Key Point: The New York Attorney General’s Office (NYAG) reached a Consent and Stipulation Agreement with Dunkin’ Brands, Inc. (Dunkin), which obligates the company to implement and maintain a comprehensive information security program to protect customers’ private information. The terms of the consent agreement are similar to the terms New York reached with Zoom earlier this year regarding inadequate data security practices, and strongly resemble the reasonable security measures described in the Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act (SHIELD Act).

Neither agreement mentions the SHIELD Act, but both agreements include promises to comply with key elements contained in it. These agreements, as well as California’s legislative efforts, are creating a baseline for future enforcement cases on the adequacy of information security programs and the promises companies make to protect consumer data.

Continue Reading New York’s Investigation of Dunkin Donuts Results in a Promise to Abide by the SHIELD Act’s Requirements

As reported by numerous Brazilian privacy professionals, Brazil’s new privacy law – Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados or LGPD – is now in full effect with the sanction of Law 14508 by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. The birth of a new national privacy law is a unique day for privacy professionals. That is particularly true here given that Brazil is the largest country in South America and the sixth largest country in the world by population.

There is still work to be done to fully implement LGPD – such as the establishment of Brazil’s national data protection authority. However, based on its scope – including its purported extra-territorial jurisdiction and GDPR-like regulation of cross-border data transfers – LGPD could impact businesses across the globe if it is fully implemented and enforced.

For a deeper dive into LGPD’s provisions, see our blog post here.

 

Keypoint: LGPD is a complicated regulatory regime that will required U.S. entities subject to its requirements to undertake substantial compliance efforts.

As documented in Dirceu Santa Rosa’s article for the IAPP’s Privacy Tracker, efforts to delay the effective date of Brazil’s General Data Protection Law – Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados or LGPD – recently failed, and the law is expected to go into force in the coming days. Brazil’s federal government also published a decree approving the regulatory structure of the Autoridade Nacional de Proteção de Dados, i.e., Brazil’s national data protection authority.

LGPD becoming effective this year was a surprise to many as its effective date was expected to be postponed because of COVID-19. However, in a year that started with the CCPA going into effect, descended into chaos with COVID-19 (and its numerous privacy issues), took a “what just happened?” turn with the invalidation of Privacy Shield, and will close with a vote on CCPA 2.0, the unexpected start of LGPD feels like par for the course for privacy professionals.

For U.S. companies trying to comply with these laws, LGPD may seem like another insurmountable task. To facilitate that process, below is a general discussion of LGPD and some of its more notable provisions. For reference, LGPD has been translated into English by Ronaldo Lemos and his team at Pereira Neta Macedo and is available here.

Continue Reading What U.S. Companies Should Know about LGPD – Brazil’s New General Data Protection Law

Keypoint: The report provides five recommendations for proposed privacy legislation in Texas but does not propose specific statutory language or make recommendations on many key issues.

In a reminder that winter is likely to bring another round of proposed CCPA-like state privacy legislation, earlier this month, the Texas Privacy Protection Advisory Council issued an interim report with findings and recommendations for privacy legislation in Texas. Continue Reading Texas Privacy Protection Advisory Council Issues Interim Report

The fallout from the Schrems II judgment continued on Tuesday with an announcement from Switzerland’s Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) that the Swiss-US Privacy Shield regime “does not provide an adequate level of protection for data transfer from Switzerland to the US pursuant to [Switzerland’s] Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP).”

Continue Reading Switzerland’s DPA Concludes that Swiss-US Privacy Shield Does Not Provide Adequate Level of Protection

Keypoint: Representatives of the European Commission and EDPB advised that further guidance on cross-borders data transfers are forthcoming.

Last week, Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice, and Dr. Andrea Jelinek, Chair of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), appeared at a hearing conducted by the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, and updated committee members on their work since the Schrems II decision.

Continue Reading European Commission and EDPB Provide Update on Efforts to Address Cross-Border Transfers After Schrems II

On August 30, 2020, the California legislature passed Assembly Bill 1281, which extends the CCPA’s business-to-business and employee exemptions by one year until January 1, 2022. The bill now moves to the California Governor’s office. Continue Reading CCPA Update: Legislature Extends Business-to-Business and Employee Exemptions for One Year

Keypoint: Some additional changes to the CCPA regulations were made before they were filed with the Secretary of State and became effective.

As discussed in our prior post, on Friday, August 14, 2020, the California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved the California Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) final CCPA regulations and filed them with the California Secretary of State (SOS). The regulations were immediately effective.

Notably, the final text of the regulations submitted to the SOS was modified from the one filed with the OAL. The OAG published an Addendum to the Final Statement of Reasons setting forth the changes. Many of the changes are stylistic and grammatical. However, some of the changes are substantive and will impact compliance efforts. The most notable changes are discussed below:

Continue Reading CCPA Update: Analyzing the Changes to the Final CCPA Regulations

On August 14, 2020, Attorney General Becerra announced that the California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved the final regulations related to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) an filed them with the Secretary of State. The regulations go into effect immediately.

The Attorney General’s office submitted the final proposed regulations to the OAL on June 1, 2020. As part of the final regulations package, the Attorney General requested an expedited review of 30 business days and that the regulations become effective upon filing with the Secretary of State. Although not satisfying the 30-day request, the OAL did complete its review in short order, particularly in light of two executive orders by California’s governor extending the OAL’s review period by an additional 120 days.

Continue Reading CCPA Final Regulations Approved and Effective Immediately

Keypoint: The EDPB’s FAQs resolve some open questions, such as whether there will be a grace period for companies relying on Privacy Shield, but raise other questions, such as what “supplementary measures” companies need to put in place to use Standard Contractual Clauses and Binding Corporate Rules.

In the wake of the Court of Justice of the European Union’s Schrems II judgment, on July 23, 2020, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) adopted a Frequently Asked Questions document to “provide initial clarification and give preliminary guidance to stakeholders on the use of legal instruments for the transfer of personal data to third countries, including the U.S.” The EDPB stated that the document will be updated, and further guidance provided, as it continues to examine and consider the judgment.

Continue Reading EDPB Issues Guidance for Cross-Border Data Transfers in Wake of Schrems II Judgment