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Cybersecurity & Privacy
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October 10, 2024
Most Appian Claims Survive In Pegasystems Defamation Fight
A Massachusetts federal judge has allowed most counterclaims from business software company Appian Corp. to proceed against rival Pegasystems Inc., which accused its competitor in a lawsuit of making deliberately malicious statements and representations regarding a trade secret case the parties are litigating in Virginia.
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October 10, 2024
Feds Ask 18 Months For 'Razzlekhan's' Role In Crypto Hack
The wife of a hacker who admitted to stealing what is now billions of dollars worth of bitcoin from the crypto exchange Bitfinex deserves 18 months in prison for her role in the heist, federal prosecutors say in a recommendation that takes her cooperation into account.
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October 10, 2024
Ga. Container Co. Hit With Data Breach Lawsuit
A Georgia-based manufacturer and global supplier of blow-molded plastic containers has been hit with a proposed class action in federal court over a December 2023 data breach that allegedly exposed the personal information of more than 30,000 people who were not notified about the hack until this month.
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October 10, 2024
Gunster Reaches Deal In One Of Two Data Breach Actions
Gunster has struck a settlement agreement in one of the two proposed class actions it faces in Florida federal court over a 2022 data breach, while the plaintiffs in the second case urged the court the same day to reject the law firm's dismissal bid in their suit.
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October 09, 2024
RFK Jr. Jumps Into TikTok Ban Fight At DC Circ.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has joined the fray in litigation at the D.C. Circuit challenging a federal law that could put TikTok out of business in the United States, contending in a new lawsuit that the sale-or-ban statute defies the First Amendment.
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October 09, 2024
Judge OKs $9M Data Hack Deal, Asks How Public Views Fees
A Washington federal judge on Wednesday approved an $8.8 million settlement that ended a consolidated data breach class action against a Hearst Health unit, but not before pondering how the public might perceive the deal, in which one-third of the money is going toward legal costs.
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October 09, 2024
Kohl's Sued After Vendor Hack Leaks 1.9M Customers Files
Kohl's department store customers hit the retail giant on Wednesday with a putative breach of implied contract class action in Pennsylvania federal court alleging the store failed to protect data from 1.9 million customers from a hack targeting a contractor the retailer uses for debt collection.
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October 09, 2024
Yale Must Answer Ex-Student's 'Execution' Fears, Judge Says
A judge has ordered Yale University to respond to an expelled student's fears of execution if he is deported to Afghanistan as she mulls lifting a ban on naming a classmate who accused the ex-student of sexual assault in litigation connected to a key Title IX ruling.
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October 09, 2024
NY Mets Parent Co. Accused Of Selling Biometric Data For Profit
Sterling Mets LP — the owner of the New York Mets baseball franchise — has been hit with a proposed class action alleging that it illegally shares biometric identifier information from Citi Field's visitors for a profit.
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October 09, 2024
Thomson Reuters Gets Initial OK On $27.5M Privacy Suit Deal
A San Francisco federal judge Wednesday preliminarily approved Thomson Reuters' $27.5 million deal to settle a certified class action alleging that the information conglomerate violated the privacy rights of 40 million Californians by secretly collecting their data to sell "cradle-to-grave dossiers."
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October 09, 2024
Pa. Justices Delve Into Audiences For Facebook Posts
Whether the public's right to access to school board members' controversial social media posts depends on the intended audience dominated oral argument at the Pennsylvania's Supreme Court on Wednesday in a resident's challenge of a court order shielding the content.
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October 09, 2024
Marriott Inks $52M Deal With States Over Guest Data Breach
Marriott International Inc. has agreed to pay $52 million to nearly every U.S. state and bolster its data security practices to resolve parallel investigations by state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission over a massive data breach at the hotel's Starwood-branded properties.
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October 09, 2024
Settlement Ends Suit Over 'Unwanted' Insurance Agency Calls
A Georgia-based insurance agency has reached a settlement with a proposed class that accused it of making "aggressive" telemarketing calls to seniors advertising final expense and life insurance products despite the seniors' requests that the calls stop or their status on the national do-not-call list.
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October 08, 2024
Ex-Uber Exec's Actions Smell Like Cover-Up, 9th Circ. Judge Says
A Ninth Circuit panel appeared skeptical Tuesday of Uber's ex-security chief's effort to overturn his convictions for obstructing an investigation into an Uber data breach, with one judge saying the defendant's abrupt changes to Uber's policies "does smell to me like a cover-up."
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October 08, 2024
Jackson, Kagan Target Loper Bright In Ghost Gun Case
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was uncharacteristically quiet during initial arguments Tuesday over the federal government's authority to regulate ghost guns. While her colleagues debated whether kits of unassembled parts qualify as firearms, she waited patiently to post a different question: Can courts now toss agency interpretations they don't like?
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October 08, 2024
Congress Urged To Prevent Stalking Via Smart Car
An auto technology trade group asked congressional leaders Tuesday to push through legislation that would allow car connectivity services to cut access to domestic abusers.
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October 08, 2024
House Oversight Chair Targets Khan's 'Political Activities'
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., put Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina M. Khan on blast Tuesday for participating in official events held by Democratic lawmakers running for reelection or higher office, castigating the leader of the FTC's Democratic majority for "partisan political activities."
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October 08, 2024
Mich. Judge Won't Halt EV Battery-Plant Build During Appeal
A Michigan federal judge said Monday she will not lift an order forcing a town's leaders to abide by a development agreement with battery manufacturer Gotion Inc. while the town seeks a Sixth Circuit review of the decision.
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October 08, 2024
Exporting Chips To China Doesn't Merit 7 Years, 9th Circ. Told
Counsel for a former UCLA electrical engineering professor urged the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday to reduce his seven-year prison sentence for illegally exporting high-powered semiconductor chips to China, saying the conduct did not amount to an evasion of national security controls.
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October 08, 2024
College Admins Beat Ex-Prof's Suit Over Race-Based Study
Cleveland State University faculty defeated a former professor's suit alleging he was unlawfully fired for publishing research asserting intelligence differences between white and Black people, with an Ohio federal judge finding he was let go for abusing access to restricted data, not his research subject.
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October 08, 2024
AGs Slam TikTok With Youth Addiction, Fraud Claims
More than a dozen states have sued TikTok, alleging the popular social media platform targets young users and manipulates them into becoming habitual users while downplaying the harmful effects it can have on mental health and development.
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October 07, 2024
Mednax Gets Final OK For $6M Data Breach Settlement
A Florida federal judge on Friday gave the green light to Mednax's $6 million settlement putting to rest a proposed class action accusing the medical provider of failing to adequately protect patients' personal information from a 2020 phishing attack, calling the deal "fair, reasonable and adequate."
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October 07, 2024
Car Sharing App Getaround Faces BIPA Suit Over Facial Scans
Car sharing platform Getaround Inc. is facing a proposed class action in Illinois federal court accusing the company of illegally gathering, storing and disseminating its users' facial geometry scans obtained through a mandatory verification process, in violation of the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act.
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October 07, 2024
FCC Needs To 'Harmonize' Cybersecurity, Mobile Group Says
A key wireless industry group has urged the Federal Communications Commission to ensure the network cybersecurity plans required by the agency's recent 5G Fund order are applied evenly across all its deployment funding programs.
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October 07, 2024
Apple Doesn't Infringe Digital Identity Patents, Jury Finds
A federal jury in Austin, Texas, has rejected a $361 million patent case from a longtime ExxonMobil employee who had targeted in-house cybersecurity hardware used in Apple iPhones.
Expert Analysis
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Energy And AI: Key Issues And Future Challenges
Artificial intelligence promises new technical advantages for the energy industry, but it is also responsible for vast, and growing, energy consumption — so the future of AI and energy will require balancing technological advancement with regulatory oversight, environmental responsibility and infrastructure development, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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When Banks Unknowingly Become HIPAA Biz Associates
There appears to be significant confusion regarding the application of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act to financial institutions when serving healthcare-related clients, so these institutions should consider undertaking several steps as a starting point in the effort to achieve compliance, say attorneys at Vorys.
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The Regulatory Headwinds Facing Lab-Developed Tests
Though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's final rule regarding regulation of laboratory-developed tests outlines a four-year plan for ending enforcement discretion, and though this rule is currently being challenged in courts, manufacturers should heed compliance opportunities immediately as enforcement actions are already on the horizon, say attorneys at Kirkland & Ellis.
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Opinion
The Big Issues A BigLaw Associates' Union Could Address
A BigLaw associates’ union could address a number of issues that have the potential to meaningfully improve working conditions, diversity and attorney well-being — from restructured billable hour requirements to origination credit allocation, return-to-office mandates and more, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.
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Opting In To CIPA Risk Mitigation After New Precedent
A recent California federal court decision, adopting a new, broad interpretation of the California Invasion of Privacy Act, will likely increase the volume of CIPA claims and should prompt businesses to undertake certain preventative measures, including adopting an opt-in approach to using third-party website advertising technologies, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.
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Opinion
It's Time For A BigLaw Associates' Union
As BigLaw faces a steady stream of criticism about its employment policies and practices, an associates union could effect real change — and it could start with law students organizing around opposition to recent recruiting trends, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.
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Why DOJ's Whistleblower Program May Have Limited Impact
The U.S. Department of Justice’s new whistleblower pilot program aims to incentivize individuals to report corporate misconduct, but the program's effectiveness may be undercut by its differences from other federal agencies’ whistleblower programs and its interplay with other DOJ policies, say attorneys at Milbank.
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What 7th Circ. Samsung Decision Means For Mass Arbitration
The Seventh Circuit's recent decision in Wallrich v. Samsung highlights the dilemma faced by mass arbitration filers in the face of nonpayment of arbitration fees by the defending party — but also suggests that there are risks for defendants in pursuing such a strategy, says Daniel Campbell at McDermott.
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Takeaways From Virginia's $2B Trade Secrets Verdict Reversal
The Virginia Court of Appeals' recent reversal of the $2 billion damages award in Pegasystems v. Appian underscores the claimant's burden to show damages causation and highlights how an evidentiary ruling could lead to reversible error, say John Lanham and Kamran Jamil at Morrison Foerster.
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How Justices Upended The Administrative Procedure Act
In its recent Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed the Administrative Procedure Act in ways that undermine Congress and the executive branch, shift power to the judiciary, curtail public and business input, and create great uncertainty, say Alene Taber and Beth Hummer at Hanson Bridgett.
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FTC Drives Crackdown On Connected Cars' Data Privacy Risk
After the Federal Trade Commission's warning to automakers about data privacy, which continues to emerge as a national concern, automakers must carefully examine their data collection, use and retention practices, say Catherine Castaldo and Michael Rubayo at Reed Smith.
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Considerations As State AGs Step Up Privacy Enforcement
As new state privacy laws take effect, businesses are facing an increasingly complex patchwork of compliance obligations and risk of scrutiny by attorneys general, but companies can gain a competitive edge by building consumer trust and staying ahead of regulatory trends, say Ann-Marie Luciano and Meghan Stoppel at Cozen O’Connor.
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Lessons From Recent SEC Cyber Enforcement Actions
The recent guidance by the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance is helpful to any company facing a cybersecurity threat, but just as instructive are the warnings raised by the SEC's recent enforcement actions against SolarWinds, R.R. Donnelley and Intercontinental Exchange, say attorneys at O'Melveny.
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How Cos. With Chinese Suppliers Should Prep For Biotech Bill
A proposed bill to prohibit government-affiliated life sciences companies from contracting with Chinese biotech companies of concern may necessitate switching to other sources for research and supplies, meaning they should begin evaluating supply chains now due to the long lead times of drug development, say John O'Loughlin and Christina Carone at Weil Gotshal.
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Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?
A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.