Updates on Developments in Data Privacy and Cybersecurity
By Hannah Lepow
Yesterday California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris released guidance on how smartphone and tablet users can manage GPS and other location tracking functions on their mobile devices.
The brief information sheet, designed for consumers, details how Android and iOS users can control different types of location…
Continue Reading California AG Issues Guidance for Consumers on Managing Mobile Location Privacy
By Ethan Forrest
For the first time, California Attorney General Kamala Harris has announced a privacy breach settlement that requires the defendant company to create a “chief privacy officer” position to oversee compliance with privacy laws.
The company in question is Houzz Inc., a popular online platform for home design…
Continue Reading Company Agrees to Establish Chief Privacy Officer to Settle Cal. AG’s Call-Recording Allegations
By Randall Friedland
California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris yesterday released the second annual California Data Breach Report. The report provided statistics and analysis related to data breaches that were reported to the Attorney General’s office in 2013. The report also outlined suggested best practices and provided recommendations on ways to improve data security.
Statistics
The report documented a clear upward trend in both the number of data breaches and those affected by such breaches. For instance, in 2013, there were 167 data breaches reported in California, which is an increase of over 28 percent from the 131 data breaches reported in 2012. Additionally, the records containing personal information of over 18.5 million California residents were compromised in 2013—a 600 percent increase from the previous year. Even if the two largest data breaches involving retailers were excluded from this calculation, California still experienced a 35 percent increase in the number of records affected by data breaches.
Continue Reading California Attorney General’s Second Annual Data Breach Report Finds Dramatic Increase in Number of Data Breaches
California Attorney General Kamala Harris has sued the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan for failing to promptly notify employees about a 2011 data breach. California’s breach notice law requires breaches of personal information to be disclosed “in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay.” Harris alleges that Kaiser violated…
California’s recent amendments to the California Online Privacy Protection Act require certain online services to make additional disclosures about how they respond to browser-based Do Not Track signals―new obligations that went into effect on January 1. Along with Joanne McNabb of the Office of the California Attorney General, Kurt Wimmer…
