A rule built to guard against foreign access to American data is now fueling lawsuits that have nothing to do with national security.
In "DOJ Bulk Data Rule May Present Avenue for ECPA Claims, Lawyers Say," Privacy Daily examined a novel litigation strategy. Plaintiffs are using the Department of Justice's Bulk Sensitive Data (BSD) Rule to support wiretapping and privacy claims against companies using website tracking technology. Elena M. Quattrone and Lisa Pierce Reisz, Members of the Firm at Epstein Becker Green, weighed in on what the trend means for businesses.
The article traced the strategy to a mid-June ruling in Baker v. Index Exchange. There, a federal court in Illinois found that invoking the BSD Rule could satisfy the ECPA's crime-tort exception. It also pointed to a separate suit against Lenovo over data transmitted to its Chinese parent company. Elena said the rule's reach extends well beyond any single sector.
"Any company that's dealing with a significant amount of consumer data should be mindful of these new tactics and learn more about ways to mitigate risk," Quattrone said.
Lisa said the decisions mark a shift in how companies should think about the rule itself.
"The BSD Rule is no longer just a regulatory statute which has its own complex web of requirements, but rather it can now be wielded to infuse civil liability for private litigants in a variety of ways," Reisz said.
Get in Touch
To discuss this perspective, contact Elena Quattrone at equattrone@ebglaw.com or Lisa Pierce Reisz at LPierceReisz@ebglaw.com.
