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Facebook is the subject of a recent media blitz due to the allegations that 50 million people had their information improperly disclosed to Cambridge Analytica, a data research firm that may have played a role in the 2016 election.

The premise of the allegations is that Cambridge Analytica sent out a personality test to roughly 270,000 of Facebook’s users, stating that it would use the test for academic purposes.  However, allegedly, Cambridge Analytica collected the personal information not only of those who replied to the survey, but also of all of those individuals’ Facebook “friends.”  By doing so, the 270,000 users extrapolated to 50 million users.
Continue Reading Facebook In Hot Water With Latest Privacy Missteps

At the end of last week, three U.S. Democratic Senators, including Connecticut’s Richard Blumenthal, proposed the 44-page Data Security and Breach Notification Act (“Proposed Act”).  The Proposed Act would preempt the laws of the 48 states that currently have data breach notification laws and the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) would have enforcement authority.  State Attorneys General would be permitted to pursue violations of the Proposed Act as civil actions in federal court if the FTC has not already initiated an action. The Proposed Act also provides for sizable civil penalties up to $5 million and criminal penalties including imprisonment for up to 5 years for willful failure to notify those impacted.  
Continue Reading National Data Breach Notification Law Proposed