Cybersecurity & Privacy

  • April 09, 2024

    Calif. AG Backs Bill To Revamp 'Abysmal' Corporate Penalties

    California Attorney General Rob Bonta gave his full support Tuesday to a state bill that would increase the cap on criminal penalties for corporate malfeasance from the "abysmal penalty" of $10,000 per felony to $25 million, or twice the value of the inflicted loss, and provide all proceeds to California's crime victim services.

  • April 09, 2024

    Nikola Investors' SPAC Fraud Suit Moves Ahead

    Board directors of electric truck maker Nikola Corp. and the blank-check company that took it public for $3.3 billion in 2020 must face shareholders' derivative claims of insider trading, securities fraud and merger-related breaches after Delaware's Court of Chancery on Tuesday denied more than half of the defense's motions to dismiss.

  • April 09, 2024

    AT&T, Dominion Beat OAN's Claims In Defamation Fight

    A D.C. federal judge tossed One America News's complaint claiming AT&T must indemnify it from Dominion's defamation suit over voter fraud misinformation since AT&T breached disparagement clauses in its contract with the TV channel, finding OAN has not shown Dominion's suit was prompted by public criticisms by TV personalities and AT&T's board chair.

  • April 09, 2024

    White House, Senate Dems Want $1.3B To Fight COVID Fraud

    The White House has been working with Senate Democrats on a $1.3 billion plan to expand the federal government's toolkit for going after pandemic fraudsters who took advantage of the influx of aid made available to different facets of the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • April 09, 2024

    $350M Google Privacy Settlement Receives Initial Approval

    A California federal judge on Tuesday gave the first green light to a $350 million settlement between Google's parent company, Alphabet, and investors over claims the company deceived them about a March 2018 software glitch that allegedly gave third-party app developers the ability to access the private profile data of 500,000 users of the Google Plus social media site.

  • April 09, 2024

    2nd Circ. Doubts Venue 'Error' In Conn. Malware Convictions

    The Second Circuit on Tuesday wondered why a Russian national convicted of providing technical support to a worldwide computer crime network waited until after his trial to argue that a Connecticut federal district court was the wrong venue for the matter, as the convict leaned on testimony from the leader of the Kelihos botnet to make his case during oral argument.

  • April 09, 2024

    Spirit Flies Away From Wiretap Suit Over Site User Tracking

    Spirit Airlines has beaten, for now, a consolidated proposed class action alleging that it flouted privacy and wiretapping laws by gathering its website users' communications after a Pennsylvania federal judge said the plaintiffs haven't responded to Spirit's argument that its software doesn't gather personal information and accordingly suffered no injury and lack standing.

  • April 09, 2024

    Treasury Renews Call For Tools To Combat Crypto Crime

    Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo on Tuesday renewed his call to Congress for additional tools to combat cryptocurrency's use by bad actors as lawmakers floated their own priorities for a cryptocurrency regulatory regime.

  • April 09, 2024

    Nonprofit Seeks Over $300K Atty Fees Over X Defamation Win

    A nonprofit organization focused on challenging hate speech asked a California federal judge to approve more than $300,000 in attorney fees following a successful defense against Elon Musk and social platform X Corp.'s claims over an allegedly defamatory article.

  • April 09, 2024

    Ariz. High Court Restores Civil War-Era Abortion Ban

    The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday revived the state's nearly 160-year-old abortion ban, concluding that a far more recent law that had allowed abortion through 15 weeks of pregnancy did not replace the older prohibition.

  • April 09, 2024

    Printer Buyers Defend HP Ink Cartridge Antitrust Claims

    HP printer buyers told an Illinois federal court they've done enough to show that HP monopolized the market for replacement ink cartridges by alleging the company used firmware updates to lock them into purchasing HP ink cartridges.

  • April 09, 2024

    Ashley Biden Diary Stealer Gets Prison For 'Despicable' Conduct

    A Manhattan federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a Florida woman to a month in prison for stealing the diary of President Joe Biden's daughter and selling it to Project Veritas, imposing sentence after a lengthy and unusual series of adjournments.

  • April 08, 2024

    FCC Seeks To Stop Abusers From Tracking Connected Cars

    The Federal Communications Commission is seeking input on how to prevent connected-car technologies from being used to stalk and harass targets of domestic abuse.

  • April 08, 2024

    Credit Reporters Falling Short On Trafficking Rule, CFPB Says

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Monday that its examiners have been seeing problems in the credit reporting industry with the accuracy and integrity of information that companies are relaying about consumers, including violations of certain recent protections for human trafficking survivors.

  • April 08, 2024

    Norton, Quinn Emanuel Rip Contempt Order In $600M IP Case

    A more than $600 million judgment against NortonLifeLock for infringing Columbia University patents, based partly on a contempt finding against its former law firm, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, is "indefensible" and cannot stand, the company and the firm have told the Federal Circuit.

  • April 08, 2024

    McConnell Expresses Support For TikTok Divestiture Bill

    Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Monday stressed the need for the House-passed bill to clamp down on TikTok, citing vast national security concerns.

  • April 08, 2024

    Ex-BigLaw Atty Takes Stalking Injunction Bid To State Court

    A former Greenberg Traurig LLP partner suing a social media influencer in a $150 million case alleging the influencer falsely accused the attorney of abuse in online videos on Monday moved to Florida state court an injunction petition to have the videos taken down. 

  • April 08, 2024

    Key Congressional Leaders Float Sweeping Data Privacy Bill

    The heads of the U.S. Senate and House commerce committees have taken a major step toward enacting a comprehensive federal consumer data privacy framework, reaching a long-awaited deal on proposed legislation that would minimize the personal data companies can gather, allow consumers to bring lawsuits and eliminate a growing patchwork of state laws.

  • April 05, 2024

    PNC Must Face Customer's Suit, Judge Says After Fixing Error

    A federal judge in Philadelphia reissued an opinion Friday requiring PNC Bank NA to face a customer's breach of contract suit after an earlier decision mischaracterized parties involved in an alleged check-forging scheme as PNC employees.

  • April 05, 2024

    COVID App Takes Another Shot At Apple With Justices

    App developers are again seeking U.S. Supreme Court intervention against the Ninth Circuit's refusal to revive antitrust allegations over Apple's rejection of COVID-19-tracking and bitcoin apps, decrying "fundamental error" lower courts made misreading pleading requirements, proffered market definition and more.

  • April 05, 2024

    Wow Bao Says Customer Can't Prove Kiosk Data Collection

    Asian fast-food chain Wow Bao has urged an Illinois state court judge to grant it summary judgment in a biometric privacy suit targeting the company's self-serve kiosks, arguing it cannot be held liable for collecting or possessing data it never in fact had.

  • April 05, 2024

    Justices Urged To 'Shut The Door' On Meta Disclosure Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court should "shut the door" on private securities lawsuits that could create a bloated disclosure regime and hurt businesses and investors alike, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Friday in a brief backing Meta Platforms Inc.'s call for the justices to hear a shareholder proposed class action over the Cambridge Analytica data abuse scandal.

  • April 05, 2024

    Top 3 Groups Lobbying The FCC

    The Federal Communications Commission heard from policy advocates more than 200 times in March, as the agency fielded concerns on net neutrality rules, bulk billing for internet service, broadband deployment, school connectivity and more.

  • April 05, 2024

    Insurer Denies Coverage In Pet Store BIPA Class Action

    An insurer told a Michigan federal court Friday that it didn't have to cover a pet store in an underlying employee proposed class action alleging the store violated Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act because the claims were precluded by the policy and a state statute of limitations.

  • April 05, 2024

    Beverage Giant Sued Under Illinois Genetic Privacy Law

    Reyes Holdings, the largest beer distributor in the United States, has been sued in Illinois state court by a proposed class of job applicants who claim their genetic privacy rights were violated when they were required to submit to physical exams and inquiries about their family medical history as a condition of employment at the beverage distributor or its subsidiaries.

Expert Analysis

  • Potential Defendant Strategies Amid Calif. Privacy Questions

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    Although the current case law surrounding the California Consumer Privacy Act is in its infancy, courts have begun addressing important issues related to the notice-and-cure provisions of the statute, and these decisions show defendant-businesses would be wise to assert their notice rights early and repeatedly, say Viola Trebicka and Dan Humphrey at Quinn Emanuel.

  • Legal Issues Loom For Driverless Trucking

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    Companies' recent experiments with driverless trucking technology herald a transformation of the logistics sector — but stakeholders must reckon with increasing regulatory scrutiny, emerging liability issues, and concerns around ethical guidelines, insurance and standardization, say Zal Phiroz at Pier Consulting Group and Nicolas Bezada at Unishippers.

  • The Double-Edged Sword Of Biometrics In Financial Services

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    Financial institutions are increasingly turning to biometrics for identity verification and fraud prevention, and while there are many benefits to such features, banks must remain vigilant against growing AI technologies that could make users' information vulnerable to biometrics hackers, say Elizabeth Roper at Baker McKenzie and Chris Allgrove at Ingenium Biometric Laboratories.

  • How 2 CFPB Advisory Opinions Affect Reporting Agencies

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued two advisory opinions last month that demonstrate a continued commitment to address inaccuracies in background check reports and consumer file disclosures through broad interpretation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, expanding on a coordinated federal agency effort, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • A Close Look At The FCC's Revised SIM Card Fraud Rules

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    Carolyn Mahoney and John Seiver at Davis Wright break down recently proposed revisions to the Federal Communications Commission's customer proprietary network information and local number portability rules for wireless providers, discuss the revisions' implications on artificial intelligence regulation, and provide tips to prevent SIM swap and port-out fraud.

  • What Retailers Should Note In Calif. Web Tracking Suits

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    As retailers face a deluge of class actions alleging the use of conventional web analytic tools violate wiretapping and eavesdropping provisions of the California Invasion of Privacy Act, uncovering the path toward a narrow interpretation of the law will largely depend on how these cases proceed, say Matthew Pearson and Kareem Salem at BakerHostetler.

  • Copyright Lessons Following Ruling In Artist AI Suit

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    The recent California district court ruling in Andersen v. Stability AI — that artists needed to specify how the training of artificial intelligence tools violated their copyrights — shows that lawyers on either side of generative AI matters must carefully navigate copyright issues including temporary copying and data sourcing, says Carlos Araya at Magnolia Abogados.

  • The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift

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    As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.

  • 5 Reasons Associates Shouldn't Take A Job Just For Money

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    As a number of BigLaw firms increase salary scales for early-career attorneys, law students and lateral associates considering new job offers should weigh several key factors that may matter more than financial compensation, say Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub and Ruvin Levavi at Power Forward.

  • SEC Registrants Likely Won't Get Cyber Disclosure Delays

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's sweeping cybersecurity disclosure final rules, its SolarWinds enforcement action and recent U.S. Department of Justice guidance show the pressure is on registrants to disclose incidents timely and accurately, but the circumstances in which an extension will be granted are extremely rare, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Following Banking Regulators' Breadcrumbs To 2024 Priorities

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    Through blog posts, speeches, and formal guidance and regulations, prudential and other federal and state financial regulators laid out a road map last year pointing to compliance priorities that should be reflected in financial institutions' planning this year, say Laurel Loomis Rimon and Gina Shabana at Jenner & Block.

  • Directors And Officers Face Unique AI-Related Risks

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    As privacy, intellectual property and discrimination lawsuits focusing on artificial intelligence increase, corporate directors and officers must stay aware of associated risks, including those related to compliance, litigation and cybersecurity, says Jonathan Meer at Wilson Elser.

  • Series

    Playing Competitive Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experience playing competitive tennis has highlighted why prioritizing exercise and stress relief, maintaining perspective under pressure, and supporting colleagues in pursuit of a common goal are all key aspects of championing a successful legal career, says Madhumita Datta at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • New Strain Of Web Tracking Suits Pose Risks For Retailers

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    Amid an ongoing surge of California state and federal lawsuits that are using novel theories to allege companies used certain recording technologies to illegally track website users, retailers should take steps to develop a potential argument that customers consented to any alleged uses of these devices, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Djerassi On Super Bowl 52

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    Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Ramy Djerassi discusses how Super Bowl 52, in which the Philadelphia Eagles prevailed over the New England Patriots, provides an apt metaphor for alternative dispute resolution processes in commercial business cases.

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