On May 22, 2023, the Irish Data Protection Commission (the “DPC”) published its decision on Meta Platforms Ireland Limited (“Meta”).[1] The decision has wider implications for any company that routinely transfers personal data from the EEA to third countries, in particular, to the US.

Continue Reading Key Takeaway’s from the Irish Data Protection Commission’s decision on Meta Data Transfers

On July 10, 2023, the European Commission officially adopted its adequacy decision for the new EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (“DPF”), concluding that the U.S. ensures an adequate level of protection for personal data transferred from the EU to U.S. organisations participating in the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.[1] This allows EU organizations to freely transfer personal data that is subject to the GDPR to participating organizations in the U.S.

Continue Reading EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework

In recent weeks, six states, Florida (effective July 1, 2024)[1], Texas (effective July 1, 2024)[2], Montana (effective October 1, 2024)[3], Iowa (effective January 1, 2025)[4], Tennessee (effective July 1, 2025)[5] and Indiana (effective January 1, 2026)[6], have passed consumer privacy laws, adding to the growing list of states with comprehensive privacy legislation alongside California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut and Utah.  In the ever-changing landscape of privacy compliance, it is more critical and complicated than ever for businesses to be able to determine which state privacy laws may apply to their business.

Continue Reading Determining Applicability of Newly Enacted Comprehensive U.S. Privacy Laws

The Brazilian General Data Protection Law (the “LGPD”—Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados)[1] came into effect in September 2020.  Given the LGPD’s relatively recent adoption, there has been uncertainty surrounding how public authorities and courts in Brazil will interpret and apply the law.  On February 27, 2023, the Brazilian national data protection authority (the “ANPD” Autoridade Nacional de Proteção de Dados) addressed some of this uncertainty when it issued sanctioning guidelines for the LGPD (the “Sanctioning Guidelines”).[2]  The Sanctioning Guidelines offer insight into the types of sanctions companies may face and the factors the ANDP will consider when imposing such sanctions.

Continue Reading Recent Developments In Data Privacy Enforcement In Brazil And A Comparison With The U.S. Regime

Following the lead of California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut and Utah (as previously discussed here, here, here, here and here respectively), on March 29, 2023, Iowa passed the Iowa Consumer Privacy Act (the “ICPA”), creating compliance obligations for businesses that collect and process personal data of Iowa residents and providing such residents more control over their data. The ICPA will go into effect on January 1st, 2025.

Continue Reading Iowa Becomes the Sixth State to Enact a Comprehensive Privacy Law

On March 15, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued proposed amendments (the “Proposal”) to Regulation S-P, which governs the treatment of nonpublic personal information about consumers by broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, registered investment companies, and transfer agents.  The Proposal would broaden the existing “safeguards” and “disposal” rules under Regulation S-P, and would require the entities to adopt “incident response programs.”

Continue Reading SEC Continues to Shine Light on Cyber and Data Security: Proposes Amendments to Regulation S-P

On March 9, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) brought an enforcement action against a public company, Blackbaud Inc. (“Blackbaud” or the “Company”), alleging that it had made misleading disclosures about a 2020 ransomware attack.[1]  This is the fourth SEC settled enforcement action concerning disclosures following a cyberattack.[2]  This development highlights increased regulatory scrutiny that public companies face related to cyberattacks and serves as a potential prelude to the SEC’s aggressiveness in enforcing its upcoming revised rules on cybersecurity incident disclosures. 

Continue Reading SEC Charges Public Company For Alleged Misleading Disclosures Surrounding Ransomware Attack

The following post was originally included as part of our recently published memorandum “Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2023”.

As the value of data continues to increase exponentially, so too do the associated risks, including risk of cyberattacks, data breaches or data-related litigation, as well as rising regulation throughout the world