Skip to main content

Privacy & Cybersecurity

Viewpoints

Filter by:

Health Care Viewpoints Thumbnail

Federal Trade Commission’s GoodRx Settlement: Not Just a $1.5 Million Penalty

March 8, 2023 | Blog | By Lara Compton, Pat Ouellette

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently kicked off enforcement of its Health Breach Notification Rule (Breach Rule) by taking aim at GoodRx’s use of tracking technologies (e.g. pixels) and the sharing of consumer health data for advertising purposes. According to Samuel Levine, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, the FTC “is serving notice that it will use all of its legal authority to protect American consumers' sensitive data from misuse and illegal exploitation." Bottom line, HIPAA applicability may no longer be as significant of a factor when it comes to the risk presented by collecting, using, disclosing, and maintaining identifiable health information (IHI).
Read more

An Overview of Why Class Action Privacy Lawsuits May Have Just Gotten Bigger – Yet Again.

March 1, 2023 | Blog | By Adam B. Korn, Sebastian Navarro, Todd Rosenbaum

Read more
Privacy & Thumbnail Viewpoints Thumbnail

FCC Proposes Changes to Its Reporting Requirements for Customer Data Breaches

January 13, 2023 | Blog | By Angela Kung, Jonathan P. Garvin

Read more
Health Care Viewpoints Thumbnail
As illustrated by a recent Office for Civil Rights (OCR) settlement with a dental practice, health care entities continue to struggle with how to respond to negative online reviews while maintaining compliance with the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Given the significant reputational harm that negative reviews on Yelp and other social media and public platforms (Platforms) can create, providers may be tempted to respond to such negative comments with patient specifics in an attempt to mitigate harm to their businesses.
Read more
Privacy & Thumbnail Viewpoints Thumbnail

New EU-US Data Privacy Framework

December 13, 2022 | Blog

The European Commission has published its long-awaited draft of the new EU-US Data Privacy Framework, available here.  The Data Privacy Framework will replace the Privacy Shield decision that was invalidated in July 2020 by the Schrems II decision. President Biden’s recent Executive Order paved the way for the new Data Privacy Framework by creating a significantly more robust right of redress for people in the EU, along with stronger guardrails and greater oversight for US intelligence agencies’ data privacy compliance.
Read more
Health Care Viewpoints Thumbnail

Is Your Website Collecting PHI Under OCR's New Tracking Technologies Bulletin?

December 7, 2022 | Blog | By Dianne Bourque, Lara Compton, Kathryn Edgerton, Cassandra Paolillo, Kate Stewart

Covered Entities and Business Associates should promptly and carefully review their use of online tracking technologies on their websites and mobile apps following a bulletin (Bulletin) published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) last week.  The Bulletin addresses multiple facets of compliance with HIPAA when using online third-party tracking technologies (Tracking Technologies).  In doing so, OCR significantly expands its interpretation of the definition of Protected Health Information (PHI) to include, in some instances, identifiable information gathered by Tracking Technologies where a user visits a website and does not interact with the entity in any other way. In its Bulletin, OCR interprets the act of an individual visiting a website as evidence of a relationship or anticipated future relationship between the visitor and the entity.
Read more
Health Care Viewpoints Thumbnail
This post provides insights and recommendations surrounding the DOJ's charges against 10 defendants involved in business email compromise schemes.
Read more
Privacy & Thumbnail Viewpoints Thumbnail

Google Pays Record Privacy Settlement as Lawsuits are Expected to Rise

November 22, 2022 | Blog | By Adam B. Korn, Sebastian Navarro, Todd Rosenbaum

In what is considered the largest privacy-related settlement in history, Google will pay $391.5 million to 40 states to settle an investigation by 40 state attorneys general.  The bipartisan coalition of attorneys general alleged that Google misled users into believing that opting out of sharing their location data prevented the company from tracking users’ locations.
Read more
Employment, Labor, and Benefits Viewpoints Thumbnail

NYC Proposes Rules in Advance of 2023 Automated Employment Decision Tools Law

November 4, 2022 | Blog | By Corbin Carter, Michelle Capezza, Evan Piercey

Read more

California Assembly Passes Sweeping Age-Appropriate Privacy Legislation

September 6, 2022 | Blog | By Kevin Hiraki, Cynthia Larose

Read more
Health Care Viewpoints Thumbnail

Protecting Health Information Post Roe – Part 2: Steps for Health Care Providers

July 21, 2022 | Blog | By Cynthia Larose, Dianne Bourque

In this second of our two-part blog series on protecting health information post Roe, we discuss legal and practical strategies that health care providers can take to protect the information of their patients. State laws that restrict or criminalize abortions will require significant amounts of health information to enforce, putting new pressure on health care providers caught in the middle of  competing obligations to their patients and to regulatory and law enforcement authorities making lawful requests for this information.
Read more

Explore Other Viewpoints: