Updates on Developments in Data Privacy and Cybersecurity
In a decision with broad application, the Supreme Court held last Wednesday that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts state law rules that classify class action waivers in consumer contracts as unconscionable and therefore unenforceable. The holding in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, No. 09-893 (April 27, 2011) sweeps away…
Continue Reading The Implications of The AT&T Mobility Decision for Web Publishers
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument last week in Sorrell v. IMS Health, Inc. As described in our earlier post, the case involves a constitutional challenge to a Vermont law prohibiting the use or sale of doctors’ identifying information in prescription records—i.e., prescriber-identifiable data—without the doctor’s express consent.…
Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), citizens have a right to obtain documents from federal agencies. However, agencies may withhold documents from request for several reasons, including to protect “personal privacy.” Does the exemption for “personal privacy” protect the privacy of corporations in addition to that of individuals? In…
On January 7, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review a Court of Appeals decision striking down Vermont’s prescription confidentiality law. The State of Vermont had petitioned the Supreme Court to review the case on December 13, 2010, after the Second Circuit ruled that the law constituted an impermissible restriction…
Continue Reading Supreme Court Grants Review of Second Circuit Medical Privacy Ruling
On Tuesday, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in U.S. v. Warshak [PDF] that the government may not compel a commercial Internet service provider to turn over the contents of a subscriber’s e-mails without first obtaining a warrant based on probable cause. The court recognized fundamental similarities between e-mail and more traditional…
Continue Reading Sixth Circuit Finds Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in E-mails
The State of Vermont is petitioning the Supreme Court to review a Court of Appeals decision holding that the State’s prescription confidentiality law is unconstitutional.
The law at issue prohibits regulated entities from selling or using records containing prescriber-identifiable information—i.e., information linking prescribers to prescriptions for particular drugs—for marketing or…
Continue Reading Vermont Seeks Supreme Court Review of Second Circuit Medical Privacy Ruling
