Privacy

California Dreamin’ – A Blueprint for CCPA/CPRA Compliance

California coastal photo

  New U.S. Privacy Laws Follow GDPR Trend With the approval of the CPRA citizen’s initiative (Consumer Privacy Reform Act amending the CCPA – Proposition 24) and the introduction of new privacy legislation in New York and elsewhere all moving toward a U.S. equivalent of GDPR, it is time to face the fact that U.S. privacy compliance obligations are here to stay. When GDPR enforcement began in 2018, many U.S. businesses that were not operating in the EU considered it something that was happening “over there.” Enforcement of the California CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) began in January 2020. Now, the hope of avoiding strict privacy compliance obligations “over here” is now only a dream. The CPRA amended and strengthened the CCPA, moving it closer to the protections afforded to EU citizens, and post-Brexit, to UK citizens. (Proposition 24 approved November 2020; Effective 1/1/23.) it is time to face the fact that U.S. privacy compliance obligations are here to stay There are privacy bills pending before the New York Assembly that like CCPA/CPRA adopt many of the key privacy principles staked out by the GDPR: Consent, Privacy by Design, Data Minimization, Lawful Purpose, and Information Security. In addition, both the California …

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The GDPR is Coming

  Does GDPR Apply in the US? Yes. GDPR (European Union General Data Protection Regulation) is a comprehensive new law protecting the data privacy of EU citizens. GDPR takes effect on May 25, 2018.  It consists of 99 articles and will have sweeping impact on U.S. enterprises. It requires that all personal data be handled according to the GDPR Data Protection Principles. These includes the famous “right to be forgotten,” as well as transparency, data portability, breach notification, information security, etc. If you have a public facing website that collects user data and operates in EU countries, it is not too late to get advice. Watch this space as we roll out solutions for enterprises that are not ready.

Cloudy Laws II – Only 65 Challenges to eDiscovery Forensics in the Cloud

clous over hawaii

Among the many types of challenges presented by the adoption of cloud computing are those involving computer forensics. Computer forensics can be thought of as the set of tools and techniques that make eDiscovery possible and reliable. It is defined in Wikipedia as, “a branch of digital forensic science pertaining to legal evidence found in computers and digital storage media.” The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) defines cloud computing forensic science more specifically as, the application of scientific principles, technological practices and derived and proven methods to reconstruct past cloud computing events through identification, collection, preservation, examination, interpretation and reporting of digital evidence As with other legal evidence, digital evidence is subject to challenge in court. It has to be what it purports to be. Therefore, the accurate identification of the creator, custodian, chain of custody, authenticity and other attributes of digital evidence is essential in any eDiscovery setting. Essentially, a computer forensic investigation must locate and identify “documents” and other information that can be traced to the actions, knowledge and information available to parties and other witnesses involved in a lawsuit, arbitration or investigation While a number of technical tools and techniques have been developed to …

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