Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On April 19, 2022, the California state legislature and an industry self-regulatory group each separately took steps to enhance online privacy protections for children who are not covered by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”), which applies only to personal information collected online from children under the age of 13.

On April 11, 2022, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin signed into law three bills that amend the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (“VCDPA”) ahead of the VCDPA’s January 1, 2023 effective date. The bills, HB 381, HB 714 and SB 534, (1) add a new exemption to the VCDPA’s right to delete; (2) modify the VCDPA’s definition of “nonprofit”; and (3) abolish the Consumer Privacy Fund.

On April 12, 2022, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser made remarks at the International Association of Privacy Professionals Global Privacy Summit in Washington, D.C., where he invited stakeholders to provide informal public comments on the Colorado Privacy Act (“CPA”) rulemaking.

On April 21, 2022, the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea and Chinese Taipei published a declaration (the “Declaration”) establishing the Global Cross-Border Privacy Rules Forum (the “Global CBPR Forum”). The Global CBPR Forum will establish an international certification system based on the existing APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules (“CBPR”) and Privacy Recognition for Processors (“PRP”) Systems, enabling participation beyond APEC member economies. The Global CBPR and PRP Systems, as they will be known, are designed to support the free flow of data and effective data protection, and enable interoperability with other privacy frameworks.

On April 8, 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) issued Cybersecurity in Medical Devices: Quality System Considerations and Content of Premarket Submissions, a draft guidance document for industry and FDA staff. Industry stakeholders will have until July 7, 2022 to comment on the proposed guidance.

On April 11, 2022, Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan spoke at the opening of the International Association of Privacy Professionals’ Global Privacy Summit. This speech marks Khan’s first major privacy address since her appointment last June.

On April 8, 2022, the New York Bar issued an opinion to protect “confidential” client identity information stored on an attorney’s smartphone. In particular, the opinion prohibits an attorney who stores “confidential” (as defined under Rule 1.6 of the New York Rules of Professional Conduct) client identity information in the attorney’s “contacts” folder on the attorney’s smartphone from consenting to share their “contacts” with a smartphone app, unless certain criteria are met.

On March 29 and March 30, 2022, the California Privacy Protection Agency (“CPPA”) held via video conference two public pre-rulemaking informational sessions regarding the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”). During the sessions, members of the California Attorney General’s Office and various privacy and cybersecurity experts led discussions on topics such as the sale and sharing of personal information, dark patterns, data privacy impact assessments, cybersecurity audits and automated decision-making. The CPPA Board has not at this time responded to the views expressed by the experts at the meetings.

On February 28, 2022, the Emirate of Dubai enacted Law No. 4 of 2022 on the Regulation of Virtual Assets (“VAL”) and established the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (“VARA”). By establishing a legal framework for businesses related to virtual assets, including crypto assets and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), this landmark law reflects Dubai’s vision to become one of the leading jurisdictions for entrepreneurs and investors of blockchain technology.

On April 7, 2022, the European Data Protection Board (the “EDPB”) released a statement on the announcement of a new Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework (the “Statement”).

On January 18, 2022, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law Assembly Bill No. 3950, requiring employers to provide written notice to employees prior to the use of tracking devices in vehicles used by employees (the “Act”). The Act will go into effect on April 18, 2022.