Cybersecurity & Privacy

  • January 08, 2025

    Mortgage Cos. Fined $20M Over Cybersecurity Breach

    Bayview Asset Management LLC and three affiliates on Wednesday agreed to pay a $20 million fine and improve their cybersecurity programs to settle allegations from 53 state financial regulators that the mortgage companies had deficient cybersecurity practices and didn't fully cooperate with regulators after a 2021 data breach.

  • January 08, 2025

    EU Commission To Pay €400 For Sending IP Address To Meta

    A European Union court ordered the bloc's commission on Wednesday to pay a German citizen €400 ($412) in compensation for operating a website that disclosed his IP address to Meta in breach of its own data regulations — a first for the executive branch.

  • January 07, 2025

    HHS Fines Mass. Health Firm $80K Over Ransomware Attack

    Elgon Information Systems, which provides digital medical record and billing support services, will pay $80,000 over alleged healthcare data protection rule violations following a ransomware attack on its systems in March 2023 that impacted roughly 31,248 customers, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday.

  • January 07, 2025

    'Cyber Trust Mark' To Soon Adorn Smart Devices, Gov't Says

    The makers of internet-connected devices such as home security cameras and voice-activated assistants will soon be able to obtain a label to certify that their products meet certain cybersecurity standards, under a new program officially launched by the Biden administration Tuesday. 

  • January 07, 2025

    9th Circ. Upholds Ore. Ban On Secret Audio Recordings

    A split en banc Ninth Circuit panel on Tuesday upheld as constitutional an Oregon law prohibiting secret audio recordings of people's conversations, ruling in a published opinion that the statute was narrowly tailored to Oregon's significant interest in ensuring its residents know when their conversations are recorded, even in public.

  • January 07, 2025

    Hacked LA Law Firm Hill Farrer Beats Suit Over Cyberattack

    A Los Angeles judge Tuesday tossed a proposed class action against Hill Farrer & Burrill LLP alleging it failed to stop a preventable cyberattack carried out by hackers and said he would not allow for the complaint to be amended because the case law cited by the lead plaintiff is deficient.

  • January 07, 2025

    FCC Urged To Revisit New Robocall Penalty Plan

    Voice providers are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to ease robocall reporting requirements, with one prominent telecom trade group calling a potential agency proposal to fine companies $10,000 for submitting false or inaccurate compliance reports "unnecessarily punitive."

  • January 07, 2025

    H&R Block Accused Of Negligence In Data Breach

    An H&R Block user who claims cybercriminals disseminated his personal information on the dark web, after a data breach at the tax preparation firm, accused the company in a proposed class action of failing to properly protect consumer data.

  • January 07, 2025

    Google Avoids Data Destruction Sanctions In Ad Privacy Suit

    A California federal judge has declined to sanction and hold Google in contempt for purportedly intentionally destroying key evidence in a putative class action claiming the company's ad auction practices violate privacy rights, saying the consumers' motion came too late after fact discovery closed.

  • January 07, 2025

    Top Groups Lobbying The FCC

    The Federal Communications Commission heard from advocates more than 50 times in December on issues ranging from prison phone rates to the use of artificial intelligence in text messages, shared use of the airwaves, marketing consent rules and more.

  • January 07, 2025

    Didi Investor Wants To Be New Leader Of Regulatory Suit

    A Didi Global Inc. investor asked Tuesday to sub in as lead plaintiff in a proposed class action claiming the Chinese ride-hailing giant misrepresented the risks of a disciplinary crackdown from the Chinese government over alleged data security violations, as the suit's current leader plans to withdraw from the litigation.

  • January 07, 2025

    States Push For Jury Trial In Google Ad Tech Case

    State enforcers accusing Google of monopolizing key digital advertising technology have urged a Texas federal court to reject Google's bid to have the case decided by a judge, saying the U.S. Supreme Court's recent Jarkesy decision confirms the right to a jury trial.

  • January 07, 2025

    Judge Looks To Finally Resolve Mass. 'Right To Repair' Suit

    A long-stalled fight over Massachusetts' expanded "right to repair" law requiring open access to vehicle telematics software appears to be on a fast track after a new judge took over the case and said Tuesday she plans to rule in the near future.

  • January 07, 2025

    Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Special Counsel Report

    A Florida federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the publication of a report by special counsel Jack Smith regarding his two now-dismissed prosecutions of Donald Trump, after lawyers for the president-elect said Smith was trying to continue a political crusade now that he can no longer pursue criminal charges.

  • January 07, 2025

    CFPB Accuses Experian Of 'Sham' Dispute Investigations

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday sued credit reporting giant Experian in California federal court, alleging it conducts shoddy investigations into consumer-flagged reporting errors and allows previously deleted errors to reappear.

  • January 06, 2025

    Trump Selects Long Island Judge For EDNY's Top Prosecutor

    President-elect Donald Trump, who was born in Queens, has picked a Long Island state court judge to serve as the next U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, according to an announcement made Monday on Truth Social.

  • January 06, 2025

    9th Circ. Urged To Extend Freeze On Calif. Social Media Law

    Tech trade group NetChoice is pressing the Ninth Circuit to stop California from beginning enforcement of a new social media addiction law on Feb. 1, arguing that the lower court "flouted" precedent when it refused to find that restricting minors' access to personalized feeds violates the First Amendment.

  • January 06, 2025

    FTC Urges Individuals And Cos. To Exercise Caution With AI

    The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Friday encouraged individuals and companies to exercise caution when it comes to interacting with and deploying so-called artificial intelligence systems and tools, citing the potential for various "real-world instances of harm," including privacy and security risks.

  • January 06, 2025

    LinkedIn Beats Federal Privacy Claims In Suit Over DMV Info

    A California federal judge has again freed LinkedIn from proposed class allegations it violated federal protections on licensed drivers' personal information, saying a LinkedIn user didn't sufficiently allege that her personal information was transmitted to the professional social media company from a Department of Motor Vehicle record.

  • January 06, 2025

    Google Looks To Toss Big Tech Litigant's Antitrust Claims

    Google asked a Florida federal court on Monday to dismiss antitrust claims from web development company Greenflight over the search giant's reverse phone number lookup, saying the newly amended suit does not rectify the pleading problems already pointed out by the court.

  • January 06, 2025

    FCC Chief Floats Spectrum Sale To Fund Network Security

    The outgoing head of the Federal Communications Commission on Monday proposed to quickly get a spectrum auction off the ground with proceeds going toward a key U.S. network security program.

  • January 06, 2025

    DOD Adds WeChat Owner, CATL To Chinese Military Co. List

    The U.S. Department of Defense added dozens of businesses Monday to its list of companies affiliated with the Chinese military, including electric-car battery maker CATL and Tencent Holdings Ltd. — owner of the popular text-messaging app WeChat — prompting Tencent to slam the designation as "clearly a mistake."

  • January 06, 2025

    T-Mobile's Lax Policies Led To 2021 Data Hack, Wash. AG Says

    Washington's attorney general on Monday accused T-Mobile of repeatedly ignoring cyber-threat warnings leading up to a 2021 data breach that exposed sensitive personal data belonging to more than 2 million customers in the state.

  • January 06, 2025

    KKR Pushes Fuji Soft To Pursue Legal Action Against Bain

    Private equity giant KKR called on the board of Fuji Soft on Monday to take legal action against Bain Capital amid a bidding war for the company between the two competing investors, arguing that Bain's unauthorized use of confidential information and breach of its nondisclosure agreement "significantly jeopardizes" the reputation of private equity funds in Japan.

  • January 06, 2025

    7th Circ. Affirms 'Do Not Call' Liability, But Balks At $28M Fine

    The Seventh Circuit vacated a $28.6 million penalty against two sales companies over unwanted telemarketing calls Friday, but upheld a district court ruling that they shared liability, ordering the lower court to reconsider the penalty and whether the companies could pay it.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Group Running Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The combination of physical fitness and community connection derived from running with a group of business leaders has, among other things, helped me to stay grounded, improve my communication skills, and develop a deeper empathy for clients and colleagues, says Jessica Shpall Rosen at Greenwald Doherty.

  • Opinion

    6 Changes I Would Make If I Ran A Law School

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    Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner identifies several key issues plaguing law schools and discusses potential solutions, such as opting out of the rankings game and mandating courses in basic writing skills.

  • The Current State Of Play Around Corporate Transparency Act

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    Although a Texas court preliminarily enjoined enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act and paused an impending Dec. 31 reporting deadline, multiple states have similar requirements, so companies should continue to monitor compliance obligations regardless of the CTA's constitutionality, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Using Data To Inform Corporate Disclosure Decisions

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    With today’s market volatility and regulatory factors requiring public companies to confront competing transparency and protection demands, incorporating stock price reaction analysis of company-specific news into the controller's role could be beneficial for disclosure determinations, say Liz Dunshee at Fredrikson & Byron and Nessim Mezrahi at SAR.

  • How CFPB Rule Would Affect Data Brokers And Beyond

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    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently proposed a rule that would not only expand data broker oversight by classifying many as consumer reporting agencies, but would also impose new limitations on companies seeking to obtain information from them, potentially requiring such entities to alter their business models, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • Firms Still Have The Edge In Lateral Hiring, But Buyer Beware

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    Partner mobility data suggests that the third quarter of this year continued to be a buyer’s market, with the average candidate demanding less compensation for a larger book of business — but moving into the fourth quarter, firms should slow down their hiring process to minimize risks, say officers at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Reviewing 2024's State Consumer Privacy Law Enforcement

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    While we are still in the infancy of state consumer privacy laws, a review of enforcement activity this year suggests substantial overlaps in regulatory priorities across the most active states and gives insight into the likely paths of future enforcement, says Thomas Nolan at Quinn Emanuel.

  • 5th Circ. Crypto Ruling Shows Limits On OFAC Authority

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    The Fifth Circuit's recent decision that immutable smart contracts on the Tornado Cash crypto-transaction software protocol are not "property" subject to Office of Foreign Assets Control jurisdiction may signal that courts can construe OFAC's authority more restrictively after Loper Bright, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Preparing For The New Restrictions On Investment Into China

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    In light of a new regulatory program governing U.S. investments in China-related technology companies of national security concern, investors should keep several considerations in mind, including the rules' effect on existing and new investments, compliance hurdles, and penalties for noncompliance ahead of the rules' January implementation, say attorneys at Gunderson Dettmer.

  • Risk Disclosure Issue Remains After Justices Nix Meta Case

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    After full briefing and argument, the U.S. Supreme Court recently dismissed Facebook v. Amalgamated Bank as improvidently granted, leaving courts with the tricky endeavor of determining when the failure to disclose a past event in an Item 105 risk disclosure is materially misleading, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: 1 Type Of Case Complexity Stands Out

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    In contrast to some cases that appear complex due to voluminous evidence or esoteric subject matter, a different kind of complexity involves tangled legal and factual questions, each with a range of possible outcomes, which require a “sliding scale” approach instead of syllogistic reasoning, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • FTX Exec's Sentencing Shows Pros And Cons Of Cooperation

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    The sentencing of former FTX tech deputy Gary Wang, whose cooperation netted him a rare outcome of no prison time, offers critical takeaways for attorneys and clients navigating the burgeoning world of crypto-related prosecutions, says Andrew Meck at Whiteford.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Note 3 Simple Types Of Legal Complexity

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    Cases can appear complex for several reasons — due to the number of issues, the volume of factual and evidentiary sources, and the sophistication of those sources — but the same basic technique can help lawyers tame their arguments into a simple and persuasive message, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Trending At The PTAB: Collateral Estoppel Continues Evolving

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    We are starting to see brighter lines on collateral estoppel involving Patent Trial and Appeal Board proceedings, illustrated by two recent cases that considered whether collateral estoppel should apply to factual findings on prior art from the PTAB in a later district court litigation, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Series

    Gardening Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Beyond its practical and therapeutic benefits, gardening has bolstered important attributes that also apply to my litigation practice, including persistence, patience, grit and authenticity, says Christopher Viceconte at Gibbons.

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