Latest Data Privacy Headlines
All the headlines from our Data Privacy Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Data Privacy Law Expansion Approved by California Voters
Nov 9 2020 // In the state that is home to Silicon Valley and serves as the headquarters for Google, Facebook and other tech titans, voters strengthened data privacy protections by approving a ballot measure that supporters tout as a...
UK’s Post-Brexit Privacy Protections Fail EU Data Protections, Activist Warns
Oct 12 2020 // UK privacy protections were criticized by an activist who told the European Union that the British shouldn’t be trusted to protect user data after Brexit. The personal data of EU citizens “do not at present...
Major U.S. Tech Firms Look to Be Ignoring Europe’s Data Privacy Rules
Sep 28 2020 // Technology firms’ compliance with European restrictions on transatlantic data transfers is shockingly poor, Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems said on Monday, publishing a survey of companies including Facebook...
How Spain’s COVID Tracing App Navigates Europe’s Privacy Protections
Sep 17 2020 // “What does RadarCOVID not do?” a promotional video for Spain’s contact-tracing app asks. The answer: while navigating the country’s decentralized healthcare system, it does not locate users,...
Dispute Among EU Regulators Delays Twitter Data Privacy Fine
Aug 20 2020 // Some European Union regulators objected to Ireland’s preliminary ruling in a landmark privacy investigation of Twitter, the lead regulator said on Thursday, triggering a process where a majority decision will be...
Cable Appointed Chief of New Data Privacy and Security Division in Mass. AG’s Office
Aug 14 2020 // Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has announced the creation of the Data Privacy and Security Division within her office to protect consumers from threats to the privacy and security of their data. Healey has...
European Union Court Invalidates Special Data Privacy Shield Granted U.S. Firms
Jul 16 2020 // LUXEMBOURG – Europe’s highest court ruled on Thursday that a transatlantic data transfer deal is invalid because of concerns about U.S. surveillance in a decision that could disrupt thousands of companies that...
Ireland, Luxembourg Lag in Support for Policing EU Data Privacy Compliance
Jun 25 2020 // Ireland and Luxembourg, European headquarters to Google, Facebook, Twitter and Amazon, need a substantial boost in resources to deal with data breaches by U.S. tech giants, a European Union report said. The report by the...
States Sharing of COVID-19 Patients’ Data With First Responders Sparks Privacy Concern
May 21 2020 // More than 11 million people have been tested in the U.S. for COVID-19, all with the assurance that their private medical information would remain protected and undisclosed. Yet, public officials in at least two-thirds of...
Senators Seek to Address Privacy Concerns Over Tech Firms’ Covid-19 Contact Tracing
May 4 2020 // A group of Republican U.S. senators said Thursday they would introduce legislation to address consumer privacy concerns surrounding technology companies’ efforts to help build contact tracing apps to fight the new...
High-Flying Zoom Faces Privacy Suit Claiming It Fails to Protect User Data
Mar 31 2020 // Zoom Video Communications, which has seen its stock zoom by 115% since January, is being sued by a Sacramento user who claims the service unlawfully discloses users’ personal information. The video service has...
Congress Urged to Uphold, Not Override, State Privacy Laws
Feb 27 2020 // California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Tuesday sent a letter to four top U.S. lawmakers urging them not to pre-empt the state’s new privacy law with a watered down federal legislation. The California Consumer...
Washington Senate Advances Data Privacy Rules
Feb 18 2020 // The Washington Senate has passed a data privacy measure that would give consumers the right to manage how information held by private companies is used. The measure, called the Washington Privacy Act, passed on a...
Chamber of Commerce to Fight Corporate Breakups, Gig Worker Benefits
Jan 10 2020 // The leader of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the powerful business group will fight to reverse liberal policies being pushed in the states and by some Democratic candidates for president. “We will lead the...
Will People Use California’s Vastly Expanded Digital Privacy Law?
Dec 31 2019 // Forty million Californians will soon obtain sweeping digital privacy rights stronger than any seen before in the U.S. – rights that could pose a significant challenge to Big Tech and the data economy it created. So long...
Bipartisan Internet Privacy Proposal Calls for User OK to Share Data But Is Mum on Suits
Dec 23 2019 // A top House panel unveiled long-awaited draft privacy legislation that calls for limits on sharing consumers’ information and would allow users to correct their personal data. The draft, which also calls for the...
California AG Releases Title and Summary for Initiative to Protect Consumer Privacy Campaign
Dec 18 2019 // California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Tuesday released the title and summary for the California Privacy Rights Act, which would beef up the California Privacy Act set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2020. The act amends...
Driver Privacy Concerns in Auto Insurance. There’s an App for That.
Dec 13 2019 // Apps that let you book a ride to work or borrow a car for your next vacation are feeding into a revolution in auto insurance — while also raising some privacy red flags. Data on everything from how frequently a car...
Senate Democrats’ Bill Would Establish Consumer Rights Over Internet Data, Privacy
Nov 27 2019 // Democratic senators proposed legislation on Tuesday that would set penalties for online companies like Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc. if they mishandle users’ personal data. The measure comes at a...
Juul Labs and WeWork Being Sued Under Illinois Biometric Privacy Law
Nov 12 2019 // Juul Labs Inc. was sued for collecting biometric data from its online customers as a method of verifying they are legally old enough to buy vaping products. The company was accused in a complaint filed last Thursday in...
