QWCooper

06/26/2025

Now is a good time to review Business to Consumer Terms of Use/ Terms of Service to comply with changes to California's Automatic Renewal Law. Changes go into effect July 1, 2025.

California is getting tough on practices that make it difficult for consumers to cancel subscriptions and memberships. If your business offers

04/16/2024

Thank you Alexis Liu for your thought-provoking article about the global effort to protect the public against deepfakes through regulation and the importance of moving quickly. The overview of global initiatives such as the "Protecting American from Deceptive AI Act" and the AI Act in the EU are noteworthy as are the challenges for finding bad actors and developing effective classifiers of AI models. This is a timely article on an important challenge aggravated by worldwide elections this year. Thanks.

With elections right around the corner, we should expect more deepfakes in our future. The question is: what should we do about it? .

03/14/2024

"Awareness is no longer enough. It must be coupled with education and action." With data breaches on the rise, it is ever important for your business to implement robust cybersecurity practices, including negotiating terms with third-party vendors regarding security expectations and breach notification requirements.

“Protect your data! Breaches are on the rise!” These warnings seem to be everywhere – and rightfully so. Threat actors are sophisticated and new...

09/22/2023

Today, the UK announced its own adequacy decision for international data transfers, which comes on the heels of the EU's adoption of its Data Privacy Framework: "With the Data Bridge, organizations in the UK will be able to transfer personal data to US organizations certified to the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework without the need for further safeguards, such as international data transfer agreements." The new law takes effect on Oct. 12 and includes requirements for organizations to update privacy policies and certify to the Data Privacy Framework List. https://buff.ly/451C2ZB

09/09/2023

California has long disfavored employers' use of noncompete agreements, and a newly enacted law continues in that direction. Interestingly, the ban on noncompetes in California even applies if the former employee executed the contract in another state. Employers should consider these laws, which have a national impact, when drafting employment agreements going forward.

On September 1, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 699 into law, prohibiting employers from entering into or attempting to...

08/30/2023

Tesla's massive data breach discovered in May turned out to be an inside job by two presumably revenge-seeking former employees. To avoid similar violations of internal security protocols, it helps for companies to have "clear, enforced guidelines on who should have access to what, and a clear data retention policy." Experts advise to always limit the number of people with access to sensitive information and only retain such data for the least amount of time absolutely necessary. https://buff.ly/3OZVQ9O

08/10/2023

These cases embrace the importance of a well-written terms of service that can protect businesses from allegations of wrongful account termination. Thank you, Professor Goldman, for your continued analysis on the important topic of content regulation. https://buff.ly/47tCRgf

08/02/2023

The SEC adopted new rules requiring registrants and foreign private issuers to report cybersecurity incidents and to annually disclose material information regarding their cybersecurity risk management. Public companies should remain cognizant of the new rules and the SEC's increased focus on regulating cybersecurity risks. https://buff.ly/3OiWLSm

As a significant step in its ongoing initiatives on the disclosure, management, and oversight of cybersecurity risks and incidents, on July 26, 2023,...

07/27/2023

OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and Anthropic have just announced the Frontier Model Forum, which calls on member companies to "develop technical evaluations and benchmarks, and promote best practices and standards." However, some are skeptical of Big Tech's motives behind these voluntary initiatives: Is the AI industry truly taking safety concerns seriously, or is this an attempt to write their own rules?

OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and Anthropic are forming a new body designed to ensure "safe and responsible" AI development.

07/21/2023

The California Privacy Protection Agency launched a new CCPA complaint system, which allows California residents to file complaints about possible violations of the CCPA. Businesses should ensure compliance in their privacy policies and other data processing documents, especially with the new reporting system now in place: https://buff.ly/3pWOFqy

The California Privacy Protection Agency recently debuted a new consumer-facing complaint form at their most recent board meeting.

07/19/2023

In a recent episode, NPR's Planet Money podcast discusses the evolution of contract law through the introduction of technology and omnipresent online agreements. The hosts and guest speakers do a great job of talking about online terms of service agreements from the perspectives of both an end-user and legal professional. Listen to the podcast here: https://buff.ly/43sFhJ3

When you make an account online or install an app, you are probably entering into a legally enforceable contract. Even if you never signed anything. These days, we enter into these contracts so often, it can feel like no big deal.But then there are the horror stories like Greg Selden's. He tried to....

07/13/2023

Are organizations legally permitted to "scrape the internet" to expand their AI databases without appropriate licensing agreements in place? “From a privacy point of view, the ability of AI to create new works can test the definition of what is 'public.'"https://buff.ly/3O8zMKR