Cybersecurity & Privacy

April 01, 2025
Streaming Service Can't Drop Privacy Suit Over Data Sharing

A California federal judge refused to cut federal and state video privacy claims from a putative class action accusing movie streaming provider Mubi of secretly tracking and sharing subscribers' video-viewing histories with third parties such as Meta, rejecting arguments that the plaintiffs lacked standing and adequate support for their allegations.
April 01, 2025
Ark. Law Limiting Kids' Social Media Use Struck Down

Arkansas' law limiting minors' social media access is a "content-based restriction on speech" that violates platform users' First Amendment rights and is unconstitutionally vague, a federal judge ruled Monday, striking down the law that requires parental permission and age checks to access certain online platforms.
April 01, 2025
Dominion Voting System Challenge Tossed After A Year Wait

More than a year after a 17-day bench trial in early 2024, a Georgia federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the state's electronic in-person voting system, finding the plaintiffs lacked standing to assert they were injured by the use of the devices.
April 01, 2025
Meta Can't Narrow Health Privacy Suit Scope, Consumers Say

Two consumers who claim that Meta secretly collected their health information data through an "invisible tracker" on third-party websites told a California federal judge Tuesday that the social media giant is improperly trying to narrow their proposed class action to cover just one third-party health website.
April 01, 2025
FCC Says Scammers Are Targeting Chinese Community

Chinese-Americans have been receiving calls from bad actors attempting to line their own pockets by posing as insurance company employees and government officials in order to get personal information or cash payments, the FCC is warning.
April 01, 2025
Plaintiff Can't Sue TransUnion After High Court Ruling

An Illinois appellate panel affirmed the dismissal of a Fair Credit Reporting Act complaint filed by a man who was dismissed from federal class action litigation against TransUnion after a U.S. Supreme Court landmark decision, rejecting the plaintiff's argument that he pursued the claims in a timely manner.
April 01, 2025
SPEX Rips Western Digital Bid To Undo $553M Patent Loss

SPEX Technologies Inc. has pushed back at Western Digital Corp.'s attempt to have a California federal judge throw out a $553 million award in a patent infringement case, saying that Western Digital "faults everyone but itself."
April 01, 2025
Hartford Unit Freed From Ill. Agency's $4M Wire Fraud Suit

An Illinois agency that administers the estates of financially distressed insurers can't get coverage from a Hartford unit for a computer system breach that the agency said caused roughly $4 million in outstanding losses, a federal court ruled, finding its claims fall outside an "electronic mail initiated fraud" coverage provision.
April 01, 2025
IBM And J&J Beat 'Speculative' Data Breach Suit, For Now

A New York federal judge has tossed with leave to amend a proposed class action alleging IBM and Johnson & Johnson's healthcare arm failed to safeguard sensitive health information of thousands of patients before a 2023 data breach, finding the purported harm is "entirely speculative" as currently alleged.
April 01, 2025
House GOP Infighting Delays Push To Repeal 2 CFPB Rules

Plans for the U.S. House to vote on overturning two Biden-era Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rules were scuttled Tuesday by an unrelated fight among Republicans about whether to allow proxy voting for lawmakers with infant children.
April 01, 2025
Prudential Beats Life Insurance Applicant's GIPA Suit

A Prudential life insurance applicant cannot pursue genetic information privacy claims after being required to undergo a physical exam and detail her family's medical history, as the state law she cites does not apply to life insurance underwriting, an Illinois federal judge said on Monday.
April 01, 2025
Ex-DHS Intel Head To Lead Mayer Brown Investigations Team

The former leader of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's intelligence office has joined Mayer Brown LLP to help lead its global investigations and white collar defense practice — a role that he says allows him to join forces with attorneys whom he's known for years.
April 01, 2025
Md. Credit Union Didn't Protect Sensitive Info, Customer Says

Lafayette Federal Credit Union was hit with a proposed class action from a customer in Maryland federal court alleging the credit union failed to protect customers' personal information from malicious actors in a September breach despite being aware it was at risk of an attack.
March 31, 2025
Wells Fargo Sued Over Online Wire Fraud Protections

Wells Fargo has been hit in by a proposed class action California federal court accusing the bank of leaving its online and mobile banking customers exposed to costly losses from fraudulent wire transfers.
March 31, 2025
Former Stimlabs Exec Must Face Trade Secrets Claims

A former biomedical technology company executive must face claims that she absconded with thousands of internal files containing valuable product information in the days and weeks leading up to her ouster last year, a Georgia federal judge ruled.
March 31, 2025
France Fines Apple €150M For App Tracking Policy

France's competition enforcer fined Apple €150 million ($162.3 million) on Monday for its rollout of a policy designed to give users more control of the data apps can track over concerns that it hindered small publishers and others that rely on data collection to finance their business.
March 31, 2025
Driver Says Parking Garage Privacy Suit Can't Be Arbitrated

The lead plaintiff in a proposed class action claiming a nationwide operator of parking garages violates privacy laws with its use of video analytics to enforce phony parking fees is fighting the company's bid in Colorado federal court to force the dispute into arbitration.
March 31, 2025
Immigrant Groups Sue Over New DHS Registration Rule

Immigrant rights groups sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in D.C. federal court Monday, seeking to challenge the agency's interim final rule requiring unauthorized immigrants to register with the federal government or face criminal prosecution.
March 31, 2025
Conn. Law Firm Hit With Class Action Data Breach Suit

A 26-attorney Connecticut business litigation, intellectual property and employment law firm waited 16 months to notify potentially thousands of current and former clients of an alleged 2023 data breach that may have left sensitive personal information exposed to cybercriminals, a Monday lawsuit alleged
March 31, 2025
FTC Chair Flags Data Risks In 23andMe Bankruptcy

The Federal Trade Commission has added to the swell of privacy and security concerns surrounding the potential sale of sensitive consumer information swept up in the 23andMe bankruptcy, with the agency's Republican chair on Monday stressing the importance of data continuing to be protected in the way that users have been promised.
March 31, 2025
Trucking Co. Says Insurers Owe Coverage For BIPA Suit

A trucking company's insurers owe coverage for underlying litigation brought by a former employee who said the company violated his biometric privacy rights by using a hand-scanning timekeeping system that stored his protected personal data, the company told an Illinois federal court.
March 31, 2025
Justices Ask US To Respond To IRS Crypto Doc Seizure Case

The U.S. Supreme Court asked the federal government Monday to weigh in on a cryptocurrency investor's challenge to the IRS' seizure of his account records, a request that followed a spate of support for the investor, including by attorneys general and Elon Musk's X Corp.
March 31, 2025
Ex-Sen. Sinema Joins Hogan Lovells' Regulatory Group

Former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who made headlines by changing her party affiliation from Democrat to independent in 2022, will join Hogan Lovells in Washington, D.C., as a senior adviser in its global regulatory and intellectual property practice groups, the firm announced Monday.
March 31, 2025
DOJ Seeking Steep Costs To Make Challengers Think Twice

The U.S. Department of Justice is quickly implementing President Donald Trump's plan to seek huge sums of money from litigants whose cases impede his agenda but ultimately prove unsuccessful, court records show.
March 28, 2025
Calif. Privacy Action Drives Home Need To Look Under Hood

California's privacy agency targeted design features and contracting policies that apply to a wide range of companies in its inaugural enforcement strike under the state's data privacy law, signaling a broad regulatory approach that experts say promises to heat up as the agency continues to mature.

Expert Analysis

7 Steps To Sell Corporate Leadership On Privacy Compliance

In celebration of the 17th annual Data Privacy Day, compliance professionals shouldn't take no for an answer when they request funding and other support for their privacy initiatives — instead, consider new ways to get leaders on board, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.
The 7th Circ.'s Top 10 Civil Opinions Of 2024

Attorneys at Jenner & Block examine the most significant decisions issued by the Seventh Circuit in 2024, and explain how they may affect issues related to mass arbitration, consumer fraud, class certification and more.
Kansas Bank's Suit Could Upend FDIC Enforcement Authority

Should CBW Bank's federal lawsuit in Kansas challenging the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s enforcement authority gain traction with a post-Chevron U.S. Supreme Court, it could have profound implications for the FDIC and the banking industry at large, says Jack Harrington at Bradley Arant.
FTC Report On AI Sector Illuminates Future Enforcement

The Federal Trade Commission's report on cloud service providers and their partnerships with developers of artificial intelligence's large language models suggests that the agency will move to rein in Big Tech with antitrust enforcement to protect startups, say attorneys at Squire Patton.
Mentorship Resolutions For The New Year

Attorneys tend to focus on personal achievements or career milestones when they set yearly goals, but one important area often gets overlooked in this process — mentoring relationships, which are some of the most effective tools for professional growth, say Kelly Galligan at Rutan & Tucker and Andra Greene at Phillips ADR.
Series

Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.
How Fintechs Can Respond To New CFPB Supervisory Rule

Even though a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule pulling large payment apps into supervision faces an uncertain fate in the new administration, providers should still examine the rule's definitions and prepare for increased compliance costs and more consumer-friendly practices, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025

Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.
Predicting Where State AGs Will Direct Their Attention In 2025

In 2025, we expect state attorneys general will navigate a new presidential administration while continuing to further regulate and police financial services, artificial intelligence, junk fees and antitrust, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
3 Noteworthy Effects Of The 2025 NDAA

The 2025 defense budget includes further restrictions on semiconductor sales to Huawei, requiring companies to rethink customer-base oversight, but other provisions are likely to broaden procurement contract opportunities, say attorneys at Miles & Stockbridge.
The Blueprint For A National Bitcoin Reserve

The new administration has the opportunity to pave the way for a U.S.-backed crypto reserve, which could conceptually function as a strategic asset akin to traditional reserves like gold markets, hedge against economic instability, and influence global crypto adoption, say attorneys at Duane Morris.
FTC Privacy Enforcement Takeaways From 2024

In 2024, the Federal Trade Commission distinguished three prominent trends in its privacy-related enforcement actions: geolocation data protections, data minimization practices, and artificial intelligence use and marketing, say Cobun Zweifel-Keegan at IAPP and James Smith at Dechert.
Student Loan Entities In Hot Seat After CFPB Goes To College

While the direction of student loan servicer oversight in the new presidential administration is unclear, recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau actions still signal heightened regulatory scrutiny at both the federal and state levels of college institutional loan programs, along with their service providers, says attorney Jonathan Joshua.
Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win

Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.
How DOGE's Bite Can Live Up To Its Bark

All signs suggest that the Department of Government Efficiency will be an important part of the new Trump administration, with ample tools at its disposal to effectuate change, particularly with an attentive Republican-controlled Congress, say attorneys at K&L Gates.