The Fine Print

The decision caused international panic and businesses will be asked questions about their data protection practices. It is important to check where Safe Harbor is built into current agreements and evaluate both business-to-consumer and business-to-business relationships.

These action items will not only put you in a better position when a breach arises, but you will have the right answers when a regulator calls.

The EU’s top court could rule the Safe Harbor framework is ineffective to allow data to flow across the Atlantic and as companies await the Oct. 6 decision, they should consider other options for transfer of data from the EU to the US.

New York insurer Excellus BlueCross BlueShield became the most recent health care company to announce it was the victim of a sophisticated cyberattack after hackers gained access to the Social Security numbers, mailing addresses, and financial information of as many as 10 million customers.

On September 2-3, 2015, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) hosted the 8th Annual Safeguarding Health Information: Building Assurance through HIPAA Security conference.

The US Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights announced a new settlement for $750,000 with Cancer Care Group, P.C. to resolve potential violations of the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules identified as the result of the theft of a laptop and backup media.

Wheelchair ramps and accessible parking spaces soon may not be enough for retailers to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continues to pursue companies for failing to disclose material connections in endorsements.

Recently, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Prescription Drug Promotion issued a Warning Letter to drug maker Duchesnay, Inc., after reality TV star Kim Kardashian endorsed the company’s morning sickness drug, Diclegis, on her Instagram account.

On May 20, 2015 the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) within the Department of Commerce (Commerce) published a proposed rule that will affect exports of products dubbed “cybersecurity items.”

Nike Inc. (Nike) recently agreed to pay more than $2.4 million to settle a class action lawsuit related to the Nike FuelBand activity tracker.

Major US credit card associations including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover have set October 1, 2015, as the deadline for merchants to implement the Europay, MasterCard, and Visa (EMV) standards.

The Fourth Circuit has recently made it more difficult for false advertising plaintiffs to survive a motion to dismiss where their claims are based on an allegation of “literal falsity.”

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (Rockwell), a leading industrial parts manufacturer, recently sued industrial parts distributor Radwell International, Inc. (Radwell), alleging numerous violations of the Lanham Act.

On June 10, 2015, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, announced that it had entered into a resolution agreement with St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, a Massachusetts hospital, to resolve potential HIPAA violations.

On June 25, 2015, the FTC announced that it had taken action to stop a group of approximately 15 companies and 7 individuals from using allegedly deceptive “risk-free trial” offers to sell skincare products online.

California’s Song-Beverly Credit Card Act does not prohibit retailers from collecting email addresses after a credit card transaction has been concluded, according to a recent ruling by a California appellate court.

Beginning September 1, 2015, many companies that engage in mobile advertising will be subject to a new level of scrutiny by industry watch dogs.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently obtained a temporary injunction to stop a Florida-based sweepstakes operation that has taken more than $28 million from consumers in the United States and abroad.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced the settlement of a complaint alleging deceptive trade practices in relation to a crowdfunding campaign.

The FBI and United States Justice Department announced a joint investigation into the front-office of the St. Louis Cardinals, one of baseball’s top teams for the last two decades, for allegedly hacking into the internal networks of rival Houston Astros to steal proprietary player information.

The United States District Court in Nevada issued an Order on June 1, 2015 dismissing the complaint filed by alleged victims of a data security breach suffered by Amazon.com d/b/a Zappos.com (Zappos).

There is a split among circuit courts over whether a company faced with a privacy breach is subject to liability where a consumer suffers no discernible harm.

The Federal Trade Commission sent a new warning for companies engaged in geolocation tracking. Specifically, the FTC recently reached a settlement agreement with Nomi Technologies, a company that offers services allowing retailers to track the movements of customers in and around their stores.

A “must read” for marketers that feature celebrity or consumer endorsements in their ads, or any company operating contests or sweepstakes on social media.