In three recent cases, the Court of Appeal for Ontario effectively curtailed the ability of privacy breach victims to advance claims under the tort of intrusion upon seclusion against organizations for failing to prevent unauthorized access to personal information by third parties. However, while these cases should provide some reassurance that a cyberattack may not … Continue reading
As autonomous vehicle (AV) technology continues to grow in functionality and sophistication, it is only a matter of time before AVs become commercially available across Canada. The arrival of autonomous vehicles in Canada will raise a number of liability-related questions that touch on the areas of owner liability, product liability, and auto insurance. In this … Continue reading
On 13 December, the European Commission launched the process to adopt an adequacy decision for the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (EU-US DPF). The draft decision – available here – addresses the concerns raised by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in its Schrems II decision of July 2020. These concerns centred around … Continue reading
Norton Rose Fulbright Canada’s cyber litigation team recently obtained an order in favour of an insurer, granting it relief from forfeiture in respect of more than 11 bitcoins from the assets seized from a prolific ransomware gang.[1] This case was the first of its kind and confirms an insurer’s ability to seek recovery for losses … Continue reading
On 17 November 2022, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) published an update to its guidance on international transfers (Transfers Guidance). This included specific guidance about transfer risk assessments or TRAs and a tool for undertaking TRAs (the TRA Guidance and TRA Tool, respectively). In its blog post accompanying the updated Transfers Guidance, the ICO makes … Continue reading
On November 30, 2022, an Illinois court of appeals ruled that Illinois’ biometrics privacy law—known as BIPA—requires that anyone subject to that law must develop a retention and destruction schedule when it possesses biometric data. In this case, the court found that the employer (J&M Plating Inc.) violated BIPA because it did not create its … Continue reading
HHS: Online trackers without prior authorization and BAAs can violate HIPAA By Steve Roosa, Sue Ross, Dan Rosenzweig On the evening of December 1, 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a 12-page Bulletin titled “Use of Online Tracking Technologies by HIPAA Covered Entities and Business Associates (the “Bulletin”). In the … Continue reading
Managing vendor risks includes putting pen to paper. Organizations are increasingly susceptible to risks outside their controlled IT infrastructure as they engage third-party vendors to manage online platforms and process data. Even though an organization may have little to no control over a vendor’s security practices, it bears the ultimate responsibility for safeguarding its own … Continue reading
It appears Snap has become the most recent company to pay a settlement for alleged violations of Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”). The law, which gives consumers a private right of action, has become a popular class action and source of significant penalties. Indeed, Snap joins a string of other companies that have already … Continue reading
On July 13, 2022, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) released its final Guideline B-13 (the Guideline), setting out technology and cyber risk management expectations for all federally regulated financial institutions (FRFIs), such as banks, insurance and trust companies. FRFIs will need ensure that they have taken steps to comply with the requirements … Continue reading
The House of Commons recently introduced Bill C-27, the successor to Bill C-11, which died on the docket when Parliament was dissolved in the fall of 2021. Bill C-27 introduces three new acts: the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (“CPPA”), the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act, and the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act (“AIDA”), which … Continue reading
In our previous publication, we discussed the legal obligations and procedural considerations surrounding maintaining records of privacy incidents. While the specific obligations vary by jurisdiction, maintaining some form of a record that tracks privacy incidents is a statutory obligation for private-sector organizations subject to Quebec, Alberta, or federal laws. Organizations should also be aware of … Continue reading
Google’s Data Safety Forms must be submitted by July 20, 2022. According to Google, failing to post by July 20, 2022 can result in the rejection of new Google Play app submissions. After July 20,200, non-compliant apps could face removal from the Google Play. It’s the business’s job to take ownership over the accuracy of … Continue reading
In this article we distil critical lessons from the Federal Court’s recent decision in Australian Securities and Investments Commission v RI Advice Group Pty Ltd[1] and practical actions to be taken by Boards and executive management. Boards and organisations should assess their cybersecurity risk management activities in light of the decision and ask whether current … Continue reading
On March 31, 2022, the PCI Security Standards Council released the new version of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (version 4.0), which represents an update almost four years in the making. In addition to some clarifications and rearrangements, the new PCI DSS 4.0 includes 51 new requirements for all entities, and 13 new … Continue reading
The EDPB has published draft guidance on “dark patterns” in social media (the Guidelines) for consultation. The Guidelines consider in detail common social media interfaces that present the content of privacy policies and collect consent in ways which substantively violate the GDPR requirements, while still pretending to formally comply with them (these methods now termed … Continue reading
A third regulator has recently entered into a proposed consent that includes a $500,000 fine based in part on a company’s over-retention of personal data for longer than it was needed. The first regulator was the French data protection authority, the CNIL, in 2021, which we wrote about here. The second regulator was the New … Continue reading
On 25 March the EU Commission (Commission) and United States (US) announced that they had agreed in principle on a new “Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework” (TADPF) to foster trans-Atlantic data flows and address the concerns raised by Schrems II. We briefly discuss the implications below. The announcement was very high level and short on detail. … Continue reading
The UK Government has added two new duties to the proposed Online Safety Bill (the Bill) that are aimed at protecting people against anonymous online abuse. These measures would give users of “main social media firms” more control over who can interact with them and the type of content users see (see the Government’s press … Continue reading
On March 15, 2022, President Biden signed an omnibus spending bill into law, which, in part, requires companies to report cyber incidents and ransom payments. The relevant portions of the law, titled the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 (“Act”) proposes reporting requirements for incidents, establishes new programs to curtail ransomware attacks … Continue reading
On 23 February 2022 the EU Commission published its long-awaited Data Act, the last major building block of the Commission’s February 2020 Data Strategy. The Data Act: Is an ambitious piece of legislation with implications for consumers and businesses across the economy, not limited to the technology sector. Aims to facilitate access to data by … Continue reading
On February 9, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released a proposal aimed at enhancing cybersecurity risk management programs, including cybersecurity preparedness and response, for registered investment advisers (“advisers”), investment companies and business development companies (“funds”). Overall, the proposal addresses the following rule amendments and additions: 1. Cybersecurity Policies and Procedures Under the … Continue reading
Google recently announced several key changes to the upcoming “Data safety form” for Google Play. Learn more about these updates on our NT Analyzer blog. … Continue reading
On February 17, 2022 the California Privacy Protection Agency’s Board (“Board”) met to discuss their progress launching the new agency. They also shared their projected timeline for rulemaking. The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) is the new agency charged with enforcing the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). The big news is that the Board … Continue reading