Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On January 24, 2024, the UK National Cyber Security Centre (“NCSC”) announced it had published a report on how AI will impact the efficacy of cyber operations and the cyber threats posed by AI over the next two years. The report concludes that AI “will almost certainly increase the volume and heighten the impact of cyber attacks over the next two years.” The report also notes that all types of cyber threat actors, including state and non-state, and of varying skill level, already use AI to some degree. The report further notes that AI provides capability uplift in reconnaissance ...

On January 23, 2024, the UK government announced that it published a draft Code of Practice on cybersecurity governance (the “Code”). The guidelines in the Code are intended to “help directors and senior leaders shore up their defences from cyber threats.” The Code has been designed in partnership with industry directors, cyber and governance experts, and the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), with a key focus to ensure that organizations have detailed plans in place to respond to and recover from any potential cyber incidents. While it is acknowledged that “there ...

On January 18, 2024, the European Data Protection Board published a thematic one-stop-shop (“OSS”) case digest titled, “Security of Processing and Data Breach Notification” (the “Digest”). The Digest analyzes a selection of decisions adopted by EU data protection authorities on data security and data breaches. 

On January 12, 2024, the New York State Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) announced a consent order with virtual currency company Genesis Global Trading, Inc. (“Genesis”) for “significant” failings in Genesis’ Anti-Money Laundering and cybersecurity compliance frameworks. According to the NYDFS, Genesis’ failure to comply with the NYDFS’ virtual currency and cybersecurity regulations left the company vulnerable to cybersecurity risks and related unlawful activity. 

On January 9, 2024, an Ohio federal judge placed a temporary restraining order on Ohio’s Parental Notification by Social Media Operators Act, Ohio Rev. Code § 1349.09(B)(1) (the “Act”), which was approved in July 2023 and was set to go into effect on January 15,2024. Under the Act, parents must provide consent for children under 16 to set up an account on social media and online gaming platforms. The platform operators must also provide parents with a list of content moderation features.

On January 18, 2024, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) published an updated Opinion on age assurance for the Children’s Code (the “Opinion”). The Children’s Code is a statutory code of practice setting out how information society services likely to be accessed by children should protect children’s information rights online.

On January 15, 2024, the European Commission released its “report on the first review of the functioning of the Adequacy Decisions adopted pursuant to Article 25(6) of Directive 95/46/EC” (the “Report”). The Report details the results of the European Commission’s assessment of whether 11 jurisdictions (Andorra, Argentina, Canada, the Faroe Islands, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Israel, Jersey, New Zealand, Switzerland and Uruguay) that benefit from Adequacy Decisions adopted under the repealed Directive 95/46/EC still offer sufficient guarantees to maintain adequacy status under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”).

On January 18, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced a proposed order against geolocation data broker InMarket Media (“InMarket”), barring the company from selling or licensing precise location data. According to the FTC’s charges, InMarket failed to obtain informed consent from users of applications developed by the company and its third-party partners.  

On January 16, 2024, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law Bill 332, making New Jersey the 14^th state with a comprehensive state privacy law. The law is set to take effect in January 2025.

Applicability

The law will apply to controllers that conduct business in New Jersey or produce products or services that are targeted to New Jersey residents, and that during a calendar year meet any of the following criteria: (1) control or process the personal data of at least 100,000 New Jersey consumers (notably excluding personal data processed solely for the purpose of completing a payment transaction); or (2) control or process the personal data of at least 25,000 New Jersey consumers and derive revenue, or receive a discount on the price of any goods or services, from the “sale” of personal data. In line with the CCPA and other state privacy laws, the New Jersey law broadly defines “sale” as the disclosure of personal data to a third party for “monetary or other valuable consideration.”

On January 15, 2024, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) announced that it has launched a consultation series on generative AI. The series will examine how aspects of UK data protection law should apply to the development and use of the technology, with the first chapter of the series focusing on when it is lawful to train generative AI models on personal data scraped from the web. The ICO invites all stakeholders with an interest in generative AI to respond to the consultation, including developers and users of generative AI, legal advisors and consultants working ...

On January 9, 2024, in its first settlement with a data broker concerning the collection and sale of sensitive location information, the Federal Trade Commission announced a proposed order against data broker X-Mode Social, Inc. and its successor Outlogic, LLC (“X-Mode”) for unfair and deceptive acts or practices in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act.

On January 9, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission published a blog post reminding artificial intelligence (“AI”) “model-as-a-service” companies to uphold the privacy commitments they make to customers, including promises made in Terms of Service agreements, promotional materials and online marketplaces.  

On January 8, 2024, the French Data Protection Authority (the “CNIL”) opened a consultation on its draft guidance for the use of transfer impact assessments (“Guidance”). In describing the Guidance, the CNIL references the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Schrems II and states that exporters relying on tools listed in Article 46(2) and Article 46(3) of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) for personal data transfers are required to assess the level of protection in the designated third country and the need to put in place additional safeguards (i.e., conduct a transfer impact assessment (“TIA”)). The Guidance is intended to assist data exporters in carrying out TIAs. 

On December 21, 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) issued its judgment in the case of Krankenversicherung Nordrhein (C-667/21) in which it clarified, among other things, the rules for processing special categories of personal data (hereafter “sensitive personal data”) under Article 9 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and the nature of the compensation owed for damages under Article 82 of the GDPR.