InfoHive – Data Security

What’s the deal? The corporate lawyers are talking and they say cyber security and data privacy are the top legal challenges.

Why should we care? Large lawsuits also impact laws and regulations.

Why does this matter to me? Lawsuits aren’t isolated and can impact insurance rates, cost of goods and services, and generate legislative causes.

Reuters | Law department leaders rate cybersecurity, data privacy as top challenges

What’s the deal? Staten Island D.A. Office is using facial recognition software. Yeah, the same software that some cities and states are banning because it misidentifies people especially Black people and people of color.

Why should we care? This facial recognition software isn’t like the stuff that tech companies hit the pause button on, the version at the DA office uses images from social media plus You Tube and Venmo.

Why does this matter to me? Privacy rights supporters, lawyers, & tech companies are just a few paying attention. This isn’t going anywhere and it ties into data privacy legislation.

Staten Island Advance via Governing | Staten Island D.A. Uses Controversial Facial Recognition Tool

What’s the deal? COVID and the resulting work from home, telehealth & virtual schools exposed the gaps in internet access. Cities and states are working to expand access. CT Gov. has a plan for statewide access. CT’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority would require ISPs to provide access to all residents where the ISP has a video license & make it easier to add broadband to utility poles.

Why should we care? Expanding access to broadband closes gaps that historically impact rural and minority households.

Why does this matter to me? Utilities and ISPs can benefit along with 3rd party interests that provide services like telehealth, virtual school platforms and work from home apps like Zoom.

Hartford Courant via Governing | Connecticut Governor Proposes Statewide Broadband by Fall 2022

State legislators in Illinois are making their list and checking it twice for the reasons why Illinois should permit residents to sue social media for censorship. On their lists:

• Some legislators want social media to maintain its open platform and free sharing of diverse ideas
• Some legislators want social media to have tools to keep them from being used to amplify extremist and violent rhetoric

Center Square | Regulating technology could get some attention in Illinois with new Legislature

Say you’re on social media. Say you think that social media company is censoring you. Can you sue?

Under a new HB1144 (2021 | ND) would allow a resident of North Dakota to sue an out of state tech company if the person is censored by the social media company.

Does the public support it? Yes, 54% say yes

What does the 54% support?

• legislation to clarify how restrict or remove content from social media sites
• legislation to clarify and when to remove content from social media sites
• legislation to clarify what kind of content is deemed appropriate

How do people feel about letting companies determine how they operate? 46% want companies to set their own rules

A bipartisan 65% say social media platforms “have too much influence over politics and society in the U.S.”

The Hill | Poll: Most Americans want legislation governing social media policies

What are prognosticators pointing to as signs for revival of federal data protection legislation?

• VP Harris was Attorney General of California when California passed its landmark data protection legislation
• VP Harris created a Privacy Protection & Data Enforcement Office within the California State Attorney General Office
• International policies have focused on omnibus protections and not industry by industry data protection
• Obama Administration had established a permanent Federal Privacy Council and issuing a Privacy Bill of Rights

Government Technology | What Does A Biden Presidency Mean for Privacy Policy?

Where: Massachusetts

What: Legislation gave vehicle owners greater access to vehicle data so that owners and independent mechanics to send commands to the vehicle for repair

How did voters receive the constitutional protection? 75% voted to support the protection

Can this help company and government fleets? Yes, it is seen as a move to open the App market to allow better monitoring and managing of fleet vehicles

Tech Crunch | Massachusetts voters pass a right-to-repair measure, giving them unprecedented access to their car data

AB 27 (2021 | NY ) would:

• develop a written retention policy setting forth the time period for information containing biometric data
• require consent for collecting biometric data
• prohibit organizations from selling or otherwise profiting from the biometric data

The proposition: EU start ups are thriving and those in the US are suffering.

Why is there an advantage to EU start ups? Better data privacy legislation in the EU

So what can the US/states do?

• Stop thinking of it as data privacy compliance
• Start thinking about the issue as “harmonization of the customer relationship”
• Start thinking of start ups as “keys that can unlock the full power of the data they possess”

How should legislation be implemented?

• A regulatory framework covering data governance, access and reuse between businesses, between businesses and government, and within administrations to create incentives for data sharing.
• Make public-sector data more widely available by opening up “high-value datasets” to enable their reuse to foster innovation.
• Support for cloud infrastructure, platforms and systems to support the data reuse goals, with investments in trustworthy, energy-efficient cloud infrastructures.
• Sector-specific actions to build data spaces that focus on specific areas such as industrial manufacturing, energy, mobility or health.

Tech Crunch | Inadequate federal privacy regulations leave US startups lagging behind Europe