal information that a business collects from them. The opinion comes in response to a question submitted by California Assembly member Kevin Kiley as to whether a consumer’s right to know the specific pieces of personal information that a business has collected about that consumer applies to internally generated inferences the business holds about them. The OAG asserted that the right to know does apply to such inferences, albeit with certain key exceptions.
Continue Reading California Attorney General’s Office Releases First Formal CCPA Opinion

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A recent decision by the Austrian Supervisory Authority (“SA”) casts a spotlight on the complexities of data transfers and cookie use, and highlights a shift in regulatory focus onto these topics in the year ahead. Regulators around Europe are increasingly beginning to weigh in on such transfers, and the outcomes of their deliberations will shape the data transfer compliance landscape in the months to come. These decisions present complex questions about the future of data transfers in the EU and UK.
Continue Reading Increased EU Scrutiny of US Data Transfers Through Cookie Use

NY

Since the passage of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in 2018, many states have proposed sweeping data protection legislation, but only two others, Colorado and Virginia, have so far succeeded in passing such laws. That may soon change. In 2021, several states came close to enacting comprehensive privacy legislation and that momentum has continued into this year, with data protection bills being carried over, introduced, and reintroduced in state legislatures across the country. As the possibility of a federal privacy law dwindles—particularly during this midterm year—state legislatures are poised to be the source of major data protection developments in 2022. Throughout the year, Ropes & Gray will monitor and analyze these developments in state privacy laws, beginning with a discussion of the latest iteration of the proposed New York Privacy Act.
Continue Reading State Privacy Law Developments: The New York Privacy Act

DNA

Law360 (October 4, 2021, 5:30 PM EDT) —
On June 29, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law H.B. 833, known as the Protecting DNA Privacy Act.

The act took effect on Oct. 1, and applies to the collection, use, retention, maintenance and disclosure of a DNA sample collected from an individual in Florida as well as the results of any subsequent DNA analysis. The act is self-executing and took effect without the need for creation of implementing regulations.

The act clarifies the extent to which individuals own their genetic information, and it creates new crimes for the unlawful collection, retention, analysis, disclosure or sale of an individual’s DNA sample and the results of a DNA analysis, subject to certain limited exemptions, such as use for specified clinical or research purposes.

The act also has important implications for secondary uses of data by health care providers and others that perform genetic testing and analyze genetic information.Continue Reading What Florida’s DNA Privacy Law Means For Health Care Providers

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On August 20, 2021, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress promulgated the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), which will become effective on November 1, 2021. The PIPL is the first comprehensive national level personal information protection law in China, which systematically regulates the processing of personal information by entities and individuals. The PIPL, together with the Cybersecurity Law, which was promulgated in 2017, and the Data Security Law, which was promulgated earlier this year, form the three pillars of China’s comprehensive data protection legal regime.

This Alert provides a summary of the highlights of the PIPL, discusses the implications on domestic and foreign businesses operating in China, and compares the PIPL with the European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which has greatly influenced many of the concepts included in the PIPL.
Continue Reading China Passes Personal Information Protection Law