State Attorneys General

On August 24, 2022, the California Attorney General’s Office announced a settlement with Sephora, Inc. (Sephora), a French multinational personal care and beauty products retailer. The settlement resolved Sephora’s alleged violations of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) for allegedly failing to: disclose to consumers that the company was selling their personal information, process user requests to opt out of sale via user-enabled global privacy controls, and cure these violations within the 30-day period currently allowed by the CCPA.Continue Reading $1.2 Million CCPA Settlement with Sephora Focuses on Sale of Personal Information and Global Privacy Controls

The California Office of the Attorney General issued its first opinion interpreting the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) on March 10, 2022, addressing the issue of whether a consumer has a right to know the inferences that a business holds about the consumer. The AG concluded that, unless a statutory exception applies, internally generated inferences that a business holds about the consumer are personal information within the meaning of the CCPA and must be disclosed to the consumer, upon request. The consumer has the right to know about the inferences, regardless of whether the inferences were generated internally by the business or obtained by the business from another source. Further, while the CCPA does not require a business to disclose its trade secrets in response to consumers’ requests for information, the business cannot withhold inferences about the consumer by merely asserting that they constitute a “trade secret.”Continue Reading California AG Interprets “Inferences” Under CCPA

Our look back on the 10 most read posts from this past year highlights key developments in 2021. These posts reflect the emergence of environmental justice and environment, social, and governance as critical areas for businesses on both sides of the Atlantic. They also show the growing enforcement trend among State Attorneys General and the Federal Trade Commission. Regulations have covered a wide range of issues, from chemicals and hazardous materials in the U.S. to digital markets in the European Union. And, as the impact of Covid-19 continues to affect us all, one of our most-read articles shows the continued struggle retailers face with pandemic-related lease disputes.
Continue Reading This Year’s Most Popular Posts

As the world continues to settle into its new normal regulators have so too. Recently, State Attorneys General (AGs) are increasingly focused on several specific enforcement priorities, including (1) price gouging; (2) privacy concerns; (3) antitrust litigation; and (4) harmful substances in products and environmental issues. Many of these priorities have gained prominence in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Continue Reading Enforcement in the New Normal: Recent Trends in State AG Enforcement

Recently, New York enacted a new law against gendered pricing that was included as a key component of the state’s Fiscal Year 2021 budget and Governor Cuomo’s 2020 Women’s Agenda. In a press release announcing the law, Governor Cuomo states, “By abolishing the pink tax, women and girls will no longer be subject to harmful

On August 14, 2020, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra released final implementing regulations for the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The CCPA became enforceable on July 1, 2020, and Becerra’s office submitted a final proposed draft of the regulations to the California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) on June 1, 2020. The Proposed Regulations have gone through several revisions since the publication of the initial draft in October of 2019. The OAL approved the final version along with an updated Addendum to the Final Statement of Reasons. The final implementing regulations take effect immediately. All businesses subject to the CCPA must now comply with both the statute and the regulations.

The final implementing regulations are similar to the draft proposed in June. However, the AG’s office has made several changes it characterizes as “non-substantive” and withdrawn certain proposed provisions “for additional consideration.” The “non-substantive” changes are intended to improve consistency in language (e.g., ensuring “consumer” is used throughout the regulations, or reorganizing definitions in alphabetical order) and are described in detail in the Addendum to the Final Statement of Reasons.Continue Reading California Approves Final CCPA Regulations

Now that some businesses are attempting to re-open and must sanitize their locations for employees and the public, Attorneys General will vigilantly monitor for unsupported claims that products can cure or prevent the transmission of COVID-19. They will also watch for claims that a location using these products will be safe for the public.