New York SHIELD Act

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As 2021 comes to a close, it is a great time to take stock of the present state of affairs with respect to U.S. privacy laws. With the relatively recent passage of comprehensive privacy laws in California, and additional countries adopting laws that closely follow the principles of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), along with increasing public concerns regarding how companies manage customers’ personal data, legal practitioners entered 2021 with high hopes that comprehensive federal privacy legislation may finally be on the horizon. Nevertheless, in a trend that is likely to continue in the year ahead, it was the states rather than federal legislatures that successfully added to the ranks of privacy laws with which businesses will soon need to comply.
Continue Reading Momentum Builds for State Privacy Laws but the Possibility of a Federal Law Remains Remote

Cyber SecurityWe reported last summer on two new legislative enactments in New York putting new demands on how companies handle the personal data of New York residents: the Identity Theft Protection and Mitigation Services Act (ITPMS Act), and the Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act (SHIELD Act). Both were signed into law on July 25, 2019, and as described below, both have since then come gradually into full effect. This includes their most significant feature: as of March 21, 2020, “any business that owns or licenses computerized data which includes private information of a resident of New York” now faces the prospect of an enforcement action by the New York Attorney General’s (AG) Office for the assessment of penalties if the company fails to develop, implement and maintain “reasonable safeguards” for the protection of that information.
Continue Reading “Reasonable Safeguards Requirement” For Personal Information of New York Residents Now Kicks In (with even broader Privacy/Security Legislation Still in the Offing)