On May 16, 2017, Governor Jay Inslee signed into law H.B. 1493—Washington’s first statute governing how individuals and non-government entities collect, use, and retain “biometric identifiers,” as defined in the statute. The law prohibits any “person” from “enroll[ing] a biometric identifier in a database for a commercial purpose, without first providing notice, obtaining consent,
May 2017
European Cloud in Health Advisory Council Calls For Review of eHealth Rules and Ethics of Medical Data Re-Use
On May 11, 2017, the European Cloud in Health Advisory Council (ECHAC) – a group of healthcare organizations, technology companies and patient representatives – launched its second whitepaper focused on use of data to improve health outcomes and delivery of care.
ECHAC launched the whitepaper at an eHealth Week 2017 session attended by ECHAC participants…
New Proposed Standard Sheds Light on Cross-Border Security Assessment in China
By Yan Luo
On May 27, 2017, China’s National Information Security Standardization Technical Committee (“NISSTC”), a standard-setting committee jointly supervised by the Standardization Administration of China (“SAC”) and the Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”), released Information Security Technology – Guidelines for Data Cross-Border Transfer Security Assessment (Draft Version) (the “draft Standard”) for public comments. The official Chinese version of…
USSC Issues RFP For Report On Supply Chain IT Vulnerabilities From China
On May 11, 2017, the U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission (“Commission”) issued a Request for Proposal to “to provide a one-time unclassified report on supply chain vulnerabilities from China in U.S. federal information technology (IT) procurement.”
Congress established the Commission in 2000 to monitor and report to Congress on the national security implications…
FCC Releases NPRM on Broadband ISPs and Net Neutrality Rules
The FCC has released the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) on “Restoring Internet Freedom” that was adopted by a 2-1 vote at the Commission’s open meeting on May 18. The NPRM is substantively very similar to the draft released by Chairman Pai on April 27, and the comment deadlines remain the same: July 17 for…
D.C. Circuit Strikes Down FAA Registration Rule for Recreational Drones
On May 19, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit invalidated a Federal Aviation Administration regulation that required the owners of recreational drones—unmanned aircraft system (“UAS”)—to register with the agency. The court held that the regulation violated the same law that the FAA had used, in part, to justify the requirement. The…
This Week in Congress – May 22, 2017
Members of the House and Senate are in session for one more week before the planned Memorial Day recess. The House is scheduled to take up a number of bills related to child protection while the Senate continues to work through nominations to the Trump Administration. Outside events, however, are again likely to overshadow the…
The Gowdy Era of Congressional Investigations
With the announcement by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) that he plans to resign from Congress on June 30, it appears increasingly likely that Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) will become the next Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the House’s powerful watchdog committee that has very broad investigative jurisdiction. Although a final…
GAO Recommends Improvements to DOE’s Fraud Controls; DOE Fires Back
Earlier this month the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) released a report titled “Department of Energy: Use of Leading Practices Could Help Manage the Risk of Fraud and Other Improper Payments” (GAO-17-235) (the “Report”). As the title suggests, GAO assessed the Department of Energy’s (“DOE”) internal controls to manage “the risk of fraud…
D.C. Circuit Dismisses Major Case Concerning Attorney-Client Privilege in Congressional Investigations
The long saga of the legal challenge by Carl Ferrer, CEO of Backpage, to a subpoena issued by the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (“PSI”) appears to have reached a conclusion. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit this week dismissed the case as moot and additionally vacated a…