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This week, Consumer Reports published a Model State Privacy Act. The Consumer advocacy organization proposed model legislation “to ensure that companies are required to honor consumers’ privacy.” The model legislation is similar to the California Consumer Privacy Act, but seeks to protect consumer privacy rights “by default.”  Some additional provisions of the model law…

The state of Virginia might be the next state to enact a privacy law. Senate Bill No. 1392 recently passed the Senate and is likely on its way to Governor Ralph Northam’s desk.  The bill adds the Consumer Data Protection Act to the Virginia Code and includes definitions of biometric data, precise geolocation data, profiling,…

I was scrolling through a social media site this week, and was struck by how many requests asked people to respond to questions regarding their biographical information. For example, what was the number one album when you were a senior in high school? What was your favorite beach or park when you were growing up?…

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently announced his proposal for a comprehensive data security law that will “provide New Yorkers with transparency and control over their personal data and provide new privacy protections.” The proposal also would establish a Consumer Data Privacy Bill of Rights that would guarantee “the right to access, control, and erase…

ICYMI, on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an update about what it termed “a major incident under the Federal Information Security Modernization Act”: the global SolarWinds cyberattack that had compromised its email system. (SolarWinds is a software provider. In December, 2020, SolarWinds revealed that cybercriminals had injected malware…

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its settlement with Everalbum Inc. (Everalbum) for its Ever app, a photo and video storage app, due to its alleged deception of consumers related to the app’s use of facial recognition technology and its retention practices around deactivated accounts.

Pursuant to the settlement agreement, Everalbum must delete models and…

As I wrote about previously on our blog, the Massachusetts Right to Repair amendment passed in November is up against a lawsuit from auto manufacturers. Now, the Massachusetts’ Attorney General’s office has responded stating that the state law does not conflict with any federal statute and that voters already rejected all of the lawsuits allegations.…