Tuesday, May 28
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Mountain
10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Pacific

REGISTER HERE

About the Program

In today’s ever-evolving and interconnected world, trade secret protection demands proactive measures against both technological vulnerabilities and human threats. Join us for the fourth installment of our 2024 Trade Secrets Webinar Series, where our panel of seasoned trade secrets and cybersecurity attorneys will equip you with practical strategies to bolster your defenses.

Continue Reading Upcoming Webinar! Data Protection and Cybersecurity: Safeguarding Trade Secrets in the Digital Age

The European Union (EU)’s government organizations are just like any another entity trying to function in a world where global companies and even government entities are reliant on digital platforms for messaging and collaboration. For years, there has been debate about how platforms like Microsoft 365, formerly Office 365, could be deployed in a way that complies with the GDPR processing and transfer restrictions. And it turns out that even the European Commission (EC) itself can apparently get it wrong. In a surprising turn of events earlier this month, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) concluded its nearly three year investigation into the Commission’s own deployment and use of Microsoft 365, signaling a pivotal moment in the conversation about the GDPR privacy and security requirements for cloud-based messaging and document collaboration platforms.

Continue Reading Surprising Plot Twist: The European Data Protection Supervisor Reprimands the European Union for its use of Microsoft 365

This blog is cross-posted on the Consumer Class Actions blog site as well.

Throughout much of 2023, businesses found themselves in a challenging position as they continued to grapple with defending against Illinois Biometric Information Privacy (BIPA) class action lawsuits. The year began on a somber note with the Illinois Supreme Court delivering unfavorable decisions on two pivotal threshold matters. However, rays of hope emerged when the same court issued two favorable decisions, one affirming union preemption, and another concerning medical exemptions under BIPA. These welcomed developments provided a reprieve for businesses contending with the longstanding challenges posed by the statute. As we navigate the complexities of BIPA, it becomes crucial for businesses to recognize and consider the various exemptions embedded within the legislation—many of which have proven effective in legal defenses over the past few years.

Continue Reading Privacy In Focus: BIPA’s Current Landscape and the Crucial Role of Statutory Exemptions

This blog has been cross-posted on the Consumer Class Defense site.

Anyone following trends in consumer class action litigation will know that consumer privacy was a primary focus of the plaintiff’s bar in 2023. And there are no signs this uptick in consumer privacy claims is slowing any time soon. Although the claims center around use of tracking technology or analytics functions on consumer facing websites, several different statutes and claims have been asserted, including violations of state wiretap statutes and the Video Privacy Protection Act (“VPPA”).  

Although these cases are largely at the motion to dismiss stage, and therefore there is little insight into how certain key defenses will play out, some recent decisions surrounding VPPA claims have shifted the landscape in certain defendant’s favor.

Continue Reading Is the Video Privacy Protection Act Losing its Allure?

Employers looking to enhance their suite of employee benefit programs, and focused on lessons learned during the pandemic on wellbeing, are interested in providing greater access to wellness tools. And, the vendors who support those tools are more than happy to provide them. Global spend in the health and wellness market would be around $24.8 billion in 2023 according to a study by Kilo Health. Wellness apps and wearables abound in all sorts of areas — from counting steps to nutrition to mental health to physical fitness to financial fitness. These tools are relatively inexpensive to provide and easily accessible to the workforce – many times with just a simple download to a smartphone. And, best of all they’re completely private with no middle man, and only the employee seeing their own data and progress. Right? Well — not so fast.

Continue Reading Wellness Apps and Privacy

With so many companies being hauled into court in California based on claims that the functionalities on their website and use of service providers for marketing or analytics purposes violate consumer privacy rights, it is important to exhaust all possible defenses available to defendants. Late last year, the Ninth Circuit issued a ruling upholding a dismissal based on a lack of personal jurisdiction over a web-based payment company. Companies operating interactive websites may be able to take advantage of this ruling as part of their defense strategy in 2024.

Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Opinion Supports Personal Jurisdiction Defense for Interactive Websites

The California Privacy Protection Agency (“CPPA”) issued and discussed draft regulations on Cybersecurity Audits and Risk Assessments late in the summer. The CPPA Board plans to discuss the draft regulations at its upcoming December 8th public meeting, along with a presentation on the regulations. 

Continue Reading CPPA Considers Next Set of CPRA Regulations Covering Cybersecurity Audits and Risk Assessments
Masterclass cover slide

On October 5, 2023, Seyfarth offered a Masterclass, hosted by Lexology, which was designed to familiarize in-house counsel and privacy professionals, in and out of Washington state, with the My Health My Data Act legislation. Portions of the Act are already in effect and go into further effect on March 31, 2024.

We explored its obligations and its wide reach, specifically addressing how to identify: (1) who must comply; (2) who gets new rights and protections; and (3) what data is covered, since all of these are more wide-reaching than it may appear to the casual observer of state privacy legislation.

This session also uncovered significant “sleeper” compliance obligations and provided practical insight and actionable steps to use when guiding business teams.

You can access the video recording here, or click here to download the presentation slides.

As organizations begin renewing and entering into new contractual relationships for 2024, an oft-forgotten aspect of the contracting process is determining whether a Business Associate Agreement (a “BAA”) is required. Under HIPAA, health care providers, health plans and health care clearinghouses (“Covered Entities”) are required to enter into BAAs with any vendor (“Business Associate”) that may have access to Protected Health Information (“PHI”). Many organizations operate under a misconception that they are not subject to HIPAA if they are not in the health care industry but, in fact, HIPAA’s reach is much broader than that. For example, organizations that sponsor health plans, including employers that sponsor self-funded plans, are responsible for their health plans’ compliance with HIPAA, including the requirement to enter into BAAs with plan vendors. As another example, information technology organizations providing services to employers that offer health plans may be asked to sign a BAA as a Business Associate if they have access to data on the employer’s systems that may constitute PHI.

Continue Reading Top 5 Reasons to Remember Your Business Associate Agreements This Fall

Thursday, October 5, 2023
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. ET
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. CT
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. MT
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. PT

REGISTER HERE

About the Program

Seyfarth is pleased to offer this Masterclass, hosted by Lexology, which is designed to familiarize in-house counsel and privacy professionals, in and out of Washington state, with the My Health My Data Act legislation. Portions of the Act are already in effect and go into further effect on March 31, 2024.

Join us as we explore its obligations and its wide reach, specifically addressing how to identify:

  1. who must comply
  2. who gets new rights and protections, and
  3. what data is covered

since all of these are more wide-reaching than it may appear to the casual observer of state privacy legislation.

The session will also:

  1. uncover significant “sleeper” compliance obligations and
  2. provide practical insight and actionable steps to use when guiding business teams.

We invite you to join us. You can register for free on Lexology’s site through the registration link above.

Speakers

Yana Komsitsky, Senior Counsel, Seyfarth Shaw

Neeka Hodaie, Associate, Seyfarth Shaw

If you have any questions, please contact Sophia Gomez at sgomez@seyfarth.com and reference this event.