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Businesses need to be proactive in updating their compliance measures to meet the ever-evolving set of privacy laws and regulatory expectations in 2024 and beyond.

By Michael H. Rubin, Robert W. Brown, Max G. Mazzelli, Jennifer Howes, and Sarah Zahedi

Following the notable uptick in state-level privacy laws in 2023, a wave of new comprehensive state privacy laws and state laws seeking to regulate health privacy, youth privacy, online platforms, and data brokers are set to take effect this year. While a draft federal comprehensive privacy law — the American Privacy Rights Act — aimed at harmonizing this patchwork of state laws was introduced last month, until such a law actually passes, the quickly evolving state regulatory landscape will continue to set the standards for how most businesses must handle personal information in the US.

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Understanding the ICO’s approach to assessing financial penalties should be a key element of an organisation’s data protection strategy and risk profile.

By James Lloyd and Sami Qureshi

In an era when data protection infringements can tarnish business reputations overnight, understanding the financial ramifications is more crucial than ever. The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) recently unveiled its much-anticipated updated guidance on the calculation of fines for data protection infringements under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and…

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The PDPL has broad extraterritorial scope and substantial penalties for non-compliance, with full enforcement expected to start in September.

By Brian A. Meenagh and Lucy Tucker

The Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) is the first comprehensive data protection law in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) is expected to start full enforcement of the PDPL from 14 September 2024, after the current compliance transition period ends. SDAIA emphasised that it expects entities to take measures to achieve compliance with the PDPL by the September deadline.  

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The proposed amendments are expansive and would significantly affect how companies comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.

By Jennifer C. Archie, Marissa R. Boynton, Michael H. Rubin, Gabriela Aroca Montaner, Samantha M. Laufer, and Molly Whitman

Key Points:

  • The proposed amendments, which clarify or expand many of the COPPA Rule’s existing provisions, would be the first updates to the Rule in over a decade and would formalize recent FTC guidance and enforcement in
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The amended rules follow the Biden Administration’s “whole of government” approach to maximizing notifications to executive agencies of cybersecurity events.

By Jennifer C. Archie, Matthew A. Brill, Gabriela Aroca Montaner, Chad Kenney, and Molly Whitman

On December 21, 2023, a divided Federal Communications Commission (FCC or the Commission) released a Report and Order updating its data breach reporting rules for certain telecommunications providers. The updated rules require that providers of telecommunications services, interconnected Voice over Internet…

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Companies subject to India’s new data protection law should assess practical implications.

By Gail Crawford, Fiona Maclean, Danielle van der Merwe, Kate Burrell, Bianca H. Lee, Alex Park, Irina Vasile, and Amy Smyth

The Indian parliament enacted India’s first comprehensive data protection law on 11 August 2023, namely the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 (the DPDPA). The DPDPA will replace India’s existing patchwork of data protection rules[i] and is expected to trigger significant changes in how companies subject to Indian data protection laws process personal data. However, the law is not yet operational; no effective date has been established and there is no official timeline for the overall implementation. Stakeholders expect the law to come into force in a phased manner in the next six to 12 months, after:

  1. an independent agency responsible for enforcing the DPDPA — the Data Protection Board of India (the Data Protection Board) — is established; and
  2. the Indian government has framed the subordinate rules (which are expected to provide interpretative guidance on procedural steps and enforcement methodology).

The DPDPA is “umbrella” legislation, as it sets out only a high-level framework for India’s new data protection regime, with supplementary rules expected in due course. Though the new law is not yet operational, companies subject to the new law are advised to begin assessing potential practical implications at an early stage.

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Covered financial institutions now face heightened expectations in relation to cybersecurity governance, risk assessment, and incident reporting.

By Jenny Cieplak, Tony Kim, Arthur Long, Clayton Northouse, Serrin Turner, Yvette D. Valdez, Deric Behar, and Molly Whitman

The New York State Department of Financial Services’ (DFS) amendments (the Amendments) to its cybersecurity regulations, which were adopted last month with the first implementation deadline of December 1, 2023, impose new and enhanced requirements on covered entities.

On November 1, 2023, the DFS announced the Amendments to its regulations that were initially published in 2017 (23 NYCRR part 500). The changes impose more demanding requirements for larger entities, new obligations to report ransomware incidents and payments, and expanded oversight responsibilities for board and senior management. Requirements related to business continuity and disaster recovery have also been included for the first time.

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The final Implementing Regulations are generally business-friendly and bring the law closer to the EU GDPR.

By Brian A. Meenagh and Lucy Tucker

The Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA) recently issued the final Implementing and Transfer Regulations for the upcoming Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL), the first comprehensive data protection law in Saudi Arabia. This follows the publication of consultation drafts of the Implementing and Transfer Regulations in April 2023 (the Consultation Draft). The PDPL was issued under Royal…

The new general data privacy laws in Oregon and Delaware expand on existing requirements under other state privacy laws.*

By Robert Blamires, Clayton Northouse, Austin L. Anderson, and Jennifer Howes

Key Takeaways:

  • On July 20, 2023, Oregon’s governor signed the Oregon Consumer Privacy Act into law. The law will take effect on July 1, 2024.
  • On September 11, 2023, Delaware’s governor signed the Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act into law. The law will take effect on January 1, 2025.
  • The Oregon law expands individuals’ right of access to their data to now include a list of names of the third parties to which a business has disclosed an individual’s personal data.[i]
  • Unlike most of the other new state general data privacy laws (and several other existing data privacy regimes), both laws apply to nonprofit entities, with some limited exceptions. Oregon gives nonprofit entities a one-year grace period beyond the law’s effective date.
  • Delaware requires covered businesses to obtain consent of individuals between the ages of 13 and 18 prior to processing their personal data for purposes of selling, targeted advertising, or certain profiling activities.
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The new framework provides an additional route for personal data transfers from the EEA to the US.

By Robert Blamires, Gail E. Crawford, James Lloyd, Clayton Northouse, Alice Brunning, Alexander Ford-Cox, and Jennifer Howes

On 10 July 2023, the European Commission (EC) took the final step to enable businesses to start relying on the new EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF) for transfers of data from the European Economic Area (EEA) to the US. The EC adopted an adequacy decision following the fulfilment by the US of its implementation commitments under the DPF. The adequacy decision enables organisations to transfer personal data from the EEA to organisations in the US that have self-certified under the DPF with immediate effect. As of 10 July 2023, organisations that were certified under the EU-US Privacy Shield (Privacy Shield) are now certified under the DPF and can begin receiving data from the EEA via the DPF.