California is the gold standard for state privacy laws, having recently enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). Virginia and Colorado also have enacted comprehensive privacy laws, which will take effect in 2023. Recently, the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) released its state privacy legislation tracker.
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Maine and North Dakota Are Latest States to Adopt the NAIC Data Security Model Law
By Robinson+Cole's Data Privacy + Cybersecurity Team on
Posted in Data Privacy
Two more state governors, those of Maine and North Dakota, have signed bills into law that adopt the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) data security model law (Model Law). Maine and North Dakota join several other states that have already passed similar laws. Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin have similar…
Study Shows Use of Drones by Public Safety Agencies More than Doubled
By Kathryn Rattigan on
Posted in Drones
Drones are becoming an everyday tool for more and more police and fire departments across the country. According to a study conducted by the Center for the Study of the Drone at New York’s Bard College, the number of public safety agencies with drones has more than doubled since the end of 2016. In fact,…
Employers Monitoring Employees Through Biochip Hand Implants
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Data Privacy
On August 1, 2017, 32M, located in Wisconsin, is offering its employees the ability to have RFID chips implanted into their hands to make purchases at the company break rooms, open doors, use the copy machine and log on to their company computer. On top of that, the employer issued chip can store medical and…
Privacy Tip #93 – Electronic Frontier Foundation Privacy Badger
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
I am from Wisconsin, so I am a Badger fan. Actually a double Badger fan, as I am a big fan of the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s (EFF) Privacy Badger.
According to the EFF’s website, Privacy Badger “is a browser extension that automatically blocks hidden third-party trackers that would otherwise follow you around the web and…
Top Ten Education Developments, Breaches, and Settlements of 2016
By Kathleen Dion on
This year has been a busy year for education law in the area of data privacy. Educational institutions continue to be a rich target for hackers. Additionally, there were some important developments in the interpretation of Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) as it applies to educational institutions.
- In December, DeVry University Settled with the FTC for $100 million over allegations that it misled prospective students with ads that promised higher employment success and income upon graduation.
- Also in December, UMass Amherst settled with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) for $650,000 for HIPAA violations related to a malware infection that led to the release of names, addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, health insurance information, diagnoses, and procedure codes.
- In November, a hacker gained access to 1,213 records of applicants to the University of Wisconsin Law School.
- On September 14, 2016, the Department of Education (DOE) issued a “Dear Colleague Letter” providing guidance on the application of FERPA to the disclosure of student medical records in the context of litigation.
Continue Reading Top Ten Education Developments, Breaches, and Settlements of 2016
Extra, Extra, Read All About it, News-Gathering Drones Increasingly Hitting the Skies
By Kathryn Rattigan on
Posted in Drones
Since the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) started allowing commercial drone operations, media organizations have moved quickly to get their own news-gathering drones in the skies. Recently, Sinclair Broadcast Group (Sinclair) (operator of 173 television stations across the U.S.) announced that it was going “all in” on its news-gathering drone fleet. Sinclair plans to have 80…
Caribou Coffee faces TCPA class action for unwanted text messages
By Kathryn Rattigan on
Caribou Coffee Co. Inc. (Caribou Coffee) was hit with a class action this week in Wisconsin. which alleges that the company violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) when it sent unsolicited text messages to thousands of individuals who never consented to receive those text messages. Lead plaintiff, Kristie Farnham, alleges that she received over…