Harrison Schafer

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Harrison Schafer is a staff attorney in the Intellectual Property practice group in the firm's Chicago office. He is a Privacy and Cybersecurity Fellow and a member of the Privacy and Cybersecurity Team.

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Federal banking regulators issued a final rule that impacts how banks and other regulated entities report certain data incidents.  Those subject to these new reporting requirements include U.S. banks and bank service providers. The rule is effective April 1, 2022, and covered entities are expected to comply with the final rule by May 1, 2022. The new requirements reflect ongoing concern to identify and stop computer security incidents before they become systemic.
Continue Reading Beginning in May 2022 Banks Will Have 36 Hours to Disclose Certain Types of Cyber Incidents

The Federal Trade Commission recently issued a new enforcement policy statement about “dark patterns:” programs that attempt to “trap” consumers into service contracts. These programs usually take the form of negative option marketing programs, according to the FTC, and are regulated under most states’ laws as well as the Restore Online Shoppers Confidence Act (ROSCA).
Continue Reading FTC To Focus Enforcement Efforts on Dark Patterns

California recently updated both its data security and breach notice laws to include genetic data. With the passage of AB 825, the data security law now includes in the definition of “personal information” genetic data. The information needs to be “reasonably protected.” While many other states have similar “reasonable protection” requirements in their data security laws, California is one of a handful to specifically list genetic information.
Continue Reading California Broadens Security and Breach Laws, Includes Genetic Data

California’s governor recently signed SB 41 into law. The bill enacts the Genetic Information Privacy Act (GIPA). The governor rejected a similar bill last year over concerns about COVID-19 public health efforts. To address that concern, this bill exempts tests used to diagnose whether an individual has a specific disease.
Continue Reading California Enacts New Privacy Law for Genetic Data

New York City recently amended its law governing third party delivery services, with the changes going into effect December 27, 2021. The revised law specifically permits restaurants to ask for customers’ personal information from the delivery service. The delivery service, in turn, must tell consumers about the potential sharing “in a conspicuous manner” on its website and give people the ability to opt-out of such sharing.  That notice needs to indicate that the person’s information will be shared with the restaurant, and needs to identify the restaurant.
Continue Reading Impact of NYC’s New Delivery Service Data Sharing Requirement

The FTC recently settled with a surveillance app operator over allegations that the company facilitated the secret harvesting of personal information. According to the FTC, the main users of Support King, LLC’s “SpyFone” app were bad actors who used the tool to remotely monitor users’ physical and digital activities. The FTC dismissed the company’s argument that the users were employers and parents as a “pretext.” It felt neither group would want to use the product, which to install required minimizing the device’s security settings and potentially voiding the device warranty.
Continue Reading FTC Surveillance App Settlement Signals Concern Over Deceptive Tracking

The New York Department of Financial Service recently clarified security incident notification requirements and the use of multi-factor authentication. On its FAQ page, the NYDFS added two new questions and answers for financial services companies subject to 23 NYCRR Part 500.
Continue Reading NYDFS FAQ Provides Clarity on Breach Notification and Security Requirements