Topic Archives: Privacy + Data Security

July 20, 2018 - Autonomous Systems + Robotics, Artificial Intelligence + Machine Learning, Privacy + Data Security

Managing Corporate AI

By: Stephanie Lynn Sharron

When companies employ artificial intelligence technologies they have to be mindful of the legal and ethical problems those technologies might cause. While the scope of legal concerns surrounding AI technologies’ impact is broad, of particular concern are instances of unlawful bias and discrimination, privacy …›

July 16, 2018 - Privacy + Data Security

Putin is Running a Destructive Cybercrime Syndicate Out of Russia

By: John P. Carlin

As John Carlin notes in his op-ed for the New York Times, Russia has become “the world’s largest safe haven for cybercriminals.” John, chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Global Risk + Crisis Management Group and former chief of staff to Robert Mueller, explains …›

July 13, 2018 - Litigation, Mergers + Acquisitions, Privacy + Data Security

Five Key Legal Risks for Data-Centric Technology M&A

By: Stephanie Lynn Sharron, Erin M. Bosman, Khoa D. Do, and Christine E. Lyon

Companies acquiring or selling businesses that leverage data through technology face special challenges and risks. Focus and prioritization can assist both business principals and lawyers effectively manage these concerns. This article offers answers to five key questions toward achieving that end. Read the full …›

June 25, 2018 - Privacy + Data Security

U.S. Supreme Court Rules That Location Information Is Protected by the Fourth Amendment

By: Robert S. Litt

In a widely anticipated decision, the Supreme Court held 5-4 that the government must obtain a warrant to acquire customer location information maintained by cellular service providers, at least where that information covers a period of a week or more. The case, Carpenter v. …›

June 19, 2018 - Artificial Intelligence + Machine Learning, European Union, Privacy + Data Security

If Algorithms Take Over Routine Work, This Also Kills our Expertise

By: Lokke Moerel

In this opinion piece, Morrison & Foerster Senior of Counsel Lokke Moerel challenges current predictions of the ways in which Artificial (AI) Intelligence is going to transform our jobs. Drawing a parallel with how using sat nav systems has impacted our navigation skills, she …›

June 14, 2018 - European Union, Privacy + Data Security

Why controllers are accountable for automatic decision making under the GDPR

By: Lokke Moerel and Marijn Storm

The GDPR explicitly requires controllers to inform individuals of decisions made about them by automated or artificially intelligent algorithmic systems. The controller must inform the individual up front about the existence of the decision making activity, as well as provide information about its underlying …›

May 14, 2018 - Litigation, Privacy + Data Security

California’s GDPR? The 2018 California Consumer Privacy Act

By: Purvi G. Patel and Alexandra Eve Steinberg Laks

While companies are focusing on compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements, Californians will likely be given the option on the November 6, 2018 ballot to impose a sweeping, GDPR-like privacy regime that also deserves attention. If approved by voters in …›

March 26, 2018 - Cloud Services + SaaS, Privacy + Data Security

CLOUD Act: New Legislation Will Overhaul U.S. Laws for Obtaining Data Stored Overseas

By: John P. Carlin, Robert S. Litt, and David A. Newman

May the U.S. government compel a company operating in the United States to produce data that it stores outside the country? A new law called the CLOUD Act makes clear that, in the case of legal process served under the Stored Communications Act (SCA), …›

November 17, 2017 - Privacy + Data Security, Software

The Cost of Ransomware Attacks

A form of economic extortion, ransomware attacks rose by 250% last year, and the United States was harder hit than any other country. Learn just how much this plague on the cybersecurity landscape is costing companies. Take a look at our ransomware infographic. …›

April 4, 2017 - Privacy + Data Security

Biometric Information as Personal Information In A Brave New World of Regulatory Compliance

By: Marian A. Waldmann Agarwal and Adam J. Fleisher

As computing power and technology have improved, a new way to identify individuals by their innate physical, or “biometric,” information has entered the market and appears on the cusp of becoming more widely adopted. A core question is: what biometric information needs to be …›