Cybersecurity & Privacy

  • August 28, 2026

    'Exemplary Performance' Earns Google Users' Attys $146.8M

    A California federal judge Friday awarded plaintiffs' attorneys $146.8 million in fees after they secured a $425 million jury verdict against Google LLC in a privacy class action covering about 98 million people, calling the one-third fee award "extraordinary" but justified given their "exemplary performance."

  • August 28, 2026

    NJ Says TikTok Is Withholding Key Child Usage Data

    New Jersey urged a state judge to force TikTok to hand over detailed user engagement data the state said was essential in proving that the platform's design harmed children, accusing the company of months of evasive answers, shifting explanations and contradictory statements about whether the information even exists.

  • August 28, 2026

    Schwab Vendor Exempt From Ill. Biometric Law, 7th Circ. Says

    The Seventh Circuit agreed Friday that a vendor Charles Schwab uses to authenticate customers' voiceprints is exempt from Illinois' biometric privacy law as it refused to revive claims that the vendor illegally collected callers' data.

  • August 28, 2026

    NJ Law Requires Data Centers To Report Utility Usage

    New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed a bill into law Thursday that requires data centers in the state to provide the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities with semiannual water and energy usage reports.

  • August 27, 2026

    Anthropic Judge Rejects Trump's Nat'l Security 'Blank Check'

    The U.S. Department of Defense's designation of Anthropic PBC as a supply chain risk to national security was not based on a credible threat, but rather was retaliation for the company's public criticism of the Trump administration's position in contract negotiations, a California federal judge ruled Thursday.

  • August 27, 2026

    XAI Trained Grok On Child Sex Abuse Images, Survivor Says

    Not only does Elon Musk's xAI knowingly allow Grok to create nonconsensual sexual images, including child sexual abuse material, it actually recycles those outputs to train the artificial intelligence chatbot and generate more abusive images, according to a new proposed class action filed in California federal court.

  • August 27, 2026

    Google Users' Atty Fee To Be In 'Realm' Of $147M, Judge Says

    A California federal judge indicated Thursday that he won't give the full $147 million in fees sought by lawyers who won a $425 million class action verdict against Google for unlawfully collecting user information, but he said their "really excellent lawyering" deserves an amount "within that realm."

  • August 27, 2026

    OpenAI Leads Corporate Push To Bolster Cyber Defense

    OpenAI and more than 100 other companies and organizations signed an open letter Thursday calling for a global surge in cyber defense, warning that artificial intelligence will make cyberattacks "more widespread and sophisticated" in the coming months.

  • August 27, 2026

    Google Beats Cert. Bid Over User Tracking In Safari Browser

    A Delaware federal court denied class certification Thursday in a long-running litigation over allegations that Google bypassed privacy settings on Apple's Safari browser to track users without consent, saying the plaintiffs failed to show that the encryption keys Google destroyed would have provided a reliable way of identifying class members.

  • August 27, 2026

    Telecoms Face FCC Call Block Over Robocall Compliance

    The Federal Communications Commission has told nine different telecoms that they need to get right with their robocall mitigation database certifications or face being booted off U.S. networks.

  • August 27, 2026

    Bank Says Late Notice Fumbled Data Breach Insurance Claim

    An insurance services company caused a Milford, Connecticut, bank to lose insurance coverage for a data breach that affected nearly 12,000 of its customers by failing to timely report it, the bank says in a Wednesday complaint in Connecticut federal court.

  • August 27, 2026

    AG Says Florida Won't Take Part In Meta's 'Weak' $17B Deal

    Florida will take no part in Meta's $17 billion social media addiction settlement, according to state Attorney General James Uthmeier, who has slammed the sum as "weak" and said the Sunshine State will not be bought off for "pennies on the dollar."

  • August 27, 2026

    23andMe Judge Slows Estimation Of Calif. Data Breach Claim

    A Missouri bankruptcy judge ruled Thursday he would split a process for dealing with data breach claims brought by the state of California against 23andMe into two stages, saying he would first decide whether the bankruptcy trust for the DNA testing company should be allowed to estimate the state's claims for damages.

  • August 27, 2026

    FCC Urged To Hold Off On New Subsea Cable Security Regs

    A trade association for submarine cable owners and other groups urged the Federal Communications Commission to hold off on adopting more regulations for undersea communication cable equipment until more information is available.

  • August 27, 2026

    DOJ Can't Get Rethink On Apple Peek Into Fed Phone-Buying

    A special master has refused to reconsider his New Jersey federal court mandate giving Apple a look into how the Pentagon, CIA, State Department and other agencies purchase smartphones, criticizing the Justice Department for trying to "split hairs" in contending the agencies aren't "party" to the monopolization lawsuit.

  • August 27, 2026

    Meta Staves Off 3D Artist's AI Training Suit, For Now

    A California federal judge has dismissed a Los Angeles-based 3D artist's proposed class action alleging Meta Platforms Inc. removed copyright management information from art that was used to train artificial intelligence, but gave the artist a chance to cure the suit's issues.

  • August 27, 2026

    Data Brokers Can't Pause Judicial Privacy Law Fight

    A federal judge has denied a bid to pause dozens of lawsuits brought under the state's judicial privacy law, rejecting data brokers' request to stay the litigation while the Third Circuit weighs the statute's constitutionality.

  • August 26, 2026

    Top Takeaways From Meta's $17B Kid Safety Deal

    A $17.1 billion deal with 29 states and Meta Platforms Inc. that includes reforms to Facebook and Instagram to protect children is seen as a benchmark for other settlements with social media companies as litigation and public pressure mounts over mental health harms to youth.

  • August 26, 2026

    9th Circ. Backs Google Privacy Deal With No Class Payouts

    A split Ninth Circuit panel Wednesday affirmed approval of a location data privacy deal that requires Google to pay $62 million to plaintiffs' counsel and third-party organizations but gives no money to individual class members, agreeing the structure was appropriate because direct distribution to all class members would be "infeasible."

  • August 26, 2026

    Lowe's Must Face Calif. Privacy Suit Over Web Trackers

    Lowe's must face a twice-amended proposed class action alleging the home improvement retailer secretly collected and shared information about its website users with TikTok and Microsoft, contrary to its own privacy policy, a California federal judge said Wednesday, rejecting Lowe's argument that the data collection wasn't highly offensive.

  • August 26, 2026

    Academy Mortgage Reaches $2M Data Breach Settlement

    Customers of Academy Mortgage Corp. have urged a Utah federal judge to grant the first OK to a nearly $2 million settlement they reached with the lender to resolve claims tied to a 2023 data breach.

  • August 26, 2026

    Sens. Push Probe Of DOT's Failure To Protect Flyers' Privacy

    U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, asked the U.S. Government Accountabiliy Office Wednesday to investigate the U.S. Department of Transportation's "systemic abdication" and "regulatory neglect" of its consumer privacy enforcement mandates meant to protect air travelers' privacy, warning of "severe international and economic ramifications."

  • August 26, 2026

    Joe Gibbs Racing Beats Ex-Director's Cyber Trespass Claims

    Joe Gibbs Racing's former competition director can't pursue counterclaims alleging the NASCAR super team violated state and federal cyber hacking statutes when it allegedly accessed "off-limits" information on his devices during a forensic review, a North Carolina federal judge ruled Wednesday in their high-profile trade secrets dispute.

  • August 26, 2026

    Lawmakers Press Commerce To Curb Exports To Adversaries

    A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging the U.S. Department of Commerce to block U.S. citizens and businesses from working for foreign civilian intelligence and security agencies in Russia, China and other "countries of concern."

  • August 26, 2026

    Meta Judge Quickly OKs $17B Deal Over Social Media Harms

    A California federal judge overseeing a bellwether trial over claims Meta hid social media's harms to youth on Wednesday approved its $17.1 billion deal with 29 states, after a hearing in which she pressed lawyers on details of the deal and raised concerns about how Meta was handling attorney-client privilege issues.

Expert Analysis

  • 10 Ways To Avoid Privacy Risks Revealed In AI Notetaker Suits

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    Litigation claiming Otter.ai trained its AI-powered transcription tool on user conversations and a recent complaint alleging Granola’s notetaking bot joined video calls unbeknownst to participants show companies should assess these technologies as communications-capture tools with privacy and wiretap risks, says Jennifer Ruehr at Hintze Law.

  • Series

    Taekwondo Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Taekwondo has taught me to recognize when to fight for a position and when to focus on finding a solution, and that the best outcomes are often achieved by solving problems — all of which has improved my work as a bankruptcy lawyer, mediator and Subchapter V trustee, says Amy Denton Mayer at Berger Singerman.

  • What To Know As Legal Duty To Consider AI Takes Shape

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    While the U.K. Jurisdiction Taskforce’s recent statement on liability for artificial intelligence harms is nonbinding for both U.K. and U.S. lawyers, it highlights the importance of being able to distinguish between the availability of a tool and a professional obligation to use it, say Jonny Frank and Michael Costa at StoneTurn.

  • How FCC Covered List Blitz Is Sidelining Commerce Dept.

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    The swath of recent Federal Communications Commission rulemakings raises serious questions about the purpose and future of Commerce's Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services, and how the U.S. government will go forward in imposing national security regulation on domestic applications of adversary-linked technologies, says Peter Jeydel at Troutman.

  • Amazon v. Perplexity Ruling Limits CFAA Reach Over AI Tools

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Amazon v. Perplexity provides important early guidance on how the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act applies to agentic artificial intelligence, and is the latest in a line of rulings in which courts have declined to stretch existing statutes to broadly regulate AI, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • CFPB Complaint Portal Overhaul Signals Changing Priorities

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's updates to its consumer complaint portal and decision to cease publishing consumer complaint narratives should be viewed by companies as one component of a larger recalibration of how the CFPB collects information and allocates its supervisory and enforcement resources, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Series

    Being In A Band Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing shows in storied New York City venues and rehearsing with my bandmates in poorly ventilated rooms helped develop the professional qualities I rely on as a litigator, including an ability to collaborate with strong-minded equals and the determination to treat each client with singular focus, says Eliad Shapiro at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Rethinking Corporate Travel Rules After Device Search Cases

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    A recent New York federal court decision approving a warrantless seizure and search of company laptops and a pending Georgia federal court criminal case over a phone's data deletion underscore how little protection corporate personnel have at the border, necessitating a review of corporate travel programs, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Notable Q2 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    After 2026's second quarter, there is more authority rejecting class certification on total loss valuation theories from courts at the federal circuit, federal district and state appellate level — along with a resolution of a novel issue of depreciation on a wildfire claim, says Kevin Zimmerman at BakerHostetler.

  • 6 Key Takeaways From CFIUS Annual Report

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    Attorneys at Simpson Thacher review highlights from the annual report of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., released to Congress this month, including the launch of the American First Investment Policy and the Known Investor Pilot Program, and the agency's continued focus on enforcement despite its resource constraints.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Surviving A Long Trial

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    Most of law school trial advocacy is geared toward the sprint of trying a short case, but beyond managing a cross-examination or closing argument, effectively handling the marathon of a lengthy trial requires the ability to maintain composure, organization and credibility with the jury, says Mihir Elchuri at Hirschler.

  • AI Chatbot's Medical Claims Highlight Enforcement Risks

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    The Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine's recent lawsuit against Character Technologies, arguing that an artificial intelligence chatbot engaged in the unlicensed practice of medicine, may provide other state licensing boards with a road map for going after AI platforms, and counsel should advise clients to calibrate compliance accordingly, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • 7th Circ. Ruling May Reduce Litigation Risk For Text Marketers

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    The recent Seventh Circuit holding in Steidinger v. Blackstone Medical Services that unwanted marketing text messages are not telephone calls under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act may strengthen companies' responses to presuit demand letters and early-stage litigation claims premised on do-not-call text theories, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Other Transaction Authority May Change Military Construction

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    Early use of the Pentagon’s expanded authority to use other transaction agreements for defense construction projects suggests it may become a consequential change that draws new entrants into the marketplace, so participants should be cognizant of how it differs from the familiar Federal Acquisition Regulation model, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Mapping A Compliance Framework For AI Chatbot Operators

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent artificial intelligence guidance, together with emerging state AI chatbot laws, wiretapping statutes and telecommunications requirements, carry significant implications for consumer-facing chatbot and customer service tool operators that require a layered disclosure framework addressing multiple regulatory touchpoints, say attorneys at Winston Taylor.

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