Legaltech News Covers Release of Akin CCPA Report, Quotes Practice Leaders Kohne, Reed

In “CCPA Lawsuits Dropped in 2022, but More Litigation—And Enforcement Actions—Are Likely Ahead,” Legaltech News covered the release of Akin’s third annual report analyzing the preceding year in litigation under the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA.

The article notes that, in 2022, the number of CCPA cases dropped significantly compared to previous years, but consumer-driven CCPA litigation is not cooling down, according to the Akin report it cites.

Legaltech News quoted Akin cybersecurity, privacy & data protection practice co-heads Natasha Kohne and Michelle Reed extensively in this article. Following are a few highlights:

• The dramatic drop in CCPA cases from non-data breach causes: “I think that’s a very significant statistic. The lesson is that we do not think that CCPA litigation is declining, it’s just that the quality of the cases arguably are increasing.” (Natasha)
• Multiple sources for enforcement actions: “Between those two different remedies, the private cause of action and the California attorney general enforcement, companies can face liability for any part of their violation now, particularly in California.” (Michelle)
• The importance of data minimization: “If you minimize your data, you’re less likely to have one of these bigger breaches. If you minimize the types of sensitive data, so if you’re storing Social Security numbers or something similar, that’s also where you see a lot of activity, even in the smaller breaches because those are much more likely to withstand a motion to dismiss for lack of standing.” (Michelle)
• The impact of clarity around private right of action: “Courts really clamped down on that and narrowed the interpretation of a private right of action pretty quickly and a lot of these cases where there was no data breach stemming from the allegations were dismissed.” (Natasha)

To download the full report, click here.

To read the full article, click here.