Updates on Developments in Data Privacy and Cybersecurity
Individual plaintiffs have not had much success bringing private actions against businesses affected by security breaches. In particular, a number of courts have held that the abstract risk of identity theft is not a cognizable injury. And most recently, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court has determined that even those individuals…
Continue Reading Maine Court Undercuts Claims Against Hannaford Bros.
Last month, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee held a hearing on S. 3742, the “Data Security and Breach Notification Act of 2010.” This legislation was introduced by Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Senator John D. Rockefeller (D-WV). It is the Senate version of data security legislation sponsored in the House of Representatives by Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL), which passed the House by voice vote on December 8, 2009 (H.R. 2221). Both bills would create a federal breach notification standard and authorize the FTC to promulgate information security and data disposal regulations.
Click below for a summary of the key provisions of the Pryor-Rockefeller bill. Continue Reading Senate Considers Federal Breach Notification Standard
Courts have started to address the tricky — but important — question of whether IP addresses are personal information in which users have a right to privacy — statutory or otherwise.
Most recently, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found that “Internet subscribers do not have an…
Rob Pegoraro at The Washington Post reported today on Facebook’s announcement that it will offer users a way to download all of the information they’ve uploaded to the service. The move is an implicit response to critics who complain about social media services that lock users in by preventing them…
Continue Reading Facebook Makes Good on Data Portability
