Just as the ink had dried on what we thought was the CA Attorney General’s final set of regulations for the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), a new, fourth draft set was submitted earlier this month, building upon the third draft set issued in October. Both sets of regs have yet to be finalized.
After years of uncertainty, the fate of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield (“Shield”) has finally been determined. On July 16th, the EU’s highest court, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), declared the Shield to be invalid as a lawful mechanism for transferring the personal data of EU residents to the U.S.
A first of its kind in the U.S., the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) is shaping up to be one of the most ambitious privacy legislations in the world; and with 17 additional states so far following its lead, data privacy protection is finally having its day in the United States. Effective January 1, 2020, the CCPA will become enforceable as early as next spring. More specifically, the Act will be enforced on the earlier of either July 1, 2020 or 6 months from the date of issuance of the final regulations, following the California Attorney General’s enforcement guidelines (expected mid-September).
It didn’t take long for other states to follow California’s lead in pursuing rigorous data privacy protections for their residents. Although New York was unsuccessful in passing its own version of the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) this year, legislation expanding data breach notification protocols was signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo on July 25, 2019¹. The SHIELD Act (the Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act) signals a growing trend in the U.S. toward strengthening data privacy protections in the wake of high-profile data breaches through the adoption of more comprehensive and enforceable regulations.
Despite the global angst preceding the GDRP’s effective date, there’s been seemingly little news about enforcement efforts against noncompliant businesses. But, the reality is that EU regulators have been very busy working behind the scenes. As of February, 2019, nearly 100,000 claims under the GDPR have been lodged with EU national data protection authorities (“DPAs”), many relating to telemarketing and promotional e-mails. Similarly, just over 40,000 data breaches were reported to the DPAs; and 255 investigations into EU cross-border processing activities were initiated, mostly as a result of complaints filed by individuals.
The EU’s sweeping data privacy law – GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) – will celebrate its one year anniversary later this month. In this time, the GDPR is credited with, among other things, inspiring other jurisdictions, including the United States, to adopt similar legislation designed to protect the rights of individuals over their personal data and increase the transparency of data collection and processing activities.
In the wake of an historic, multi-state lawsuit filed against a “Business Associate” earlier this month, it is imperative that companies with business associate agreements (BAA) in place with health care/plan customers review internal data security policies and procedures to ensure they are in compliance with their obligations arising under HIPAA, state privacy laws and the BAAs.
Outside GC Member Stephan Grynwajc continues to keep a close eye on the fate of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield data-sharing arrangement.
