Posts about Privacy, Security and HIPAA Enforcement by Professor Daniel J. Solove for his blog at TeachPrivacy, a privacy awareness training company.
At the end of 2017, the OCR logged just under $20 million in fines for HIPAA violations from 10 enforcement actions with monetary penalties. In 2016, the total in penalties was roughly the same amount but from 15 organizations. Here is an overview of the resolution agreements and enforcement actions with civil monetary penalties from […]
Recently, HIPAA enforcement over data breaches is increasing – a lot. This year has seen some of the largest monetary penalties. Why is this happening? I had the chance to interview Katherine Keefe, who leads the Beazley Breach Response (BBR) Services Group. I am particularly interested in the insurer’s perspective, so I interviewed Katherine.
Co-authored by Professor Woodrow Hartzog The Federal Trade Commission is the most important federal agency regulating privacy and security. Its actions and guidance play a significant role in setting the privacy agenda for the entire country. With the Trump Administration about to take control, and three of the five Commissioner seats open, including the Chairperson, […]
Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit issued a decision with profound implications for consumer privacy protection law. In FTC v. AT&T Mobility (9th Cir. Aug. 29, 2016), a 3-judge panel of the 9th Circuit held that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lacks jurisdiction over companies that engage in common carrier activity. […]
I’m pleased to announce a new training program: Spot the Risks: Privacy and Security. The program is a Where’s Waldo style risk-spotting game that takes about 5 minutes to complete. Trainees are asked to spot the risks in an office. Feedback is provided about each risk so trainees learn many of the most important best […]
By Daniel J. Solove ProPublica has been running a series of lengthy articles about HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) enforcement that are worth reading. A Sustained and Vigorous Critique of OCR HIPAA Enforcement A ProPublica article from early in 2015 noted that HIPAA fines were quite rare. The article noted that from 2009 through […]
Last week, the EU issued the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a long-awaited comprehensive privacy regulation that will govern all 28 EU member countries. Clocking in at more than 200 pages, this is quite a document to digest. According to the European Commission press release: “The regulation will establish one single set of rules which […]
by Daniel J. Solove The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit just affirmed the district court decision in FTC v. Wyndham Worldwide Corp., No. 14-3514 (3rd. Cir. Aug. 24, 2015). The case involves a challenge by Wyndham to an Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforcement action emerging out of data breaches at the Wyndham. […]
by Daniel J. Solove This post was co-authored with Professor Woodrow Hartzog. This past Tuesday the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a complaint against AT&T for allegedly throttling the Internet of its customers even though they paid for unlimited data plans. This complaint was surprising for many, who thought the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was […]
by Daniel J. Solove Are privacy and security laws being enforced effectively? This post is post #5 of a series called Enforcing Privacy and Security Laws. Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), various organizations can be randomly selected to be audited – even if no complaint has been issued against them and […]