Largest Health Data Breach of 2019 Strikes Seattle Hospital

On December 26, 2018, University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, Washington was notified that their database had been misconfigured, resulting in a breach affecting approximately 974,000 individuals, the largest health breach of 2019. UW Medicine was first notified of this error on December 4, 2018 after a patient performed a Google search for their own name and found a file online containing some of their information through UW Medicine visible on the internet. This information contained protected health information that UW Medicine is… Continue Reading

San Francisco Legislation Would Ban the City’s Use of Facial Recognition Technology

Over the last few years, there has been a marked increase in legislation regulating the collection and retention of individuals’ biometric information.  For instance, Illinois, Texas, and Washington have enacted legislation regarding the collection of biometric information, and the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation broadly regulates the collection of biometric data.  In San Francisco, one motivated municipal lawmaker with similar concerns relating to privacy and the disproportionate impact surveillance has had on certain communities proposed a bill that would regulate how the city uses… Continue Reading