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Darren J. Abernethy is an ad tech, data privacy and cybersecurity attorney with more than a decade of experience, including in Am Law private practice in Washington, D.C. and as in-house counsel at startups and a leading privacy technology vendor. He advises clients on matters related to digital advertising, privacy law compliance, data breach management, M&A, and FTC best practices.

Darren's concentrations include data-driven marketing campaigns, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and other U.S. state privacy laws, the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)/ePrivacy, direct marketing, and IP-related transactional matters.

On Oct. 18, 2022, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) updated its “Guidance on Direct Marketing Using Electronic Mail,” providing refreshed FAQs regarding what constitutes electronic mail marketing, related rules and responsibilities, and miscellaneous clarifications to compliance questions such as “are tracking pixels covered by the electronic mail marketing rules?” (Short answer: technically no, but

On July 8, 2022, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) issued proposed amendments to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) regulations to harmonize them with the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (CPRA), which will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2023. Individuals or companies have until Aug. 23, 2022, at 5 p.m. to submit

This article was originally posted by IAPP here. Reprinted with permission.

In July, the office of the attorney general of California marked the one-year anniversary of its enforcement of the California Consumer Privacy Act by issuing a press release to tout its “successful enforcement efforts.” Also well-publicized, in the same announcement, the office unveiled

In a unanimous decision released on April 22, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court upended decades of lower court precedent by finding that Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act) does not authorize the FTC to seek, or a court to award, equitable monetary relief such as restitution or disgorgement. Instead, in AMG

New regulations to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) took effect in March that prohibit businesses from using on their websites “dark patterns” that make it difficult for California consumers to opt out of the sale of their personal information.

A dark pattern is a potentially manipulative user interface design that can have the effect,

On March 2, 2021, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (CDPA) into law, making Virginia the second state to have comprehensive data privacy legislation on the books. The CDPA is similar to the privacy regime enacted under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and expanded under the California Privacy Rights

On Feb. 10, 2021, Acting Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter offered a glimpse of where the FTC may be headed under the Biden administration and confirmed that privacy remains among the Commission’s top priorities.

In her keynote address to the Future of Privacy Forum, Slaughter shared her views on the FTC’s role

In late January, California’s Attorney General (AG) tweeted about the use of the new Global Privacy Control (GPC), informing California consumers that on certain browsers they can use GPC as a “stop selling my data switch” to exercise their right to opt out of the sale of their personal information (PI) in one step –

  1. EEA Cross-Border Transfers. The U.S. and the EU will work towards, and hopefully reach, a cross-border data transfer solution.
  2. Ransomware. More ransomware attacks and increased regulatory scrutiny of companies that pay ransom demands.
  3. Digital Advertising. Development of alternate marketing strategies, and perhaps more reliance on consumer opt-in, as privacy laws further erode traditional tracking

On December 10, 2020, the California Attorney General (AG) released the Fourth Set of Proposed Modifications to the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) Regulations, styled as “Modifications to Proposed Modifications.” The Fourth Set comes shortly after the comment period for the Third Set of Proposed Modifications closed on Oct. 28.  Per the AG’s Notice