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
On July 8, 2021, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed the Colorado Privacy Act (the “Colorado Law”), a comprehensive privacy law that will take effect on July 1, 2023, into law. Colorado is the third U.S. state to pass a comprehensive privacy law, following California (the CCPA, as modified by the CPRA) and Virginia (the CDPA).
In news that is likely to concern individuals and privacy activists alike, it has been reported that the NHS booking system for COVID-19 vaccinations has led to complaints that it could be used to reveal the vaccination status of individuals through the use of simple personal information.
The European Commission (EC) may be set to propose extensive new legislation – potentially later this week – which, among other things, would ban the use of facial recognition technology for surveillance purposes and the use of algorithms that influence human behavior, according to recently leaked draft documents. The proposals would also introduce new rules regarding high-risk artificial intelligence (AI).
The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday morning, March 30, regarding class certification related to Article III standing in TransUnion v. Ramirez, where only 25% of a certified class suffered injury. In its briefing and in yesterday’s arguments, TransUnion argued that class certification should only apply where every class member has standing and the lead plaintiff does not allege atypical injuries.
On March 6, 2020, the China Standardization Administration and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly released an updated version of the Personal Information Security Specification (the “Specification”) which will become effective on October 1, 2020.
Latin American privacy laws may pose special challenges for businesses considering when and how to reopen their facilities during the coronavirus pandemic. As elsewhere, many companies operating in Latin America may decide to screen employees for their COVID-19 risk-levels before allowing them to enter a shared workspace. Already in place in many European and Asian countries, screening options primarily involve contact tracing or temperature checks. As they focus on health and safety, however, companies should also bear in mind a potentially competing interest: protecting employees’ privacy.