PRIVACY + SECURITY BLOG

News, Developments, and Insights

high-tech technology background with eyes on computer display

The U.S. Congress Is Not the Leader in Privacy or Data Security Law

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A common myth is that the U.S. Congress is a leader in creating privacy and data security law.  But this has not been true for quite some time.  Congress isn’t leading, and even the policies and practices of US companies are increasingly built around the law of the European Union (EU) or the states. In […]

Congress’s Attempt to Repeal the FCC Internet Privacy Rules: The Void Will Be Filled

FCC Privacy Rules Repealed

Recently, Congress voted to overturn new FCC rules that regulated the privacy of broadband Internet Service Providers (ISPs).  The rules implemented the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. § 222 to ISPs, requiring opt in for sharing sensitive customer data, opt out for sharing non-sensitive customer data, as well as transparency requirements.  Sensitive data includes precise geo-location, children’s […]

Privacy Cartoon: Privacy Budget vs. Security Budget

Cartoon Privacy vs. Security Budget

  My cartoon depicts the discrepancy in the security and privacy budgets at many organizations.  Of course, the cartoon is an exaggeration.  In an IAPP survey of Chief Privacy Officers at Fortune 1000 companies in 2014, privacy budgets were nearly half of what security budgets were.  That’s actually better for privacy than many might expect. […]

GDPR Cartoon: Taking Privacy Seriously

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I created this cartoon to illustrate the fact that despite the increasing risk that privacy violations pose to an organization, many organizations are not increasing the funding and resources devoted to privacy.  More work gets thrown onto the shoulders of under-resourced privacy departments. It is time that the C-Suite (upper management) wakes up to the […]

Privacy Shield Training

Privacy Shield Training Course

I have produced a new Privacy Shield training course that provides a short introduction to the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework.  Privacy Shield is an arrangement reached between the EU and US for companies to transfer data about EU citizens to the US.  Privacy Shield replaces the Safe Harbor Arrangement, which was invalidated in 2015 in […]

A New US-EU Safe Harbor Agreement Has Been Reached

EU-US Privacy Shield Safe Harbor Training

Last year, the death of the US-EU Safe Harbor Arrangement sent waves of shock and despair to the approximately 4500 companies that used this mechanism to transfer personal data from the US to the EU.  But a new day has dawned.