Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On August 19, 2009, the Official Journal published guidelines issued by the French Data Protection Authority (Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés (the “CNIL”)) regarding transfers of personal data carried out in the context of U.S. discovery proceedings (the “Guidelines”). The CNIL’s publication comes in the wake of a recent increase in the volume of requests made to French-based companies involved in U.S. litigation to disclose information or documents for the purposes of civil pre-trial discovery.

On August 17, 2009, Massachusetts announced revisions to its information security regulations and extended the deadline for compliance with those regulations.  In the press release announcing the revised regulations, the Undersecretary of the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation noted the concerns of small business leaders regarding the impact on their companies, stating that the updated regulations “feature a fair balance between consumer protections and business realities.”

On September 12, 2009, Maine’s Act to Prevent Predatory Marketing Practices Against Minors (the “Act”) will take effect.  The Act prohibits businesses from knowingly collecting or receiving a minor’s health-related information or personal information for marketing purposes without first obtaining verifiable parental consent.  Businesses are also prohibited from using any health-related information or personal information regarding a minor for the purpose of marketing a product or service to the minor.  Pursuant to the Act, the use of information in such a manner is a ...

Privacy laws in China are still evolving, and at this time there is no coordinated legal framework addressing data protection.  There are, however, a number of Chinese laws that are applicable to the processing and protection of personal information.  Navigating the indirect, piecemeal Chinese approach to regulation in this area may prove challenging for foreign counsel accustomed to practicing in jurisdictions with explicit privacy protection legislation and data security laws.  To shed some light on these issues, we have prepared an overview of various Chinese laws that bear on ...

In a move that portends increased enforcement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) Privacy Rule, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) has created two new positions on its health information privacy enforcement team.  According to the job listings, the new Health Information Privacy Specialists at the HHS Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) will be responsible for “reviewing, analyzing, implementing, promoting, or improving proposed or existing programs or policies needed to implement OCR’s authority for ensuring ...

July saw a flurry of activity involving data security breach notification laws. 

• On July 1, breach notification laws in Alaska and South Carolina went into effect.
• On July 9, Missouri became the 45th state to enact a data breach notification law. 
• On July 22, Senator Patrick Leahy reintroduced a comprehensive federal data security bill calling it one of his “highest legislative priorities.”
• On July 27, North Carolina amended its breach notification law to require notification of the state attorney general any time consumers are notified of a breach involving their personal information.  The amendment also included content requirements for the attorney general’s notice.

On July 29, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") announced another three-month delay in the enforcement of the provision of Identity Theft Red Flags and Address Discrepancies Rule (the "Rule") that requires creditors and financial institutions to implement an Identity Theft Prevention Program.  The FTC noted that small businesses and entities with a low risk of identity theft remain uncertain about their obligations under the Rule and pledged to "redouble" its efforts to educate businesses about compliance with the Rule.  The new enforcement deadline for creditors and ...

On July 28, 2009,  the Data Privacy Subgroup meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum in Singapore reported a number of privacy-related legislative developments on the horizon.  Among the highlights:

• On July 15, the Malaysian Cabinet approved privacy legislation to be enacted by the Parliament in early 2010 
• Vietnam is set to enact consumer protection legislation including privacy provisions in 2010 
• Hong Kong's Privacy Commissioner will soon begin a review process to evaluate how privacy law has kept up with changing technology
• The Philippines is set to enact ...

On July 3, 2009, the German Federal Parliament passed comprehensive amendments to the Federal Data Protection Act (the "Federal Act"). These amendments also passed the Federal Council on July 10, 2009, and the revised law will enter into force on September 1, 2009. The new amendments cover a range of data protection-related issues, including marketing, security breach notification, service provider contracts and protections for employee data. They also include new powers for data protection authorities and provide for increased fines for violations of data protection law ...

The UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) has announced today fines for three HSBC entities totaling £3 million for failing to have adequate systems and controls in place to protect their customers' confidential data. HSBC Life UK Limited (HSBC Life) was fined £1,610,000, HSBC Actuaries and Consultants Limited (HSBC Actuaries) was fined £875,000 and HSBC Insurance Brokers Limited (HSBC Insurance Brokers) was fined £700,000.