Privacy Law and Privacy Regulations

A federal court approved a $68 million settlement resolving claims that Google's voice-activated devices recorded private conversations without user consent, even when not activated by "Hey Google" commands. The case alleged that Google Assistant-enabled devices captured audio through false activations and shared recordings with third-party contractors, raising significant privacy and wiretapping concerns.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 690, amending the California Invasion of Privacy Act to eliminate private lawsuits for website tracking violations under the pen register provision. The law applies retroactively to claims filed within the past two years and takes effect January 1, 2027, potentially dismissing approximately 4,000 pending lawsuits that challenged ordinary internet technologies like cookies and pixels.

Global investment in generative AI reached $25.2 billion in 2023, transforming how major technology companies acquire AI capabilities and fundamentally reshaping the due diligence process. The buyer's playbook has evolved from simply counting patent assets to investigating six critical pillars: proprietary data ownership, patent characterization, technical authenticity, regulatory compliance, cybersecurity resilience, and training data rights.

A federal court approved a $68 million settlement resolving claims that Google's voice-activated devices recorded private conversations without user consent, even when not activated by "Hey Google" commands. The case alleged that Google Assistant-enabled devices captured audio through false activations and shared recordings with third-party contractors, raising significant privacy and wiretapping concerns.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 690, amending the California Invasion of Privacy Act to eliminate private lawsuits for website tracking violations under the pen register provision. The law applies retroactively to claims filed within the past two years and takes effect January 1, 2027, potentially dismissing approximately 4,000 pending lawsuits that challenged ordinary internet technologies like cookies and pixels.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed several significant privacy bills that will reshape how businesses handle consumer data, including expanded deletion rights under the CCPA, shortened data broker response cycles, and sweeping new insurance sector privacy requirements. While one landmark bill banning the sale of sensitive personal information was vetoed, the approved legislation requires companies to update their deletion workflows...