California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) Passed by California Voters

By Mike Hintze

On November 3, California voters passed Proposition 24, the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). This new privacy law, which substantially amends the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), will come into effect on January 1, 2023, and enforcement will begin July 1, 2023. CPRA is, at best, a mixed bag. The fact that it was opposed by a wide range of critics, from privacy advocates, to academics, to industry coalitions is telling. It is long, complex, and poorly drafted. While it clarifies some aspects of CCPA, it adds new ambiguous provisions that will cause more confusion and uncertainty. It changes (mostly expanding) the consumer rights in CCPA, and it imposes a wide range of new compliance obligations on companies.

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Emeka Egwuatu to Join Hintze Law Class of 2021

We proudly announce that Emeka Egwuatu has accepted a position to join Hintze Law as an incoming 2021 associate. Emeka formerly interned at Expedia gaining valuable privacy experience on GDPR and EU privacy matters.  As a summer associate at Hintze Law he worked on a variety of matters including COPPA, CCPA, BIPA, FERPA, facial recognition technology, data security breach law, and data protection agreements providing valuable contributions to our clients.

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Sheila Sokolowski Joins Hintze Law as Partner and Chair of Health and Biotech Privacy Group

We are excited to announce that Sheila Sokolowski has joined the Hintze Law team. Sheila joins as Partner and Chair of the firm’s new Health and Biotech Privacy Group. Sheila is ranked by Chambers USA, which described her as “incredibly quick to understand complex, innovative technologies and develop practical, risk-indexed advice that clients understand and use.”

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Is our U.S. company subject to GDPR? New guidance on territorial scope from EDPB

By Jennifer Ruehr and Susan Lyon-Hintze

Non-EU organizations that process personal data as data controllers or processors frequently ask whether they are subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). The answer depends in part on the “territorial scope” provisions in Article 3 of the GDPR. Organizations fall under the territorial scope of the GDPR when they meet one of two main criteria: the “establishment” criterion under Article 3(1) or the “targeting” criterion under Article 3(2). On November 16, 2018, the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) released “Guidelines 3/2018 on the territorial scope of the GDPR (Article 3)-Version for public consultation.” These guidelines provide interpretation and clarification of the Article 3 criteria that can help organizations understand and evaluate how the GDPR applies to their data processing. 

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FTC Issues Enforcement Policy Statement on COPPA and Voice Recordings

By Smriti Chandrashekar

On October 23, 2017, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued guidance on the online collection of certain audio voice recordings from children under the age of 13.  The guidance, in the form of an “enforcement policy statement” discusses the application of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) to such recordings. 

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FTC updates COPPA Compliance Plan for Businesses

By Carolyn Krol

On June 21, 2017, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) published an update to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (“COPPA”) compliance plan for businesses. The FTC Business Blog describes the update as a reflection of the developments in the marketplace, such as internet-connected toys. The compliance plan provides businesses with a step-by-step guide to determine if a business activity is covered by COPPA, and if so, how to comply with COPPA.

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Hintze Law Welcomes Mike Hintze as Partner

Hintze Law is pleased to announce that Mike Hintze has joined the firm as partner. Mike joins Hintze Law after serving as Chief Privacy Counsel at Microsoft, where, for over 18 years, he advised on data protection compliance globally, and helped lead the company’s strategic initiatives on privacy differentiation and public policy.  Mike joins Susan Lyon-Hintze, partner and founder of Hintze Law, in leadership of the firm. His practice focus on global privacy and data protection compliance, policy, and strategy.

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