Latest Data Privacy Headlines

All the headlines from our Data Privacy Topic Page, ordered by recency.

EU’s Landmark Data Privacy Law, GDPR, Already Providing Global Standard

May 23 2019 // A landmark European privacy law is making waves worldwide a year after it came into force, fundamentally changing the way data are handled as Facebook, Apple and Google face increasingly frequent complaints. Adopted on May...

California Bill to Expand Customer Ability to Sue over Handling of Data Fails

May 17 2019 // California’s senate blocked a bill on Thursday that would have expanded the ability of consumers to sue companies over their handling of personal data, a win for tech industry groups concerned about wide-ranging...

Internet Privacy Bill Proving Struggle for Congress

May 1 2019 // Lawmakers drafting a bill to create rules governing online privacy hope to have a discussion draft complete by late May with a Senate committee vote during the summer, but disputes are likely to push that timetable back,...

California Bills Would Add More Punch to Consumer Data Protection Law

Mar 6 2019 // Professionals in the cyber arena could find themselves quite busy in the near future with the possibility of California consumers gaining even more power to sue corporations for mishandling personal data under two recently...

MGA Coalition Covers Firms with Cyber Exposure Under EU’s Data Privacy Law

Mar 4 2019 // Coalition, the San Francisco-based managing general agency that specializes in cyber insurance for small and mid-sized businesses, announced it is broadening coverage to include exposures to violations of the European...

California AG Backing Bill to Expand Consumer Privacy Protections

Feb 26 2019 // California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has endorsed a state bill that would expand the state’s new privacy act to allow consumers to sue companies over their handling of personal data, despite months of tech...

India’s New Web Rules Address Data Privacy, Commercial Liability

Feb 26 2019 // India outlined a new draft policy for its burgeoning e-commerce sector on Saturday, focusing on data localisation, improved privacy safeguards and measures to combat the sale of counterfeit products. The proposed overhaul,...

California Data Privacy Proposal Could Get Even Tougher

Feb 25 2019 // The strongest data privacy law in the country may be about to get sharper teeth, and lobbyists representing the tech industry think it’s a disastrous idea. Companies that amass user data could be the target of mass...

MGA Coalition Covers Firms with Cyber Exposure Under EU’s Data Privacy Law

Feb 20 2019 // Coalition, the San Francisco-based managing general agency that specializes in cyber insurance for small and mid-sized businesses, announced it is broadening coverage to include exposures to violations of the European...

Facebook Broke Data Privacy Rules, so Self-Regulation Must End: UK Lawmakers

Feb 19 2019 // Facebook intentionally breached data privacy and competition law and should, along with other big tech companies, be subject to a new regulator to protect democracy and citizens’ rights, British lawmakers said on...

Microsoft’s Home State’s Facial Recognition Privacy Bill Could Be Model for Others

Feb 8 2019 // Two months after calling for laws to regulate facial-recognition software, Microsoft Corp. is lobbying on behalf of a first-of-its-kind bill in its home state of Washington. The question is whether cross-town rival...

Irish Data Regulator Probes Twitter over Privacy Rules Breach

Jan 28 2019 // Twitter’s lead regulator in the European Union, the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC), said on Friday it was investigating the company for a breach notification received from the social networking...

U.S. Privacy Regulation Tested by Facebook Scandals

Jan 24 2019 // Facebook Inc.’s repeated privacy scandals have infuriated users, lawmakers and data-security advocates who are clamoring for a forceful government response. That job mainly falls to Joe Simons, who is under pressure...

France Fines Google $57M for Breaching EU’s Data Privacy Rules Under GDPR

Jan 23 2019 // France’s data protection watchdog fined Alphabet’s Google 50 million euros ($57 million) on Monday [Jan. 21] for breaching European Union online privacy rules, the biggest such penalty levied against a U.S....

States Surprised with Burst of Insurance Fraud-Related Legislation in 2018

Jan 7 2019 // Lawmakers Debated More Than 100 Fraud-Related Bills and Passed 33 into Law The introduction of new bills slows down during years when legislators tend to be more concerned with reelection. That’s why 2018 was such a...

Judge Dismisses Privacy Suit Against Google Over Facial Recognition Technology

Dec 31 2018 // A lawsuit filed against Google by users who said the world’s largest search engine violated their privacy by using facial recognition technology was dismissed by a judge on Saturday. U.S. District Judge Edmond E....

Federal Cyber Privacy Bill Calls for Fines, Prison for Executives’ Violations

Nov 2 2018 // A senior Democratic U.S. senator on Thursday unveiled draft legislation that would allow hefty fines and as much as 20-year prison terms for executives who violate privacy and cybersecurity standards. Senator Ron Wyden...

Apple CEO Calls for U.S. Privacy Law to Protect User Data

Oct 24 2018 // Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said on Wednesday customer data was being “weaponised with military efficiency” by companies to increase profit. Cook, speaking at the International Conference of Data Protection...

UK Privacy Lawsuit Filed Against Google by IPhone Users Is Dismissed

Oct 8 2018 // A U.K. lawsuit filed against Google by millions of iPhone users over data-collection claims was thrown out by a London judge. The group, known as Google You Owe Us, were seeking as much as 3.2 billion pounds ($4.2...

A U.S. Privacy Law Could Be Good for Google, but Bad for You

Oct 3 2018 // U.S. Congress is taking the first steps toward setting national rules governing how companies use consumers data – although one of its goals might be to prevent states from enacting stronger privacy protections of...