Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On February 19, 2020, the European Commission (the “Commission”) released a suite of documents including its White Paper on Artificial Intelligence (“AI”), entitled “a European approach to excellence and trust.” In addition, the Commission published two communications—its European strategy for data and a Digital Strategy document entitled “Shaping Europe’s Digital Future.”

On February 12, 2020, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced a plan to create a Data Protection Agency through her proposed legislation, the Data Protection Act of 2020. According to Senator Gillibrand, the purpose of the law is to create the new agency and bring the protection of privacy and freedom into the digital age.

In part two of our podcast by Never Stop Learning, Lisa Sotto, partner and chair of Hunton Andrews Kurth’s Privacy and Cybersecurity practice, and Eric Friedberg, Co-President of Stroz Friedberg, LLC, and Aon’s Cyber Solutions Group, discuss the fragmented nature of data security law in the U.S. and abroad. Sotto notes that the “patchwork quilt of regulation” in the U.S. regarding data security makes it difficult for companies to know what rules to implement. She stresses that the severity of cyber attacks has increased significantly over the past decade.

On February 9, 2020, amidst the ongoing coronavirus outbreak ("2019-nCoV”) in China, in order to protect personal information collected during the fight against coronavirus, such as the personal data of diagnosed patients, suspected patients and individuals who have been in close contact with diagnosed patients, the Cyberspace Administration of China released a Circular on Ensuring Effective Personal Information Protection and Utilization of Big Data to Support Joint Efforts for Epidemic Prevention and Control (the “Circular”) to emphasize the protection of relevant personal data.

On February 10, 2020, the California Attorney General issued a slightly revised version of the modified draft regulations implementing the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, having omitted a revision in Section 999.317(g) from the version published on February 7, 2020. The deadline to submit written comments has been extended to February 25, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. (PST).

On January 27, 2020, CISCO released its 2020 Data Privacy Benchmark Study entitled “From Privacy to Profit: Achieving Positive Returns on Privacy Investments” (the “Study”). The Study explores the return on investing in privacy compliance for organizations, examines how such return correlates with an organization’s accountability level and details the value of privacy certifications in the buying process. To measure organizations’ accountability level, CISCO used the CIPL Accountability Wheel, a privacy accountability framework developed by the Centre for Information Policy Leadership. More than 2,500 respondents took part in the Study from across 13 countries.

In a recent podcast by Never Stop Learning, Lisa Sotto, partner and chair of Hunton Andrews Kurth’s Privacy and Cybersecurity practice, and Eric Friedberg, Co-President of Stroz Friedberg, LLC, and Aon’s Cyber Solutions Group, discuss “Cybersecurity: How Concerned Should We Be?” As threats from cyber attacks continue to grow in both scope and complexity, it is imperative for companies and individuals alike to have a better understanding of cyber threats and the risks involved. We have broken down the podcast into a three-part series to help highlight the key themes.

On February 7, 2020, the California Attorney General (“AG”) issued modified draft regulations implementing the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”). The AG has provided a redline to the initial draft regulations about which we previously reported.  According to the AG’s website, the modified draft regulations are subject to another public comment period. The deadline to submit written comments is February 24, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. (PST).

On January 30, 2020, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (“CIPL”) at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP submitted formal comments to the Department of Telecommunications at the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications (“MCTIC”) on its public consultation on creating a national Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) strategy for Brazil (the “Consultation”).

At this point, most companies doing business in California are aware of the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), and most have been bracing for the eventual onslaught of class action litigation to follow its passage.