biometric — Lanton Law Blog

How to Choose a Lobbyist

Since the early 2000s, there has been a steady increase in the amount of government activity that has directly affected healthcare stakeholders. Prior to this time-period, companies could afford to focus only on differentiating their products from their competitors. Now companies are finding that during their strategic planning meetings, they must account for how state and federal government activity may impact their bottom line. In addition to having a Government Affairs staff, these same companies are starting to realize the importance of having established a relationship with a lobbyist. The question is how do you find the right lobbyist for your organization?

Illinois Biometrics Information Privacy Act Strikes Again

Snapchat’s parent company is defending against a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois brought by two platform users identified as Adrian Coss and Maribel Ocampo.

The lawsuit alleges that the platform violates the Illinois Biometrics Information Privacy Act by failing to provide users with the required disclosures under the act while collecting, storing and sharing users’ unique facial features and voices.

biometric, Cybersecurity, data, data privacyRon LantonMay 23, 2022The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, Biometrics, Snapchat, Facial Recognition, biometrics, biometric information

Massachusetts Discussing Data Privacy Protection

Senator Creem and Senator Lesser have introduced S.46 titled “An Act Establishing the Massachusetts Information Privacy Act.” The bill can be found here.

privacy, communications, data privacy, data broker, data, healthcare, biometricRon LantonMarch 16, 2022An Act Establishing the Massachusetts Information Privacy Act., Massachusetts, data privacy, data collection, data tracking, data broker, Biometrics, MA Information Privacy Commission

California Enacts Genetic Privacy Legislation

On October 6th, California Governor Newsom (D-CA) signed SB 41 titled Privacy: genetic testing companies.

biometric, genome, genomic testing, healthcare, genetics, DNA, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, legislationRon LantonOctober 8, 2021privacy, genetic privacy, Genetic Information Privacy Act, California, California Life Sciences

Illumina Acquires Grail

According to the press release, Illumina announced that it has acquired GRAIL.

biologics, biometric, biotech, biotechnology, cancer, genome, genomic testing, technology, pharmaceuticals, specialty pharmacyRon LantonAugust 20, 2021Illumina, Grail, Galleri test, cancer, oncology, genomic testing, genome, COVID-19

Data Protection Agency (DPA) Legislation Reintroduced

U.S. Senator Gillibrand (D-NY) issued a press release announcing the Data Protection Act of 2021, which would create the DPA, an independent federal agency whose goal is to protect Americans’ data, instill privacy safeguards and work to ensure that there is transparency in data sharing practices.

Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) Lawsuit Causes Facebook to Pay Settlement

On February 26, 2021 in the United States District Court Northern District of California, the Court found that Facebook was ordered to pay $650 million. This issue derived from the underlying lawsuit alleging whether the collection of an individual's biometric data in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act is sufficient to establish Article III standing. As a result of this dispute, the company’s automatic facial recognition tagging features are now an opt-in feature instead of being an opt-out choice.

biometric, lawsuits, technology, tech, communicationsRon LantonMarch 2, 2021Biometrics, Privacy, Facebook, Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, BIPA, data collection, data protection, Facial Recognition, legislation, privacy, Verificient Technologies

New York Proposing Its Own Biometric Law

The New York State legislature has introduced Assembly Bill 27, which seeks to make New York the fourth state to enact a biometric privacy law. If successful it will be the second state that will allow consumers a private right of action to see companies for improper data handling.

biometric, facial recognition, biotechnology, digital health, healthcare, HealthIT, mobile health, regulation, tech, technologyRon LantonFebruary 6, 2021New York Biometric Privacy Act, New York, Assembly Bill 27, Facial Recognition, Governor Cuomo, New York Legislature, A6787-D/S5140-B, Illinois Information Privacy Act

Biometric Policies Will Likely Be Debated Nationwide in 2021

New York has introduced Assembly Bill 27. According to the proposed bill, AB 27 seeks “to establish the biometric privacy act;

biometric, biotechnology, data privacy, government affairs, healthcare, HealthIT, legislation, life sciences, pharmaceuticals, tech, technologyRon LantonJanuary 11, 2021New York, Assembly Bill 27, Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, legal, lobbyist