Privacy

Colorado’s Protections for Consumer Data Privacy law (“new law”) takes effect on September 1, 2018 and requires that businesses holding personal information for Colorado residents destroy the data they don’t need, protect the data they decide to keep, and disclose any security breaches involving that data within 30 days of its occurrence. The new law amends existing obligations and adds new obligations applicable to businesses holding information about Colorado residents.

On February 27, 2018, the Supreme Court heard arguments in United States v. Microsoft Corp., a case that will decide whether a digital communications provider has to comply with a U.S. search warrant for user data that is stored outside of the U.S. U.S. v. Microsoft could have major consequences for digital privacy and international data sharing, especially for the cloud-computing industry.

In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, provided a potentially powerful Article III standing defense under F.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) seemingly applicable to a variety of privacy claims, including FCRA, FACTA, TCPA, and FDCPA statutory damage claims. The Court noted for a plaintiff to establish standing to sue in federal court, she must establish an “injury in fact” consisting of an invasion of a legally protected interest, which is both particularized and concrete.

Spokeo dealt with the “concrete” portion. To be concrete, an injury must be real but may also be intangible. Congress’ intent in creating a right is instructive, but not sufficient. Allegations of a bare procedural violation likely would not suffice to maintain standing. Some injuries create harm, others do not. Thanks for that.

The advice we always give to clients regarding privacy policies is: “say what you do and do what you say.” It seems simple, but simplicity can be deceiving. Companies want to reassure consumers that their personal data is safe and secure; however, in today’s world, no one can make fail-safe representations of security. Uber’s recent settlement with the FTC illustrates this problem.

With the rise of innovations like cloud technology and software-as-a-service, clients are increasingly finding that it makes business sense to outsource computerized services, from payroll processing to the storage of electronic medical records. While doing so often cuts costs, routing (frequently confidential) data through third-party service providers also implicates serious cybersecurity concerns and, in some cases, may increase potential liability. Further, one of the pillars of a commercially reasonable information security program is selecting and retaining service providers capable of maintaining appropriate safeguards. To address these concerns, and to keep data safe, clients should require service providers to furnish them with Service Organization Control (“SOC”) Reports, particularly SOC 2 Reports.

SOC Reports were developed by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) to provide information about the robustness and quality of a service provider’s internal controls over certain types of data. There are three types of SOC Reports, each serving separate functions.

On April 24, 2017, the Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced the first HIPAA settlement based on the impermissible disclosure of unsecured electronic protected health information by a wireless service provider. CardioNet, an ambulatory cardiac monitoring service, provides remote mobile monitoring of and rapid response to patients at risk for cardiac arrhythmias, agreed to pay $2.5 million, and to implement a corrective action plan.

As reported by the OCR, in 2012 CardioNet reported to the OCR the theft of a workforce member’s unencrypted laptop containing electronic PHI (“ePHI”) of 1,391 individuals. OCR’s investigation revealed that CardioNet had an insufficient risk analysis and risk management processes in place at the time of the theft.   Additionally, CardioNet’s provided the OCR draft policies and procedures implementing the HIPAA Security standards, and was unable to produce final policies or procedures implementing the security safeguards for ePHI, including mobile devices.

I recently decided to reread Dante’s The Inferno. One would not expect guidance on IoT privacy and data security (IotPDS) from a 700 year old text, but The Inferno, particularly Canto III, provides significant direction on consumer IoTPDS issues.  So,

“Abandon All Hope, You Who Enter Here.”