In Cour v. Life360, Inc., the United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted a defendant’s motion to dismiss a claim under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, finding that the defendant’s system for sending text messages did not constitute “making” a call under the statute. In reaching
Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie Dodge Putative ZIP Code Class Action Under Spokeo
The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia shot down a putative class action brought against Urban Outfitters, Inc., and Anthropologie, Inc., which had alleged that the companies violated D.C. consumer protection statutes by collecting customer ZIP code information during in-store checkout. The July 26 ruling remanded the suit for dismissal, and held that
Federal Judge Denies Hearst Communications’ Motion to Dismiss Privacy Lawsuit
Federal courts continue to interpret and analyze the Supreme Court’s decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins. Recently, a federal judge in New York permitted a lawsuit against Hearst Communications, Inc., to move forward after considering supplemental briefing on Article III standing.
Plaintiffs Suzanne Boelter and Josephine Edwards subscribe to magazines published by Hearst. Plaintiffs
Microsoft Prevails in Second Circuit Stored Communications Act Warrant Ruling
Microsoft prevailed in its appeal to the Second Circuit from an order denying its motion to quash a warrant seeking a Microsoft user’s email stored on the company’s servers in Ireland. The ruling sets important precedent limiting the extraterritorial reach of the federal government in seeking to compel disclosure of private company data under the
Microsoft Fix for MiTM Security Patch Reveals Need for Thoughtful Patching Procedures
Most organizations understand the importance of timely implementing software updates and patches. However, open platforms have permitted a level of customization such that a patch in one application may have unintended consequences in other parts of the overall system architecture, including customization of the software being updated. A good example is the recent Microsoft security
FTC Issues APEC CBPRs Warning Letters to Companies Claiming Compliance
The FTC issued warning letters to 28 companies that allegedly advertised participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperative Cross-Border Privacy Rules system (“APEC CBPRs”), but had not received the requisite certification. A company seeking to participate in the CBPR system must first have its compliance established by an APEC-recognized accountability agent.
The APEC CBPRs is a
Class Action Data Breach Complaint Against Wendy’s Dismissed for Lack of Standing
As we previously reported, Plaintiff Jonathan Torres filed a putative class action against Wendy’s in the wake of a data breach that the fast-food company suffered earlier this year. Wendy’s subsequently filed a motion to dismiss Torres’ complaint, which the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida granted on July 15.
In
Ransomware in Healthcare – A Clear and Present Danger
Health care entities and their business associates with access to electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) are subject to the HIPAA Privacy & Security Rules. New guidance was just released regarding the requirements of the HIPAA Security Rule in the event of a ransomware attack. Additional information regarding the requirements of the HIPAA Privacy & Security
Supplemental Briefs Submitted to the Ninth Circuit for Decision in Spokeo Case
After the Supreme Court vacated and remanded the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, the parties again appeared before the lower court, arguing over whether a purely technical violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act is sufficient to satisfy the concreteness requirement for Article III standing.
As we previously reported, on
EU Member States Approve Privacy Shield
On July 8, European Union member states approved the Trans-Atlantic Privacy Shield data transfer deal, finally paving the way for the pact to be formally approved by EU and U.S. officials on July 12.
The Article 31 committee, which is made up of representatives of each EU member state, held their highly anticipated final