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Cybersecurity & Privacy
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July 23, 2024
Clinic Gets NC Biz Court's Final OK For Hacking Suit Deal
A North Carolina Business Court judge granted final approval to a class action settlement between a physician-owned orthopedic practice and the current and former patients who took it to court over a data breach that exposed their private information, including their medical records.
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July 23, 2024
Chase, McKinsey Get FTC Inquiry Over 'Surveillance Pricing'
The Federal Trade Commission has issued orders to eight companies — including Mastercard, Chase, Accenture and McKinsey & Co. — seeking more information about the potential impact their practices of "surveillance pricing" products and services have on privacy, competition and consumer protection, the FTC said Tuesday.
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July 22, 2024
Verizon's TracFone Hit With $16M FCC Data Breach Penalty
Verizon's prepaid service subsidiary TracFone Wireless has agreed to shell out a $16 million civil penalty to resolve Federal Communications Commission probes into whether it failed to protect customer information during three data breaches, the agency announced Monday.
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July 22, 2024
FCC, Industry Debate If Brand X Case Set Broadband In Stone
Industry groups are pushing their case to the Sixth Circuit that the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules should be tossed because the demise of the Chevron doctrine trimmed agency's legal authority, but the FCC argues that the recent paring back of federal regulators' discretion means nothing for the agency's restrictions on broadband providers.
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July 22, 2024
Equifax Bracing For CFPB On Dispute-Handling, Coding Glitch
Equifax said Monday that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to pursue fines over the credit reporting giant's handling of consumer disputes and a separate, short-lived "coding issue" that affected some credit score calculations in 2022.
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July 22, 2024
FCC Blames AT&T Network Change For 'Sunny Day' Outage
The Federal Communications Commission said Monday it will consider enforcement action after finding that an AT&T network change triggered a massive service outage in February, which blocked more than 92 million calls and 25,000 attempts to reach 911.
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July 22, 2024
Michigan's Cases To Watch 2024: A Midyear Report
Michigan's highest court is preparing to take on cases that could restore imperiled PFAS regulations, prevent employers from cutting short employees' window to file civil rights claims and expand the reach of Michigan's consumer protection law. Here are some of Michigan's most important cases to watch for the rest of the year.
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July 22, 2024
NC Hospital, Patients Nearing Deal In Hacking Suit
Columbus Regional Healthcare System and the patients who accused it of failing to properly protect their personal information at its North Carolina hospital have reached a tentative settlement agreement, according to a new notice asking the Tar Heel State's business court to pause proceedings while they hash it out.
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July 22, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
A $6 million bank fee, a $42.5 million shopping mall deal, some questionable Amazon deliveries and long-ago expired ketchup: it was all part of the comings and goings in Delaware's Court of Chancery last week. New cases involved mining and cybersecurity companies, board takeovers, "weaponized" director election provisions, and legal fees following a $3.1 billion telecom merger. In case you missed it, here's the latest from the Chancery Court.
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July 22, 2024
LA Superior Court Closed Monday Due To Ransomware Attack
The Superior Court of Los Angeles County was forced to close Monday as the court continued to work to repair and reboot network systems that were severely impacted by a ransomware attack that occurred on the same day as an unrelated global tech outage.
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July 22, 2024
Meta Hit With Fresh Complaint Over 'Pay Or Consent' Model
Meta has been hit with a complaint from European consumer protection authorities, which fear that the tech giant's "pay or consent" business model for Facebook and Instagram misleads its users, the European Commission said on Monday.
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July 19, 2024
9th Circ. Judge Open To Reversing Google's Privacy Win
A Ninth Circuit judge appeared receptive Friday to reversing Google's summary judgment win in Chrome users' proposed privacy class action, telling Google's counsel that the standard is what a reasonable consumer would expect and "you have a much higher opinion of the average intelligence of the computer user than I."
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July 19, 2024
Pornhub's Parent Co. Seeks Exit From Trafficking Class Action
MindGeek asked a California federal judge Friday to end a class action filed by individuals who alleged its company Pornhub published sexually explicit videos of them as minors, arguing there's no evidence showing MindGeek promoted child pornography on its sites, and that it removed the videos upon request.
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July 19, 2024
More Airwaves Needed For Power Grid Upgrades, FCC Told
Power companies are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to help free up more spectrum for utilities, telling the agency that opening up spectrum currently committed to public safety use could be a win-win.
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July 19, 2024
Oracle Inks $115M Deal To End Consumer Data Collection Suit
Oracle America Inc. agreed to pay $115 million to resolve a proposed class action alleging the software company illegally sold internet users' electronic profiles, consumers told a California federal judge, putting to rest a case that has stretched on for nearly two years.
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July 19, 2024
How Did The Global Tech Outage Impact Transportation?
The overnight global tech outage that prompted a cascade of flight delays and cancellations and disruptions to certain transit, shipping and port operations, left transportation providers and other critical infrastructure reeling and wondering how to avoid further crippling computer failures.
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July 19, 2024
SEC Wins $1.1M Penalty Against Crypto CEO
A New York federal judge ordered the CEO of bitcoin mining firm MGT Capital Investments Inc. to pay a $1.1 million civil penalty for making misstatements in contribution to an alleged pump-and-dump scheme, even though the defendant had argued the impact of his statements on investors was negligible.
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July 19, 2024
SolarWinds' Ruling 'No Comfort' For Cybersecurity Leaders
Although a federal district court has struck down significant portions of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's data breach case against software developer SolarWinds Corp., attorneys say what remains of the lawsuit gives "no comfort" to chief information security officers hoping to avoid similar suits over statements about their company's cybersecurity practices.
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July 19, 2024
Jury Finds Booking.com Owes Ryanair $5K For Data Scraping
Irish discount airline Ryanair has convinced a Delaware federal jury to find that online travel website giant Booking.com should pay $5,000 for using screen scraping software in a way that ran afoul of computer fraud laws, which the airline likened to "internet piracy."
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July 19, 2024
House AI Report Is 'Blueprint' For Coming Committee Action
The House Financial Services Committee is poised to take on a "leading role" in regulating the use of artificial intelligence in financial services, according to a new congressional report highlighting the importance of antidiscrimination and data privacy guardrails.
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July 19, 2024
Plaintiffs Drop Digital 'Wiretap' Suit Over Marketing Software
The plaintiffs in a proposed class action accusing a Colorado software service provider of illegally eavesdropping on visitors' interactions with the CVS.com website have voluntarily dropped their suit, according to a notice filed Friday.
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July 19, 2024
2 Foreign Nationals Cop To Roles In Ransomware Group
Two Russian nationals have admitted to participating in the LockBit ransomware group and collectively taking more than $2 million through ransomware attacks on victims ranging from individuals and small businesses to hospitals, schools, nonprofit organizations and government agencies, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced Thursday.
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July 19, 2024
A Guide To The USPTO's Long List Of Requests For Comment
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has kept attorneys busy this year by seeking input on numerous patent issues and proposed rules. Here's a cheat sheet to the topics where feedback has been collected, from fee hikes to director reviews, and those with upcoming comment deadlines, including artificial intelligence.
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July 19, 2024
Evolve Bank Leaked 7.6M Customers' Private Info, Suit Says
Evolve Bank & Trust has been hit with a proposed class action in Tennessee federal court alleging it failed to adequately protect the personal information of 7.6 million individuals from a cyberattack and failed to conduct reasonable data security practices.
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July 19, 2024
Several State Courts Impacted By Global Tech Outage
Several state courts have been impacted by a global Microsoft Windows outage Friday morning causing operational challenges and courthouse closures.
Expert Analysis
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5 Steps To Protect Your Business From Spoofed Email Fraud
In today's digital landscape, spoofed email fraud poses a significant threat to businesses, so specifying clear payment instructions and implementing robust verification protocols, among other steps, can significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to email fraud, says Bill Wagner at Taft.
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Cyber Incident Response Checklist For SEC Compliance
In light of recent guidance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which clarified the distinction between two types of cybersecurity incident disclosures, companies should align their materiality assessment, incident response and disclosure control processes to bolster compliance and provide a measure of protection, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Playing The Odds: Probing Sports Betting Allegations
With gambling-related controversies becoming a mainstay of the athletics landscape, it's essential for in-house and outside counsel to stay abreast of best practices for conducting sports betting investigations, say attorneys at Steptoe.
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Opinion
Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.
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How Tech Trackers May Implicate HIPAA After Hospital Ruling
A recent Texas federal court order in American Hospital Association v. Becerra adds a legal protection on key data, clarifying when tracking technologies implicate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, so organizations should ensure all technology used is known and accounted for, say John Howard and Myriah Jaworski at Clark Hill.
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Series
Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.
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A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
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Mitigating Risks Amid 10-Year Sanctions Enforcement Window
In response to recent legislation, which doubles the statute of limitations for actions related to certain U.S. sanctions and provides regulators greater opportunity to investigate possible violations, companies should take specific steps to account for the increased civil and criminal enforcement risk, say attorneys at Freshfields.
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M&A In The AI Era: Key Deal Terms To Watch
As the artificial intelligence market matures, so will due diligence needs, as M&A deals aimed at consolidation and new synergies raise unique legal and regulatory challenges, including potential antitrust and national security reviews, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Opinion
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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Navigating The Extent Of SEC Cybersecurity Breach Authority
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's broad reading of its authority under Section 13(b)(2)(B) of the Securities Exchange Act in the R.R. Donnelley and SolarWinds actions has ramifications for companies dealing with cybersecurity breaches, but it remains to be seen whether the commission's use of the provision will withstand judicial scrutiny, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.
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7th Circ. Exclusion Ruling Will Narrow BIPA Coverage
The Seventh Circuit's recent decision in Thermoflex Waukegan v. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, holding that the access or disclosure exclusion applies to insurance claims brought under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, departs from the majority rule and opens the door to insurers more firmly denying coverage under general liability policies, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
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Series
Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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Why High Court Social Media Ruling Will Be Hotly Debated
In deciding the NetChoice cases that challenged Florida and Texas content moderation laws, what the U.S. Supreme Court justices said about social media platforms — and the First Amendment — will have implications and raise questions for nearly all online operators, say Jacob Canter and Joanna Rosen Forster at Crowell & Moring.