Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On November 10, 2021, the New York City Council passed a bill prohibiting employers and employment agencies from using automated employment decision tools to screen candidates or employees, unless a bias audit has been conducted prior to deploying the tool (the “Bill”).

On  November 27, 2021, the UAE Cabinet Office enacted its first federal Personal Data Protection Law (Federal Decree Law No. 45 of 2021, the “UAE Data Protection Law”). The UAE Data Protection Law will come into force on January 2, 2022.

On November 30, 2021, the European Commission issued a press release indicating that the European Parliament and the Council of the EU (i.e., representatives of EU Member States) reached political agreement on the proposed EU Data Governance Act. The political agreement now will be subject to final approval by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.

On December 2, 2021, the Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”) announced that it issued two security directives requiring higher-risk freight railroads, passenger rail and rail transit to implement measures to strengthen cybersecurity within the sector. In its press release, the TSA stated that it determined these requirements needed to be issued immediately to protect the transportation sector. The TSA also stated that it sought input from industry stakeholders and federal partners, including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”), in developing its approach.

On November 18, 2021, the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) released a statement on the Digital Services Package and Data Strategy (the “Statement”). The Digital Services Package and Data Strategy is a package composed of several legislative proposals, including the Digital Services Act (“DSA”), the Digital Markets Act (“DMA”), the Data Governance Act (“DGA”), the Regulation on a European approach for Artificial Intelligence (“AIR”) and the upcoming Data Act (expected to be presented shortly). The proposals aim to facilitate the further use and sharing of personal data between more public and private parties; support the use of specific technologies, such as Big Data and artificial intelligence (“AI”); and regulate online platforms and gatekeepers.

On November 18, 2021, the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a new rule regarding cyber incident reporting obligations for U.S. banks and service providers.

On November 22, 2021, according to India Today, the Indian Joint Parliamentary Committee (the “JPC”) responsible for reviewing the Personal Information Protection Bill 2019 (“PDPB”) issued its report on the proposed law. The report comes nearly two years after the bill was first referred to the JPC. The JPC’s report will likely be presented with the PDPB 2019 in the Winter Session of Parliament, which begins on November 29, 2021. If passed, the PDPB would constitute the first comprehensive data protection law in India ...

On November 19, 2021, the European Data Protection Board (“EDPB”) published its draft Guidelines 05/2021 (the “Guidelines”) on the interplay between the application of Article 3 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which sets forth the GDPR’s territorial scope, and the GDPR’s provisions on international data transfers. The Guidelines aim to assist organizations subject to the GDPR in identifying whether a data processing activity constitutes an international data transfer under the GDPR, as the GDPR does not define the term.

On November 17, 2021, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held its confirmation hearing on FTC Commissioner nominee, Alvaro Bedoya.

On November 14, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced a bilateral cybersecurity partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Finance “to protect critical financial infrastructure and emerging technologies” and combat the use of ransomware. The initiative includes the launch of a U.S.-Israeli Task Force on Fintech Innovation and Cybersecurity (the “Task Force”), which seeks to advance the twin goals of encouraging fintech innovation while protecting against cyber threats from nation-state and criminal actors.