Issues involving privacy law are everywhere. Literally every day headlines in the national and local media deal with privacy issues. A few recent examples include: “Hackers Breach Second Sony Service”, “Thieves Swipe Debit Card Data”, “HHS Slaps $4.3M Fine on Cignet for HIPAA Privacy Violations” and “Does the Murdoch Hacking Scandal Signify the End of Privacy?”
It is important for companies and consumers to understand the many ways in which privacy law affects them and how to make sure they are protected.
Businesses
Business people find it difficult and confusing to know how the ever-expanding body of federal and state legislation, regulation and case law decisions affects their company. Many large businesses have compliance officers, and possibly an entire department dedicated to monitoring and implementing privacy initiatives. Smaller businesses, although often less regulated, nevertheless need to comply with a patchwork of privacy law and regulation. Privacy law compliance is necessary if a business gathers and/or stores any of the following information:
• personal information
• financial information
• medical information
• employment information
• credit/debit card data
Understanding privacy law and how to comply with it is essential to avoiding inadvertent violations and the potential liability that could arise, such as regulatory enforcement actions or lawsuits. Understanding privacy law leads large and small companies to have a “best practices” approach to reduce the likelihood of violations, as well as to reduce the potential legal impact of data breaches.
Consumers
Consumers should have some idea of privacy law and how information about them is gathered and used, and what control they can have over it. Anyone who has applied for a loan or a credit card, made a cell phone call, sent a text message, used the Internet, gone to the doctor or hospital, been an employee or employer or used a rewards card has shared personal data that could legally be shared with other entities for various purposes. Individuals can limit to a certain extent the sharing of their information if they understand their responsibility in the process and the actions they need to take.
Since privacy law is such a broad and ever-expanding topic, future newsletter articles will go into more detail about specific issues affecting companies and consumers and how our Firm can effectively ensure compliance with the law.
Michael Bender is an Of Counsel attorney in our Livonia office where he concentrates his practice on commercial law, secured transactions, loan default workouts, consumer lending, privacy, litigation and bankruptcy. He can be reached at (734) 261-2400 or mbender@cmda-law.com.
 
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