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FEB 2024

DATA ROUNDUP

In an age where children are increasingly engaging online, concerns over their privacy have reached a crescendo. Shrills for reform have echoed across the United States, urging policymakers to take decisive action. However, with Congress divided and preoccupied with other matters, the onus has fallen on regulatory bodies to address the issue.


While privacy experts predict movement in other areas of government, the first chess piece has been moved once again by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). After almost four years of review and 175,000 public comments later, the FTC unveiled its plan to update the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA Rule) on December 20, 2023, after the Commission voted 3-0. The last COPPA revision was made in 2013.



The FTC prioritized the upcoming changes/modernization to align the 25-year-old rule to an era in which online tools are integral to daily life — and where companies are deploying increasingly sophisticated digital tools to surveil children.

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Global legislative developments in the privacy sphere were abundant in 2023. Privacy professionals from around the world predict that legislation pertaining to data privacy and cyber security will continue to flourish in 2024, especially as governments consider how to best navigate burgeoning AI technology. This blog post explores some of those predicted legislative developments and trends.

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The EU’s cookie reduction pledge, advocating for user control and transparency, represents a significant move towards enhanced digital privacy. While offering more control over cookies, the emergence of alternative tracking methods like device fingerprinting and contextual targeting highlights new complexity, reminding companies that users are no longer data-naïve.

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LEGISLATIVE & REGULATORY UPDATE

RELEASE: Report: State Laws are Failing to Protect Privacy

epic.org

"Today, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the U.S. PIRG Education Fund released The State of "Privacy" Laws Fail to Protect Privacy and What They Can Do Better..."

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The Most Critical Elements of the FTC's Health Breach Rulemaking

LAWFARE

"The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently closed a request for comment on a proposal to modify its Health Breach Notification Rule (HBNR) - which governs how vendors of "personal health records" and entities not covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) handle breaches of health data..."

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ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

FTC Order Will Require Blackbaud to Delete Unnecessary Data, Boost Safeguards to Settle Charges its Lax Security Practices Led to Data Breach

FTC

"FTC says company's poor security allowed hacker to steal sensitive data of millions of consumers, go undetected for months..."

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Attorney General Bonta Announces investigative Sweep, Focuses on Streaming Services' Compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act

State of California DOJ

"Ahead of Data Privacy Day, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced an investigative sweep, and is sending letters to businesses with popular streaming apps and devices alleging that they fail to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)..."

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Chat GPT is violating Europe's privacy laws, Italian DPA tells OpenAI

TechChrunch

"OpenAI has been told it's suspected of violating European union privacy, following a multi-month investigation of its AI chatbot, ChatGPT, by Italy's data protection authority..."

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PODCAST PORTAL

HBS Legal Trends: Legal Implications of Using AI in Your Business

Our most recent HBS Legal Trends podcast features Charlotte Partner Richard Sheinis and Tampa Of Counsel Jade Davis. Together, they discuss the legal implications of using artificial intelligence (AI) in your organization, including how AI can be used, the implementation of AI, developing internal AI policies and procedures, best practices, and much more.


You can listen to the full podcast below and learn more about the interview on the Business RadioX® website.

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MEET OUR TEAM

Richard Sheinis


Rich is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP-US) and a Certified Information Privacy Technologist (CIPT) through the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). He works with companies to investigate and respond to HIPAA and other data breaches, advises on regulatory compliance including HIPAA, COPPA, PCI DSS, cross-border data transfer, the EU-US Privacy Shield, and other global privacy regulations.

Jade Davis


Jade provides strategic privacy and cyber-preparedness compliance advice, and defends, counsels, and represents companies on privacy, global data security compliance, data breaches, and investigations. She advises companies on best practices in privacy, cybersecurity, data, mobile, cloud storage, Ad Tech privacy, Internet of Things, and other areas of regulatory compliance.

Lea McBryde


Lea is an associate in our Charlotte office, where she focuses her practice on data privacy and cybersecurity matters.

Savannah Avera


Savannah is an associate in our Atlanta office, where she protects the rights of clients in health care and cyberspace.

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