On August 5, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance to nursing homes in a letter to state survey agencies (Letter) that addresses nursing homes’ obligations to protect residents. The Letter focuses on potential psychosocial harm to nursing home residents caused by the sharing on social media of demeaning photographs or … Continue Reading
This article co-authored with guest blogger Peter Wainman, a partner with Mills & Reeve LLP Transfers of personal data from most European countries to the U.S. have been exposed to legal attack since October 2015, when privacy campaigner Max Schrems successfully sued the Irish authorities over data transfers made by Facebook Ireland. The main objection with … Continue Reading
When I train clients’ employees on data privacy and security, I always mention the microphone on smartphones. They are powerful and if you allow apps access to your microphone, they can listen to every one of your conversations [see related privacy tip]. Do you want every one of your conversations to be accessible by someone … Continue Reading
The Belgian data protection authority has lost its legal battle with Facebook over whether the social network could track the online activities of non-Facebook users in Belgium who visit Facebook pages. Belgium’s data protection regulator took Facebook to court a year ago, accusing it of breaking EU privacy law by tracking people without a Facebook … Continue Reading
On February 9, 2012, Robert Bishop was arrested and charged with one count of cyberbullying under the North Carolina Cyberbullying statute, which states that it is “unlawful for any person to use a computer or computer network to…[p]ost or encourage others to post on the Internet private, personal, or sexual information pertaining to a minor””[w]ith … Continue Reading
After the terrorist attack in Orlando, Florida, early this month, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) has been discussed quite a bit. The ECPA, a law which took effect in 1986, limits the government’s access to electronic communications and other information. Due to the advancement in technology over the past 30 years, Congress finds itself … Continue Reading
On May 26, 2016, Illinois Senator Terry Link filed a proposed amendment to the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act that would presumably ease the rules relating to the collection and use of biometric data. What irked some is that he reportedly tacked it onto a bill that deals with unclaimed property. The next day, Senator … Continue Reading
A federal district court in California recently rejected Facebook’s request to dismiss a class action lawsuit related to Facebook’s biometric facial recognition database. The case arises from a complaint by Illinois residents that Facebook’s “Tag Suggestions” program violates the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) [view related posts here, here and here]. When a Facebook user uploads … Continue Reading
On April 25, 2016, Facebook Inc. (Facebook) pled with a California federal judge, asking that the court dismiss the claims filed against the social media giant for its alleged Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) violations. We wrote about this class action when it first surfaced back in February, and now Facebook hopes that the court … Continue Reading
We previously reported that Shutterfly’s effort to dismiss the proposed biometrics class action case against it was unsuccessful [view related post] The proposed class action suit alleged that Shutterfly violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act because Shutterfly measured the contours of the named plaintiff’s face to create a template that it used to suggest … Continue Reading
We have been following and reporting on the Facebook and Shutterfly biometrics cases in Illinois and California. Google was recently sued by a potential class in Illinois alleging that it violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act by collecting the “faceprints” of individuals without their consent through its Google Photos service, even when they don’t … Continue Reading
Filed under the title of creative lawyering, a putative class action case has been filed against Facebook in federal court in Northern California alleging that health care providers and medical organizations have violated HIPAA by allowing Facebook to access user data from searches on the medical providers’ websites. The plaintiffs allege that when they visit … Continue Reading
“Today is [Facebook friend’s] birthday. Reply to post a wish on her Timeline or reply with 1 to post ‘Happy Birthday!’” Facebook, Inc. (Facebook) faces a class action in California federal court for alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by sending its users unsolicited, automated text messages to remind the users of … Continue Reading
We previously reported that Shutterfly Inc. was unsuccessful in persuading an Illinois federal judge to dismiss the biometrics case against it (view related posts, here and here). Last week, Shutterfly moved for reconsideration of the denial, basing the request in part on Facebook’s success in convincing another Illinois judge to dismiss a similar case against … Continue Reading
We previously reported about a proposed class action suit against Facebook for the alleged violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. Facebook moved to dismiss the case for lack of personal jurisdiction. On January 22, 2016, the Judge agreed with Facebook and dismissed the case stating that the plaintiff failed to allege that Facebook … Continue Reading
My Facebook account was hacked on Friday night. We were Skyping our daughter, when she put the screen of her phone up to the computer screen and said, “Mom, why are you friending me?” I looked at the friend request and immediately noticed that it was from LinnFoster Freedman with no space between my first … Continue Reading
Friday was a busy day in Illinois with arguments over the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. We previously reported that the first known biometric case has been given the green light to proceed. The case alleges that Shutterfly violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (insert previous post here) by using facial geometry from photographs … Continue Reading
The National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, in partnership with the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace National Program Office, have launched a project designed to embed privacy and security measures into identity broker solutions. What is an identity broker? It is a third-party service provider that companies use to manage its multiple third-party credentialing … Continue Reading
Last week, the Vienna Higher Regional Court ruled that most of Max Schrems’ claims against Facebook can proceed, including his claim that Facebook improperly allowed his personal information to be shared with the National Security Agency. So his case can move forward, but the court did not allow him to represent other claimants in a … Continue Reading
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) decision that employees’ Facebook posts are protected by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Three D, LLC d/b/a Triple Play Sports Bar and Grille v. National Labor Relations Board. The case involved two employees and a former employee engaged in a … Continue Reading
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) determined that Pier Sixty LLC, a New York catering service, violated federal labor law by firing an employee server after he posted a Facebook message protesting supervisory abuse and encouraging other employees to vote for a union in an upcoming election. At a recent catering event, employee, Hernan Perez, … Continue Reading
The Manhattan Supreme Court recently permitted the plaintiff in divorce proceedings to serve the divorce summons to her husband through a private Facebook message. Justice Matthew Cooper acknowledged that the plaintiff’s request for sole, and NOT supplemental, service through a social media message was a “radical departure” from the judicial standard. In Justice Cooper’s opinion, … Continue Reading
