Cybersecurity & Privacy

  • January 16, 2026

    Justices Will Decide Constitutionality Of Geofence Warrants

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to review the constitutionality of geofence warrants, used by law enforcement to pinpoint suspects' whereabouts using location data handed over by technology firms like Google.

  • January 16, 2026

    Supreme Court Hacker Pleads Guilty To Misdemeanor Charge

    A 24-year-old Tennessee man pled guilty Friday to a single misdemeanor charge for hacking into the U.S. Supreme Court's filing system and several other government networks, admitting that he "intentionally accessed a computer without authorization" on 25 different days in 2023.

  • January 15, 2026

    Musk Child's Mom Says Grok Created Nonconsensual Images

    Influencer Ashley St. Clair, the mother of one of Elon Musk's children, has sued Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI, claiming she was depicted in sexually explicit imagery generated by Grok without her consent and that xAI has "chosen to willfully turn a blind eye and even celebrate" similar sexual exploitation.

  • January 15, 2026

    Google Worker In IP Theft Trial Impersonated Exec, Jury Hears

    An ex-Google engineer accused of stealing artificial intelligence trade secrets to help China used a fake email account to impersonate a Google vice president that he'd listed as a business reference, and also had voice modification software on his computer, an FBI agent told jurors Thursday.

  • January 15, 2026

    Container Co. Must Face Trimmed Suit Over 2023 Data Breach

    A Georgia federal judge on Thursday found that current and former employees suing a major plastic container manufacturer over a 2023 data breach had adequately alleged a concrete injury traceable to the incident but had failed to sufficiently plead three of their four claims, leaving the dispute to proceed with a single negligence claim intact.

  • January 15, 2026

    Xreal Accuses Smart Glasses Rival Of Patent Infringement

    Chinese-owned smart glasses maker Xreal on Thursday filed a lawsuit in Texas federal court against rival Viture Inc., accusing it of being a latecomer to the market and choosing a "shortcut" of patent infringement with its competing products. 

  • January 15, 2026

    Wash. Anti-Spam Law Not Federally Preempted, Judge Rules

    A Seattle federal judge has shot down Nike Inc.'s effort to dismiss a lawsuit accusing the sportswear giant of sending false or misleading marketing emails to shoppers in Washington, ruling that the state's Commercial Electronic Mail Act is not preempted by federal law.

  • January 15, 2026

    Ex-WebAI Engineers Say Demos Were 'Faked' In Major Deals

    WebAI Inc. turned a blind eye to a company leader who not only targeted two successful technology engineers but imperiled high-stakes deals with Qantas Airways and the U.S. Department of Defense by allowing a "fake demo" and inaccurate presentations, former company engineers have told a North Carolina state court.

  • January 15, 2026

    Senior NY Judge Avoids $273K Fee Bid In Fla. Condo Suit

    A senior New York federal judge's pending appeal of the dismissal of his defamation action against condominium board members means that for now he can avoid their demand for nearly $273,000 in fees and costs, a Florida federal judge has ruled.

  • January 14, 2026

    Call Vendors Skirt Wiretap Suit Over AI Transcription Tool

    An Illinois federal judge has released dental support organization Heartland Dental LLC and its contractor from a proposed class action accusing them of illegally using an artificial intelligence-powered note-taking tool to record and analyze patient calls, finding that they couldn't be held liable because their alleged electronic interceptions were made for legitimate business purposes.

  • January 14, 2026

    Google Ex-Staffer Attys In 'Grave Danger' Of Testimony Misstep

    A California federal judge appeared open Wednesday to letting prosecutors introduce previously suppressed evidence from the FBI's interview with an ex-Google engineer accused of stealing trade secrets, telling defense counsel that their efforts to paint Google and the government as in cahoots raised a "grave danger" he'd allow the evidence.

  • January 14, 2026

    Calif. Again Asks 9th Circ. To Unleash Kids' Privacy Law

    California's attorney general was back before the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday, urging the court to vacate a new preliminary injunction blocking a landmark law requiring tech giants to bolster privacy protections for children, and arguing the lower court wrongly found the entire statute likely implicates the First Amendment.

  • January 14, 2026

    Burns & McDonnell Sued By Ex-Partner Firm Over Seattle Deal

    California-based Certus Cybersecurity launched a lawsuit in Washington state court accusing consulting firm Burns & McDonnell of falling short on business promises and exploiting the city of Seattle's diversity criteria for contractors to score a government deal worth up to $60 million.  

  • January 14, 2026

    University Of Phoenix Must Face Student's Pixel Tracking Suit

    An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday refused to release the University of Phoenix from a proposed class action claiming it uses third party tracking tools to share students' video-viewing behavior with Meta, finding it plausibly alleges that third parties can intercept those communications in real-time directly from students who visit the school's site.

  • January 14, 2026

    FTC Finalizes GM And Onstar Ban On Location Data Sharing

    General Motors and OnStar finalized a non-monetary deal with the Federal Trade Commission Wednesday, agreeing to a five-year ban on disclosing geolocation and driver behavior data to consumer reporting agencies, to end the regulator's allegations the companies didn't get drivers' consent before sharing.

  • January 14, 2026

    Google Inks $8.25M Deal Over Kids' App Data Privacy

    Google has agreed to an $8.25 million settlement that, if approved, will fully resolve a potential class action that children filed in California federal court through their parents, accusing the tech giant of secretly tracking the personal information of children under the age of 13 through child-directed apps.

  • January 14, 2026

    Calif. AG Probes 'Avalanche' Of Grok-Created Sexual Deepfakes

    California is looking into the "avalanche" of nonconsensual sexually explicit materials, including "deepfake" images used to harass women online, that are reportedly being produced by Grok, the chatbot developed by Elon Musk's company xAI Inc., the state's attorney general announced Wednesday.

  • January 14, 2026

    FCC Still Weighing 39% Broadcast Cap, Carr Tells Lawmakers

    The Federal Communications Commission hasn't decided whether the law gives it wiggle room to lift the 39% cap on national audience share controlled by a single broadcast chain, a move that would let Nexstar merge with Tegna, the FCC's chief told lawmakers Wednesday.

  • January 14, 2026

    Miami Man Admits To $250K Zelle Scam In Connecticut

    A Florida man has pled guilty to a conspiracy charge in Connecticut federal court over his role in scams that ripped off victims including Zelle users for more than $250,000, prosecutors said Wednesday.

  • January 14, 2026

    Conn. Credit Union Hit With 2nd Data Breach Class Lawsuit

    Connecticut's Ellafi Federal Credit Union on Wednesday was hit with a second proposed class action over an October data breach that affected more than 17,600 members.

  • January 14, 2026

    Microsoft Calls For Arbitration In Edge Privacy Suit Appeal

    Microsoft told a Washington state appeals court panel Wednesday that a proposed class action claiming secret collection of Edge users' browser data belongs in arbitration, contending a lower state court judge wrongly advanced the litigation after a Washington federal judge sent parallel claims to arbitration.  

  • January 14, 2026

    SG Asks High Court To Reshuffle Sides In AT&T Fine Case

    U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday to realign the parties' designations in a combined case over the Federal Communications Commission's penalty powers after the justices recently granted review.

  • January 14, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Won't Revive Phone Security IP Suit Against Apple

    A California federal judge properly freed Apple from claims that its iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches infringe two cellular security patents, the Federal Circuit said Wednesday.

  • January 14, 2026

    Wilson Sonsini Creates Defense Tech Team, Hires Google Atty

    Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC announced Wednesday that it is launching a defense tech industry group with the hire of a brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force Reserve who most recently worked as an enterprise account executive for Google Public Sector's national defense business.

  • January 13, 2026

    Meta Shakes App Users' Location Data Privacy Suit, For Now

    A California federal judge has shut down a proposed class action accusing Meta Platforms Inc. of illegally collecting location data from users of third-party apps that installed the company's tracking software, finding that the plaintiffs hadn't plausibly alleged that Meta knew it didn't have permission to access this data.

Expert Analysis

  • Transmission Security Has A Critical Role In Healthcare

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    In light of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights' continuing enforcement initiative focusing on businesses' accurate and thorough security risk assessments under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, covered entities should not neglect the importance of transmission security, says John Howard at Clark Hill.

  • 7 Document Review Concepts New Attorneys Need To Know

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    For new associates joining firms this fall, stepping into the world of e-discovery can feel like learning a new language, but understanding a handful of fundamentals — from coding layouts to metadata — can help attorneys become fluent in document review, says Ann Motl at Bowman and Brooke.

  • Agentic AI Puts A New Twist On Attorney Ethics Obligations

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    As lawyers increasingly use autonomous artificial intelligence agents, disciplinary authorities must decide whether attorney responsibility for an AI-caused legal ethics violation is personal or supervisory, and firms must enact strong policies regarding agentic AI use and supervision, says Grace Wynn at HWG.

  • Cos. Face EU, US Regulatory Tension On Many Fronts

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    When the European Union sets stringent standards, companies seeking to operate in the international marketplace must conform to them, or else concede opportunities — but with the current U.S. administration pushing hard to roll back regulations, global companies face an increasing tension over which standards to follow, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Series

    Being A Professional Wrestler Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Pursuing my childhood dream of being a professional wrestler has taught me important legal career lessons about communication, adaptability, oral advocacy and professionalism, says Christopher Freiberg at Midwest Disability.

  • Restored Charging Project Funds Revive Hope For EV Market

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    While 2025 began with a host of government actions that prompted some to predict the demise of the U.S. electric vehicle market, the Trump administration's recent restoration of federal funding for EV charging infrastructure under new terms presents market participants with reason for optimism, says Levi McAllister at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Adapting To The Age Of AI

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    Though law school may not have specifically taught us how to use generative artificial intelligence to help with our daily legal tasks, it did provide us the mental building blocks necessary for adapting to this new technology — and the judgment to discern what shouldn’t be automated, says Pamela Dorian at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Ch. 11 Ruling Voiding $2M Litigation Funding Sends A Warning

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    A recent Texas bankruptcy court decision that a postconfirmation litigation trust has no obligations to repay a completely drawn down $2 million litigation funding agreement serves as a warning for estate administrators and funders to properly disclose the intended financing, say attorneys at Kleinberg Kaplan.

  • DOJ's Novel Cybersecurity FCA Case Is A Warning To Medtech

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent False Claims Act settlement with Illumina over alleged cybersecurity deficiencies suggests that enforcement agencies and whistleblowers are focusing attention toward cybersecurity in life sciences and medical tech, but also reveals key unanswered questions about the legal viability of such allegations, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Demystifying The Civil Procedure Rules Amendment Process

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    Every year, an advisory committee receives dozens of proposals to amend the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, most of which are never adopted — but a few pointers can help maximize the likelihood that an amendment will be adopted, says Josh Gardner at DLA Piper.

  • How The 5th, DC Circuits Agreed On FCC Forfeiture Orders

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    The Fifth and D.C. Circuits split this year on the Federal Communications Commission's process for adjudicating enforcement actions, but both implicitly recognized the problem with penalizing a party based on a forfeiture order that has not yet been challenged in any way in court, says Jared Marx at HWG.

  • State Crypto Regs Diverge As Federal Framework Dawns

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    Following the Genius Act's passage, states like California, New York and Wyoming are racing to set new standards for crypto governance, creating both opportunity and risk for digital asset firms as innovation flourishes in some jurisdictions while costly friction emerges in others, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Plaintiffs Bar Can Level Up With Strategic Use Of AI

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    As artificial intelligence adoption among legal professionals explodes, the question for the plaintiffs bar is no longer whether AI will reshape the practice of law, but how it can be integrated effectively and strategically to level the playing field against well-funded corporate defense teams, says Tyler Schneider at TorHoerman Law.

  • Key Insurance Coverage Considerations For AI Data Centers

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    The burgeoning artificial intelligence industry has sparked a surge in data center projects — a trend likely to be accelerated by the White House's AI Action Plan — but with these complex facilities come equally complex risks, engendering important insurance coverage considerations, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Parenting Skills That Can Help Lawyers Thrive Professionally

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    As kids head back to school, the time is ripe for lawyers who are parents to consider how they can incorporate their parenting skills to build a deep, meaningful and sustainable legal practice, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

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