Smart Grids And Data Privacy In The Internet Of Things

California Governor Newsom has signed Senate Bill 574 into law, establishing the nation's first statutory framework governing how attorneys and arbitrators use generative AI in their professional practice. The legislation creates specific obligations around confidentiality protection, accuracy verification, and disclosure requirements that take effect January 1, 2027.

Although being challenged by an injunction filed on August 20, 2026, by a coalition of 17 states, California’s SB 54 Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act is now in effect, and companies that sell, distribute, import, or ship packaged products into California should be evaluating whether they have compliance obligations.

Scott L. Vernick was quoted in The Legal Intelligencer article, "Did UPMC Data Breach Ruling Lock Plaintiffs Out of State Court?" on January 23, 2017.

California's 2026 legislative session concluded with Governor Newsom signing several landmark privacy and AI bills into law, including comprehensive child safety measures, AI auditor oversight frameworks, and expanded data protection requirements. How will these new regulations reshape digital advertising, workplace AI deployment, and online platform obligations for businesses operating in California?

In the last few months, California and New Jersey enacted legislation to protect children online: California’s 13-bill package targets risks to children arising from emerging technologies, while New Jersey’s 3-bill package includes an age-appropriate design code. Despite their differences, these laws share a common focus on protecting children as technology evolves.

Meta Platforms has agreed to pay $17 billion over ten years to resolve multistate litigation alleging the company engineered Facebook and Instagram to addict minors while concealing the risks. Beyond the historic financial penalty, the settlement mandates sweeping platform changes including default usage limits, overnight lockouts, and parental controls for users under eighteen.

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...

Multiple organizations have recently disclosed significant data breaches affecting thousands of individuals, with compromised information ranging from basic contact details to highly sensitive medical records and financial data. The incidents span various sectors including healthcare, insurance, and professional services, raising questions about the scope of exposure and potential remedies for affected individuals.

Federal and state regulators are intensifying scrutiny of healthcare and digital health companies over tracking technologies that share sensitive patient data with advertising platforms. Recent enforcement actions against major telehealth providers and healthcare systems reveal how common marketing practices can trigger significant legal liability under privacy laws, even for organizations not covered by HIPAA.

Legal risk intensifies for companies offering online interactive features to minors across Georgia, Florida, and Alabama as the Eleventh Circuit vacates preliminary injunctions against state social media laws. With Florida's HB 3 and Georgia's SB 351 now enforceable and Alabama's HB 161 set to take effect January 1, 2027, businesses face divergent compliance requirements including age verification, parental consent mechanisms, and account deletion protocols.

A health insurance company announced today that it has been the victim of a sophisticated cyber-attack and data breach of information of current and former covered persons.

On Jan. 21, 2025, President Donald Trump, alongside OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison and Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, announced a private sector plan to invest billions of dollars.

Yesterday three important regulatory developments occurred in the clean energy space.

Since its independence in 1991 Kazakhstan has been rapidly developing to become a country with a market economy establishing and strengthening its economic and trade ties with foreign countries, encouraging foreign investment, and liberalizing trade.

Kazakhstan's commercial banking sector has grown dramatically in recent years.

Renovus Capital Partners has announced the acquisition of Superior Health Holdings.

If a county, city or town contributes a pollutant of concern to a waterbody it may need to modify its municipal stormwater management program to meet state and federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) regulations. Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and the Virginia Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) will require MS4 communities to make improvements and retrofits to existing stormwater management programs.

The article was based on a July 21 Subject to Inquiry blog post by Alex and Ryan that was published under the same title at www.subjecttoinquiry.com.

On Feb. 6, 2012, UK-based medical device company Smith & Nephew settled a civil and criminal investigation of alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by agreeing to pay a total of $22.6 million and committing to certain measures designed to reduce the possibility of repeat conduct.

David Nexon, senior executive vice president at AdvaMed, defended the FDA's 510(k) process for medical devices after the process was recently criticized by Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group.