Recent Articles

The cost of HIPAA non-compliance – $17 million

Cynthia Larose
March 19, 2012 12:05

Written by Kevin McGinty   If it wasn’t clear before, a recent settlement of HIPAA claims brought by the Department of Health and Human Services against BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (“BCBST”) underscores the high regulatory cost of non-compliance with privacy requirements.  HHS announced...

Privacy-on-the-Go: Make sure that “killer app” has a privacy policy

Cynthia Larose
March 13, 2012 15:53

Although one would never realize it when downloading many popular mobile apps on any of the major platforms (Apple’s iTunes, Google, Amazon, RIM, HP, etc.) — the requirements of California’s Online Privacy Protection Act to have a “clear and conspicuous” privacy policy...

Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights – Summary and Invitation to Comment

Cynthia Larose
March 07, 2012 18:11

The Department of Commerce has already taken the first steps to implementing the White House’s Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights announced last month.  Commerce has invited comment on “what issues should be addressed through the privacy multi-stakeholder process and how to structure these...

Massachusetts Businesses Face Two New Challenges on Data Security

Cynthia Larose
February 27, 2012 17:44

A cross-post from our friends at the Associated Industries of Massachusetts - and important reading, given that March 1st is Thursday.  Employers Face Two New Challenges on Data SecurityA cross-post from our friends at the Associated Industries of Massachusetts - and important reading, given that...

Privacy and Security Bits and Bytes

Cynthia Larose
February 24, 2012 22:26

This has been a big week for privacy. Tuesday -  An article in The New York Times by Charles Duhigg detailed just how much information companies collect and how they utilize predictive analytics to figure out what people want almost before they know they want it.  (Registration may be required).   ...

President Obama: “American consumers can’t wait any longer….”

Cynthia Larose
February 23, 2012 18:54

At the White House today, President Obama unveiled his administration’s framework for new privacy regulations and the long-awaited white paper entitled “Consumer Data Privacy in a Networked World:  A Framework for Protecting Privacy and Promoting Innovation in the Global Digital...

FCC Adopts Rules Requiring Written Consent for Telemarketing “Robocalls”

Cynthia Larose
February 17, 2012 17:03

Written by Ernie Cooper  The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has adopted new rules that require companies to obtain prior express written consent from consumers before calling them with prerecorded telemarketing “robocalls.”  For the most part, the new robocall rules adopted by the FCC...

A Top Five List: Data Security and Privacy Issues 2012

Cynthia Larose
February 14, 2012 17:36

Here is an article published in Westlaw Journal on the top 5 data security and privacy issues in 2012 (and there could be a “top 20″ if we’d had the column inches!) — a little crystal ball-gazing: Top 5 Commercial Data Security and Privacy Issues in 2012  Here is an...

Massachusetts Data Security Regulations: Deadline Looms for Amending Service Provider Contracts

Cynthia Larose
February 10, 2012 20:06

Just a reminder that March 1 is an important deadline with respect to the Massachusetts data privacy and security regulations (the “Regulations”).  As a refresher, the Regulations require all entities that “own or license” personal information of Massachusetts residents...

Legislative Update – Cybersecurity

Cynthia Larose
February 08, 2012 15:05

Our colleagues at ML Strategies have authored a Legislative Alert: As the 112th Congress gets underway, many continue to feel that partisan gridlock will block movement on significant legislation, leaving congressional activity to legislation that doesn’t require a heavy lift. However, in what many...