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Imagine you receive an inquiry from a state Attorney General (AG) about your privacy or security practices, and you aren’t sure what to do next. Maybe it’s because you have been concentrating on compliance efforts related to the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) and other new state privacy laws coming into effect, and you haven’t focused as extensively on the existing suite of state privacy or security laws, or on state AG enforcement of federal privacy laws, that may in fact apply to you. In this advisory, we provide a snapshot of recent privacy and security enforcement efforts by state AGs.1 Next, we offer some general tips on how to avoid getting into trouble with state regulators. Finally, we suggest what to do if, despite your best efforts, you become the subject of an inquiry.

Recent significant state AG enforcement efforts include:
Continue Reading Privacy and Security Enforcement: State AGs Flex Their Muscles

They State That Direct Collection of Personal Data by Non-EU Companies Is Not a “Data Transfer” Under the GDPR

On November 18, 2021, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) issued guidelines (Guidelines) that—for the first time—clarify the notion of “data transfer.” Departing from common understanding, the EDPB has determined that there is no data transfer where EU data subjects disclose on their own initiative personal data directly to a non-EU company. Consequently, there is no need to implement a transfer tool in such situations. The Guidelines are open to public consultation until the end of January 2022.
Continue Reading EU Regulators Define Data Transfers

On October 13, 2021, the French data protection authority (the CNIL) issued a short note (the “Note,” in French) on technologies such as fingerprinting, unique identifiers, and cohort-targeting, developed to replace traditional third-party cookies.

While the CNIL acknowledges that some of these technologies are less privacy invasive than third-party cookies, it stresses that the consent and transparency requirements also apply to these technologies.
Continue Reading CNIL Issues Guidance on Alternatives to Third-Party Cookies

As of September 27, 2021, companies relying on Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) to transfer personal data outside the European Union (EU) must use the new Standard Contractual Clauses (New SCCs) when signing data processing agreements. As a result, it is time to update template data processing agreements to ensure that your company can meet this deadline.
Continue Reading Don’t Forget to Use the New SCCs to Transfer EU Personal Data as of September 27, 2021

On May 20, 2021, the Belgian Supervisory Authority (Belgian SA) approved the EU Cloud Code of Conduct (EU Cloud CoC).[1] This is the first time that a Supervisory Authority has approved a transnational, industry-wide code of conduct under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).[2] Cloud service providers (CSPs) will be able to rely on their adherence to the code to demonstrate compliance with the GDPR as a data processor. Although the EU Cloud CoC does not yet qualify as an appropriate safeguard for international data transfers, a separate module is currently under discussion and should, when adopted, accommodate such transfers.
Continue Reading Belgian DPA Approves Code of Conduct for the Cloud Industry

On June 4, 2021, the European Commission published its long awaited new set of Standard Contractual Clauses for outsourced data processing (DPA SCCs). These DPA SCCs are a contract template that organizations can use to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation’s (GDPR) rules on outsourced data processing.
Continue Reading EU Commission Publishes Template Data Processing Agreement