Healthline must pay California $1.55 million as part of a record proposed settlement under the California Consumer Privacy Act, Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said Tuesday. It also includes a novel injunctive term prohibiting the company “from sharing article titles that reveal that a consumer may have already been diagnosed with a medical condition,” the attorney general's office said.
Healthline must pay California $1.55 million under the largest proposed settlement yet under the California Consumer Privacy Act, Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said Tuesday. The settlement, which is pending final court approval, also includes a novel injunctive term prohibiting the company “from sharing article titles that reveal that a consumer may have already been diagnosed with a medical condition,” the AG's office said.
A comprehensive privacy law taking effect Tuesday in Tennessee may appear business-friendly compared with similar measures in other states, but privacy lawyers note that it also contains some of the highest penalties for noncompliance. Companies could avoid a Tennessee crackdown by taking advantage of a novel safe harbor in the law, Mintz’s Cynthia Larose told Privacy Daily.
California bills on surveillance and automated decision-making in the workplace are advancing despite continuing concerns from employers that use such technologies.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) called for "enforceable legal obligations" that make risk assessments "mandatory" and afford "public access" to them, ensuring citizens can identify "how harms are mitigated and compliance is ensured."
A California bill seeking to limit “surveillance pricing” cleared a key committee at a hearing Tuesday afternoon. The Assembly Privacy Committee voted 10-4 for SB-259, with Republicans opposing. In addition, the committee cleared bills about data brokers and breaches as part of a unanimous vote on a consent agenda. All the bills previously passed in the Senate.
The Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday unanimously passed legislation that would expand the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) to cover teens up to the age of 16 (see 2506180068).
Microsoft sought dismissal of a lawsuit alleging it improperly collects ad data in a way that mimics surveillance and can identify individual users. It argued Monday that plaintiffs in case 25-00570 -- individuals who used Microsoft to access various websites -- were attempting to "stretch common-law privacy and wiretap laws beyond their intended scope.”
Google on Tuesday announced its support for legislation that would update the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
As some regulators expand their focus on protecting children online to include teens, industry is complying with new laws while seeking workarounds and/or challenging regulation in courts, panelists said during a Morrison Foerster webinar Monday. The struggle will continue for a while, they added.