Privacy Rights

Subscribe to Privacy Rights via RSS

CCPAOn November 3, 2020, Californians will vote on whether to approve a ballot initiative to enact a new California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). If, as current polling suggests, California voters pass the CPRA into law in November, it will significantly revise the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) of 2018, which entered into force only in January of this year.

The CPRA expands the provisions of the CCPA, removes the ability of businesses to remedy some violations before they are penalized, and creates a new agency – the California Privacy Protection Agency – to implement and enforce it. The CPRA’s substantive provisions would take effect on January 1, 2023, but its new obligations would apply to personal information collected after January 1, 2022.
Continue Reading New California Privacy Initiative Certified for November Ballot

Even with states easing COVID-19 related restrictions, suggestions that social distancing could last through the summer (or even longer) have led many companies that traditionally rely on in-person promotional visits to consider other options. One obvious alternative is telephone or text marketing, but companies that are new to the practice should be aware of the numerous federal and state laws and regulations governing telemarketing, which impose significant fines or statutory damages for violations. In one notable example, Dish Network was assessed $280 million in penalties in an action brought by the FTC and state attorneys general for alleged violations of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) and related state laws, and in a separate class action, plaintiffs were awarded $61 million in statutory damages.

Both the federal government and all 50 states plus the District of Columbia have laws applicable to the use of telephones for marketing purposes. Some of the restrictions may also apply to non-marketing communications. This post provides a high-level overview of the rules applicable to the space; but before engaging in telemarketing activities, companies should be sure to review both federal and state laws to ensure their practices are fully compliant.Continue Reading Companies Newly Engaged in Telemarketing Should Be Aware of Substantial Body of Federal and State Telemarketing Laws

BillThis article appeared in Law360 on May 14, 2020.  A group of Republican senators have introduced a new privacy bill that would impose strict privacy obligations on contact tracing apps operated by entities not subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

Most notably, the COVID-19 Consumer Data Protection Act would obligate such entities to obtain express affirmative consent from individual consumers before using their geolocation, proximity or personal health data.
Continue Reading Pandemic-Related Privacy Bill May Be Unconstitutional

CABusinesses within the scope of California’s groundbreaking privacy law, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which went into effect January 1, 2020, may need to revise privacy policies and change their compliance programs once again if a new ballot initiative passes this November. Californians for Consumer Privacy, the group that sponsored the CCPA, announced last week that it is submitting over 900,000 signatures in favor of the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) to qualify the initiative for the November 2020 ballot.
Continue Reading 2020 Ballot Initiative to Expand California Privacy Law Receives 900,000 Signatures