Tag Archives: Penalty

HHS Finalizes Omnibus HIPAA Rule for OMB Review; Settles with Phoenix Cardiac Surgery Following OCR Investigation

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Hunton & Williams LLP

In the past month, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) sent its final omnibus rule modifying the HIPAA Privacy, Security and Enforcement Rules to the White House Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) and announced a $100,000 settlement with Phoenix Cardiac Surgery, P.C. for violations of the HIPAA Rules.

Tags: Consumer Protection, Department of Health and Human Services, HIPAA, HITECH Act, Penalty, Privacy Rule, Protected Health Information, Security Rule

RockYou Settles FTC Charges Related to Data Breach, COPPA Violations

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Hunton & Williams LLP

On March 27, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission announced a proposed settlement order with RockYou, Inc. (“RockYou”), a publisher and developer of applications used on popular social media sites. The FTC alleged that RockYou failed to protect the personal information of 32 million of its users, and violated multiple provisions of the FTC’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) Rule when it collected information from approximately 179,000 children.

Tags: Consent Order, Consumer Protection, COPPA, Federal Trade Commission, Hacker, Penalty, Privacy Policy, RockYou, Social Media

Massachusetts Attorney General Announces $15,000 Settlement with Property Management Firm

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Hunton & Williams LLP

On March 21, 2012, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced that Maloney Properties Inc. (“MPI”), a property management firm, executed an Assurance of Discontinuance and agreed to pay $15,000 in civil penalties following an October 2011 theft of an unencrypted company-issued laptop. The laptop contained personal information of more than 600 Massachusetts residents and was left in an employee’s car overnight. MPI has indicated that it has no evidence of unauthorized access to or use of the personal information in connection with this breach.

Tags: Consumer Protection, Massachusetts, Penalty, State Attorneys General

HHS Settles First Breach Notification Rule Case for $1.5 Million

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Hunton & Williams LLP

On March 13, 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced that it had settled the first case related to the HITECH Act Breach Notification Rule. BlueCross Blue Shield of Tennessee (“BCBS Tennessee”) agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle potential HIPAA violations related to the October 2009 theft of 57 unencrypted hard drives containing protected health information (“PHI”) from a network data closet at a leased facility leased in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Tags: Consumer Protection, Department of Health and Human Services, HIPAA, HITECH Act, Penalty, Privacy Rule, Protected Health Information, Social Security Number, Tennessee

American Bar Association Asks Courts to Consider Foreign Privacy Laws

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Hunton & Williams LLP

The American Bar Association’s (“ABA’s”) House of Delegates adopted a non-binding resolution urging courts to consider foreign data protection and privacy laws when resolving discovery issues. The full text of the resolution is as follows:

“RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges that, where possible in the context of the proceedings before them, U.S. federal, state, territorial, tribal and local courts consider and respect, as appropriate, the data protection and privacy laws of any applicable foreign sovereign, and the interests of any person who is subject to or benefits from such laws, with regard to data sought in discovery in civil litigation.”

Tags: American Bar Association, Article 29 Working Party, Cross-Border Data Flow, Data Controller, EU Data Protection Directive, European Commission, France, Litigation, Penalty

UK ICO Issues Revised Guidance on Fines

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Hunton & Williams LLP

Monetary penalties are one mechanism in a suite of tools that the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) uses to encourage compliance with data protection regulations. The ICO generally uses monetary penalties to sanction deliberate or negligent breaches of the law, but the purpose is not to impose financial hardship but rather to “act as an encouragement towards compliance, or at least as a deterrent against non-compliance.” The following is a brief overview of the ICO’s authority to issue monetary penalties. Continue reading…

Tags: Data Controller, Information Commissioners Office, Penalty, United Kingdom

Concerns over Independence of Hungary’s DPA Prompt Infringement Proceedings

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Hunton & Williams LLP

On January 17, 2012, the European Commission initiated expedited infringement proceedings against Hungary over recent changes to its Constitution which are considered incompatible with EU law. The proceedings follow a number of changes made to the Hungarian Constitution that came into effect on January 1, 2012. Of particular concern to the Commission are amendments affecting the independence of the national data protection authority. The Hungarian government has one month to comply, or face enforcement proceedings in the European Court of Justice.

Tags: Data Protection Authority, EU Data Protection Directive, European Commission, Hungary, Legislation, Penalty

French Data Protection Authority Unveils 2010 Annual Activity Report

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Hunton & Williams LLP

On November 16, 2011, the French Data Protection Authority (the “CNIL”) published its Annual Activity Report for 2010 (the “Report”) highlighting its main 2010 accomplishments and outlining some of its priorities for the upcoming year. This year’s Report covers events that occurred since last year’s publication of the Annual Activity Report for 2009.

Tags: Apple Inc., CCTV, CNIL, Data Controller, Data Protection Authority, Data Transfer, Employee Monitoring, EU Data Protection Directive, EU Member States, Facebook, France, Google, LinkedIn, Penalty, Right to be Forgotten, Social Media, Twitter, Video Surveillance

FTC Settles COPPA Violation Charges Against Children’s Social Networking Website

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Hunton & Williams LLP

On November 8, 2011, the Federal Trade Commission announced that the operator of skidekids.com, a social networking website that advertises itself as the “Facebook and Myspace for Kids,” has agreed to settle charges that he collected personal information from approximately 5,600 children without parental consent, in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) Rule. The proposed settlement will bar future violations of COPPA and misrepresentations about the collection, use and disclosure of children’s information.

Tags: Consent Order, Consumer Protection, COPPA, Federal Trade Commission, Penalty, Privacy Policy, Safe Harbor, Social Media

New Chinese Legislation Includes Provisions Protecting Personal Information

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Hunton & Williams LLP

In the past two months, Chinese national authorities amended a law, and provincial authorities in Jiangsu Province issued a new regulation, both of which include provisions concerning the protection of personal information.

Law of the People’s Republic of China on Resident Identity Cards

Any Chinese citizen who resides in China is required to obtain a resident identity card when he or she turns 16 years old. The cards carry information which generally would be considered personal information under Chinese law, such as name, gender, date of birth, home address and identity card number. The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Resident Identity Cards, a national law originally enacted in 2003, was amended on October 29, 2011, to include the following new provisions on the protection of personal information: Continue reading…

Tags: China, Criminal Law, Liability, Penalty, Telecommunications

Privacy and Information Security Law Blog - Global privacy and information security law updates and analysis

Tag Archives: Penalty

HHS Finalizes Omnibus HIPAA Rule for OMB Review; Settles with Phoenix Cardiac Surgery Following OCR Investigation

Massachusetts Attorney General Announces $15,000 Settlement with Property Management Firm

American Bar Association Asks Courts to Consider Foreign Privacy Laws

UK ICO Issues Revised Guidance on Fines

Concerns over Independence of Hungary’s DPA Prompt Infringement Proceedings

New Chinese Legislation Includes Provisions Protecting Personal Information

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