On June 4, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the appointment of Paula M. Stannard as the Director of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). As Director, Stannard will lead the enforcement of the Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), as well as federal civil rights laws.Continue Reading HHS Announces New Director of Office for Civil Rights: What to Watch from the New Health Privacy Leader
Maneesha Mithal
The “TAKE IT DOWN Act” Goes Up to President Trump’s Desk for Signature
Posted in Privacy
On April 28, 2025, Congress passed the “TAKE IT DOWN Act.” In addition to criminalizing intentional publication of non-consensual intimate imagery, including computer-generated intimate imagery (collectively, NCII), the bill requires “covered platforms” to develop a process for removing NCII within 48 hours of a valid report. Covered platforms are those that primarily provide a public forum for user-generated content. The term does not include ISPs, email providers, online services that consist primarily of non-user-generated content, or services for which chat, comment, or interactive functionality is directly related to the provision of non-user-generated content. The bill now awaits President Trump’s signature and is expected to be signed in light of receiving bipartisan support and an endorsement from the First Lady.
A summary of the bill’s key provisions are highlighted below.Continue Reading The “TAKE IT DOWN Act” Goes Up to President Trump’s Desk for Signature
EU AI Office Clarifies Key Obligations for AI Models Becoming Applicable in August
Posted in Privacy
On April 22, 2025, the EU Commission’s AI Office published draft guidelines to clarify the obligations in the EU AI Act for providers of general-purpose AI models (guidelines). These obligations will be applicable to AI…
Continue Reading EU AI Office Clarifies Key Obligations for AI Models Becoming Applicable in AugustFTC Files Consumer Protection Complaint Against Uber for Deceptive Billing and Cancellation Practices
By Maneesha Mithal, Libby Weingarten & Angela Guo on
Posted in Privacy
On April 21, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had filed a complaint against Uber Technologies, Inc. and Uber USA LLC (collectively, Uber), a rideshare and delivery company. Among other things, the FTC alleges in its complaint that Uber violated Section 5 of the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA) by charging consumers for its Uber One subscription service without their consent and making it difficult for users to cancel the service despite its “cancel anytime” promises.Continue Reading FTC Files Consumer Protection Complaint Against Uber for Deceptive Billing and Cancellation Practices
The UK’s Online Child Safety Duties Are Coming into Force: Steps to Take Now
Posted in Privacy
On April 24, 2025, the UK’s Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom—the regulator responsible for enforcing the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA)—issued its Protecting Children from Harm Online Statement. The statement requires online services to conduct and document a children’s risk assessment in accordance with the OSA by July 24, 2025. Services will be required to implement measures to protect children from content that is harmful to them by July 25, 2025.Continue Reading The UK’s Online Child Safety Duties Are Coming into Force: Steps to Take Now
CPPA Board Grapples with Public Concerns: Key Updates on Upcoming AI, Risk Assessment, and Cybersecurity Regulations
Posted in Cybersecurity
On April 4, 2025, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) Board met to discuss the latest draft California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) regulations related to cybersecurity audits, risk assessments, automated decision-making technology (ADMT), and an assortment of other updates to existing regulations. These revisions come after the CPPA first released draft regulations on these topics in July 2024 and initiated the formal rulemaking in November 2024, as analyzed in a prior alert. The board meeting turned out to be quite contentious, with board member Alastair Mactaggart emphasizing some of the serious concerns raised in the unusually large volume of public comments—totaling 630 comments and 1,664 pages of feedback—expressing his own concerns that those comments lay out “the very explicit blueprints” for others to challenge the constitutionality of the draft regulations. Ultimately, the Board provided extensive feedback on the draft regulations to CPPA staff, going beyond the issues that staff had prepared for discussion.Continue Reading CPPA Board Grapples with Public Concerns: Key Updates on Upcoming AI, Risk Assessment, and Cybersecurity Regulations