A number of investigations and inquiries, including a call for a hearing in Congress on December 30, 2013, have been sparked by the announcement by Target Corp. that a massive security breach of approximately 40 million of its customers’ credit and debit card accounts used at brick-and-mortar Target stores occurred between November 27 and extending
December 2013
HHS Announces First HIPAA Settlement Based on Lack of Breach Notification Policies and Procedures
By Anna Kraus
On December 27, 2013, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a HIPAA settlement with Adult & Pediatric Dermatology, P.C. (APDerm), a private dermatology practice with locations in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. According to HHS, this is the first settlement based on a…
Barclays Moves to Dismiss FERC Market Manipulation Suit
Barclays Bank and four of its traders (collectively, “Barclays”) moved on December 16, 2013 to dismiss charges of market manipulation brought by FERC’s Office of Enforcement. FERC’s complaint seeks to affirm a combined $488 million in civil penalties and disgorgement in federal court for the Eastern District of California based on its claim that Barclays…
President Obama Nominates Sharon Y. Bowen as CFTC Commissioner
On December 19, 2013 President Obama nominated Sharon Y. Bowen to serve as a Commissioner of the CFTC. If confirmed by the Senate, Ms. Bowen would assume the seat currently occupied by Commissioner Bart Chilton, a Democrat.
Ms. Bowen is currently a securities lawyer at Latham & Watkins LLP in New York. Ms. Bowen was…
DoD Clarifies Sourcing Restrictions Applicable to Certain Photovoltaic Procurements
Earlier today, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued an interim rule that seeks to clarify when a contractor may use a non-U.S. manufactured photovoltaic (PV) device in certain government contracts. The rule offers guidance to contractors in determining whether a PV device qualifies as a permissible “designated country” device, explaining that the test should focus…
Supreme Court Confirms Plan Sponsor’s Right to Set Deadline for Filing Lawsuits
On Monday, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a reasonable deadline for filing a lawsuit for benefits was enforceable. (Heimeshoff v. Hartford Life & Accident Insurance Co.) The decision is important because it confirms that the clock may start before a claim is filed under the plan’s mandatory administrative process. Plan sponsors who…
Safeway Settles ADA Accessibility Lawsuit, Makes Grocery Website Accessible to Visually Impaired
Safeway agreed in settlement of a lawsuit brought by visually-impaired customers in California and Washington State to ensure that its website, which allows people to order groceries online and have them delivered to their homes, is accessible to persons with disabilities. Safeway has already made significant enhancements to its online shopping website to meet the…
Advocate General finds the EU’s Data Retention Directive Incompatible with the Fundamental Right to Privacy
By Maria-Martina Yalamova & Mark Young
On 12 December 2013, the Advocate General (“AG”) to the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “CJEU”), Mr Cruz Villalón, gave an opinion that the EU’s Data Retention Directive 2006/24/EC (the “Directive”) violates the fundamental right to privacy in the EU. His reason, in short, is that…
Updating Ofcom’s Guidance on Network Security – New Consultation
In light of growing concerns over cybersecurity and evolving technology and operational practices, Ofcom (the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries) is seeking views on whether its existing guidance on network security should be revised. Interested parties have until 21 February 2014 to respond. Depending on the responses received, Ofcom intends…
Senate Panel Examines Data Broker Industry; Releases Staff Report
Yesterday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing entitled, “What Information Do Data Brokers Have on Consumers, and How Do They Use It?” Committee members expressed interest in bringing about greater transparency to what information is collected by data brokers and how it is used at the hearing, which consisted…