July 2023

Last week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3-2 on a series of rules relating to cybersecurity disclosures, including a new requirement for public companies to publicly disclose “significant impacts” of cyber-attacks within four days. Public companies would be well-served to review the new requirements immediately to form a plan of action to address the newly approved rules.Continue Reading SEC Approves Transformative Cybersecurity Disclosure Requirements

On June 30, 2023, California Superior Court Judge James P. Arguelles held that the California Privacy Protection Agency (the “Agency”) cannot enforce any violation for the Agency’s regulations issued on March 29, 2023, under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), as amended by the California Consumer Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) until March 29, 2024. This holding stems from a petition brought by the California Chamber of Commerce (the “Chamber”) against the Agency, arguing that based on a plain reading of the CPRA’s language, enforcement cannot begin until one year following issuance of the Agency’s regulations.

Although enforcement of the Agency’s regulations are delayed, the text of the CCPA, as well as regulations enacted prior to March 29, 2023, remain in effect and enforceable. The enforcement stay solely bars the Agency from enforcing its own issued regulations under the CPRA for one year after a particular regulation is finalized.Continue Reading Not So Fast: California Superior Court Delays Enforcement of Certain CPRA Regulations

On May 19, 2023, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed the Montana Consumer Data Privacy Act (the “MTCDPA”) into law, becoming the ninth state to enact a comprehensive consumer privacy act. Montana joins California, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Utah, and Virginia with legislation that protects their residents’ personal data.

The MTCDPA will go into effect on October 1, 2024. In preparation for MCTDPA to be signed into law, companies doing business in Montana should start thinking of ways to incorporate the law’s requirements into their existing privacy policies and procedures.Continue Reading Montana Enacts Privacy Law