Supreme Court Strikes Down Prescription Data-Mining Ban

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down today a Vermont law prohibiting pharmaceutical companies from buying or using prescription data for marketing. The decision, Sorrell v. IMS Health, holds that the state law prohibiting the sale or disclosure for marketing purposes of prescription data that identifies prescribers (but not patients) is an unconstitutional infringement on the free speech rights of pharmaceutical and data mining companies. The case was decided primarily on First Amendment grounds with privacy addressed only as a secondary issue. 

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Our Privacy Blog Goes Mobile!

The Chronicle of Data Protection mobile web app is now available at http:// mobapp.hoganlovells.com/privacy. The free app enables you to access the latest postings from this blog, on the go. The app can be accessed from most tablets and mobile devices, including iPad, iPhone, and Droid. 

To create an icon for your iPhone or iPad, access the URL above through the Safari browser on your device.  Then click on the bottom toolbar "square with an arrow" icon (that is used to e-mail links) which will allow you to "Add to Home Page" and, voila, you have an icon for the HL Chronicle of Data Protection allowing you to access mobile-formatted content!

Of course, there is a mobile app specific privacy policy for our new app!

Enjoy.

House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Breach Notification Proposal

A House subcommittee held a hearing yesterday on the SAFE Data Act, a draft data security and breach notification bill that, among other things, would require businesses to minimize the amount of personal information they maintain about consumers and notify law enforcement within a very short time frame -- within 48 hours of discovering a breach. The draft legislation, which was presented by Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA), is based upon a similar proposal that passed the House in 2009 but stalled in the Senate.

 

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FTC Focusing on Child Identity Theft, Holding Forum on July 12

Stolen Futures logoEmblematic of the increasing attention to children’s privacy, on July 12, 2011, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) are jointly hosting a day-long forum about child identity theft. The forum, entitled “Stolen Futures: A Forum on Child Identity Theft,” will discuss foster care and familial identity theft, which is a growing problem in these difficult economic times. Identity thieves often utilize their children’s or young relatives information to obtain credit cards and other credit and children’s sensitive personal information is also vulnerable to misuse for other reasons as well. This forum follows the FTC’s roundtable last year on its Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) rule. 

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The "Tony Awards of Privacy Law" Go to Hogan Lovells Privacy Team

The Tony Awards for the best in Broadway will be handed out in New York on Sunday.  This week, the "Tony Awards for Privacy Law" were handed out by Chambers, a leading guide to law firms and practices that conducts client surveys.  The performance of the Hogan Lovells privacy lawyers yielded the top ranking in Band 1, with the practice leaders also personally highly ranked.  Here are some editorial excerpts from Chambers:

The Hogan Lovells merger has strengthened the reach and capabilities of this group…

The team is widely praised for its expertise in state, federal and EU privacy laws and operates across a wide range of sectors including media and healthcare.

Christopher Wolf is widely regarded as an expert in the field. His practice revolves around data security breach notification, behavioral marketing and e-commerce. Clients describe him as “practical and knowledgeable. The advice he provides is always thoughtful and considered.”  

Marcy Wilder is a healthcare privacy specialist. She counsels clients on HIPAA and HITECH legislation compliance and is admired for her "pragmatic approach and great network of contacts." Both attorneys are based in Washington, DC.

Client quotes in the Chambers guide:

“From a client service perspective, this team is really outstanding.”  

“The team has an excellent understanding of the politics and PR issues surrounding privacy law.”

Last month, another law firm guide, Legal 500, also ranked the Hogan Lovells privacy law practice as a "first tier firm":

The [Hogan & Hartson] merger with Lovells has significantly extended the group’s global reach, creating the largest privacy practice in the US, which advises high-profile clients … on topical issues including behavioral advertising, the Smart Grid, health information privacy and security, and mobile applications.

Hogan Lovells US LLP’s privacy and information management practice group is led by the ‘smart, knowledgeable’ Christopher Wolf and healthcare privacy expert Marcy Wilder in Washington DC.

They ‘are always timely, have good industry knowledge and helpful contacts, and provide practical advice’.

The practice remains at the forefront of FTC enforcement work and privacy work, handling prominent FTC investigations.

Wolf represents leading privacy think tank the Future of Privacy forum, which is focused on emerging privacy challenges in FTC, FCC and NIST regulatory proceedings.

International data transfer privacy specialist Lynda Marshall is recommended.

The group maintains a market-leading position in healthcare-related privacy work, advising on HIPAA-related matters and the implications of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) Act 2009, which addresses privacy and security concerns associated with the electronic transmission of health information. Wilder, who has ‘good contacts with regulators and helps manage incidents’.

The lawyers in the Hogan Lovells privacy practice appreciate the recognition, especially as it reflects client satisfaction with the work we do for them.  Having taken a moment to bask in the glow of the awards, now it is back to work!

 Photo courtesy of DigitalArt

Commerce Department Calls for Improved Cybersecurity Through Voluntary Self-Regulatory Standards

Department of Commerce logoAt a time when hacks of major commercial computer systems are in the news, the Department of Commerce’s Internet Policy Task Force issued a green paper yesterday preliminarily recommending a new framework for Internet security.  The report is entitled “Cybersecurity, Innovation and the Internet Economy.”  It discusses how to improve the Internet security practices of companies in the Internet and Information Innovation Sector other than those classified as part of  “critical infrastructure.”  These are the myriad companies that provide information services and content, facilitate transactional services over the Internet, store and host publicly accessible content, and support users’ access to content or transaction activities.  This does not include companies in sectors that implicate national security interests such as the defense, energy, financial, healthcare, and core telecommunications sectors, that are subject to other governmental cyber-security strategies.

To increase the online security of businesses, the green paper preliminarily recommends that the Department of Commerce do the following:
 

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