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Kathryn Rattigan is a member of the Business Litigation Group and the Data Privacy+ Cybersecurity Team. She concentrates her practice on privacy and security compliance under both state and federal regulations and advising clients on website and mobile app privacy and security compliance. Kathryn helps clients review, revise and implement necessary policies and procedures under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). She also provides clients with the information needed to effectively and efficiently handle potential and confirmed data breaches while providing insight into federal regulations and requirements for notification and an assessment under state breach notification laws. Prior to joining the firm, Kathryn was an associate at Nixon Peabody. She earned her J.D., cum laude, from Roger Williams University School of Law and her B.A., magna cum laude, from Stonehill College. She is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Read her full rc.com bio here.

The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) and Background Alert, Inc. (a California-based data broker) settled allegations that Background Alert failed to register and pay the annual fee required by the California Delete Act. This settlement is part of the CPPA’s investigative initiative announced back in October 2024.

The Delete Act requires data brokers to register

Beware of demand letters from plaintiffs’ attorneys for allegations of illegal use of pen registers, trap and trace pixels, and search bar pixels—why? This “trap and trace” litigation is a growing trend for plaintiffs’ attorneys because they can leverage existing wiretap laws (particularly in California under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA)) to argue

Last week, a class action was filed against NewsBank, Inc., a Florida-based news database company, related to a 2024 breach of employee personal information.

NewsBank provides a database of archived news publications utilized by libraries, higher education institutions, and other organizations. NewsBank suffered a security incident affecting its employees’ personal information between June and July

Stemming from Colorado’s Concerning Consumer Protections in Interactions with Artificial Intelligence Systems Act (the Act), which will impose obligations on developers and deployers of artificial intelligence (AI), the Colorado Artificial Intelligence Impact Task Force recently issued a report outlining potential areas where the Act can be “clarified, refined[,] and otherwise improved.”

The Task Force’s mission

Ethical hackers identified an arbitrary account takeover flaw in the administrator portal for Subaru’s Starlink service, which could allow a threat actor to hijack a vehicle through a Subaru employee account. This vulnerability could allow a threat actor to remotely track, unlock, and start connected vehicles. The ethical hacker reported to Subaru that they could

The Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ) released a new toolkit sharing with Oregonians how to protect their online information to celebrate Data Privacy Day. The toolkit includes information on how consumers can exercise their rights under the Oregon Consumer Privacy Act (OCPA) and encourages them to take control of their personal information.

The OCPA went

Singapore-based Chinese video game developer Cognosphere, dba HoYoverse, known for “Genshin Impact,” a role-playing game involving collectible characters with unique fighting skills, has agreed to pay $20 million to settle Federal Trade Commission (FTC) allegations that it violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and deceived players about the cost of winning certain prizes.

On January 16, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a press release stating, “The updated [Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)] rule strengthens key protections for kids’ privacy online. By requiring parents to opt [into] targeted advertising practices, this final rule prohibits platforms and service providers from sharing and monetizing children’s data without active

The California Attorney General published two legal advisories this week:

These advisories seek to remind businesses of consumer rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the