Melissa Faragasso

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Melissa Faragasso’s practice focuses on intellectual property and technology transactions, cybersecurity, data protection, and privacy.

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Following on the heels of major developments coming out of the Senate last week to advance privacy protections for children online, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) officially filed a lawsuit on Friday against TikTok, Inc., its parent company, ByteDance, and certain affiliates (collectively, “TikTok”), over alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) and its implementing rule (the “COPPA Rule”) as well as an existing FTC 2019 consent order (the “2019 Order”) alleging violations of the same.[1]Continue Reading DOJ Brings Lawsuit Against TikTok Over Alleged Violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act

After years of fits and starts—including failed attempts to pass the American Data Privacy and Protection Act in 2022—Congress has renewed its attempt to nationalize privacy protections for American consumers with introduction of the American Privacy Rights Act (the “APRA” or “Act”).[1]  The APRA, a new bipartisan, bicameral proposal for comprehensive data protection legislation introduced by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation in early April, is a direct response to a flurry of activity at the state level over the past few years and attempts to harmonize the resulting patchwork of privacy legislation that has created a burdensome and costly labyrinth of shifting compliance obligations for covered organizations that collect and process personal data.Continue Reading Congress Releases American Privacy Rights Act Discussion Draft

On January 16, 2024, New Jersey officially became one of a growing number states with comprehensive privacy laws, as Governor Phil Murphy signed Senate Bill 332 (the “New Jersey Privacy Act”) into law.[1]  New Hampshire followed closely behind, with its own comprehensive privacy law, Senate Bill 255 (the “New Hampshire Privacy Act” and, together with the New Jersey Privacy Act, the “Acts”), signed into law by Governor Chris Sununu on March 6, 2024.[2] Continue Reading New Privacy Laws Enacted in New Jersey and New Hampshire

The following post was originally included as part of our recently published memorandum “Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2024”.

Continuing global trends to protect consumer privacy and rein in the exploitation of personal data by organizations, 2023 saw an explosion of comprehensive privacy laws, amendments to existing laws and a proliferation of targeted regulations around the world. Continue Reading Privacy and Data Protection Compliance Will Become More Fragmented in 2024

Nearly five years after a landmark Supreme Court ruling, which reiterated that information privacy is a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution, India finally enacted its Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (the “DPDPA” or “Act”), on August 11, 2023.Continue Reading Comparing Global Privacy Regimes Under GDPR, DPDPA and US Data Protection Laws

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) on December 20, 2023[1] proposed a set of revisions to its rules implementing the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA Rule”).[2]  The COPPA Rule, which became effective in 2000, and was amended in 2013, serves as the FTC’s primary means to enforce the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (“COPPA”), the principal regulation protecting children (and their personal information) online.  At a high level, the COPPA Rule requires operators of websites online services (i) directed to children[3] or (ii) when not directed to children, that have actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information online from a child; to provide notice to parents and obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting, using or disclosing personal information from their children, as well as to provide parents with opportunities to review, delete and prevent further use or future collection of such information.Continue Reading FTC Proposes COPPA Rule Revisions Detailing Enhanced Online Privacy Protections for Children

On November 1, the New York Department of Financial Services (“DFS” or the “Agency”) announced finalized amendments to its Cybersecurity Regulation applicable to DFS-regulated entities.[1]  The finalized amendments to the Cybersecurity Regulation (the “Amendments”) contain significant revisions designed to mandate preventative measures to address common attack vectors and enhance cybersecurity governance, bringing more formality and uniformity to the assessment and mitigation of a covered entity’s specific cybersecurity risks.[2]  The Amendments may also portend future changes to cybersecurity regulations outside of DFS, as the original DFS Cybersecurity Regulation influenced many existing cybersecurity requirements in other areas of the law.  Continue Reading New York Department of Financial Services Finalizes Amendments to Cybersecurity Regulation

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) finalized its supplemental revisions to the 2021 amendments to its implementation of the Gramm Leach Bliley Act Safeguards Rule (the “Amended Safeguards Rule”).[1]  The supplemental revisions to the Amended Safeguards Rule will require covered non-banking financial institutions—e.g., automobile dealerships, mortgage brokers, payday lenders, retailers that issue credit cards—[2] to report certain security breaches impacting unencrypted customer information to the Commission no later than thirty (30) days after discovery.[3]  The supplemental revisions to the Amended Safeguards Rule will take effect six (6) months after publication in the Federal Register.Continue Reading FTC Finalizes Security Incident Reporting Amendments to GLBA Safeguards Rule

Continuing to pave the way for enhanced privacy rights for California consumers, on October 10, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law S.B. 262, colloquially known as the California Delete Act (the “Delete Act” or the “Act”)). [1]  The Delete Act is the first of its kind in the United States, providing California-based consumers with a more streamlined, user-friendly way to request deletion of their personal information from data brokers. Continue Reading California Passes Delete Act Creating More Accountability for Data Brokers

On September 11, Delaware’s governor signed into law the Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act (the “DPDPA” or “Act”),[1] establishing Delaware as the 12th state in the U.S. to enact its own comprehensive data protection law and contributing to the patchwork of U.S. data protection regimes that continue to proliferate in the absence of federal regulation. Continue Reading Broad Definition of Sensitive Data and Concern for Children’s and Teenagers’ Data in Delaware Privacy Law Reflect Recent Trends in Evolving Data Protection Landscape