Event Recap on Data Privacy: The Law for Technology Executives

In Headstorm’s inaugural event for 2019, we had an outstanding set of speakers in Kathryne “Kate” M. Morris and Charles M. Hosch, two top privacy and technology lawyers in Dallas. The topic was about data privacy and what the law means for technology executives.

The interactive conversation started with an overview of current and pending laws. However, the speakers made the topic accessible to the audience by discussing the reasons for development of the laws and what it means for American business, especially those of us responsible for building and managing technology systems.

Mr. Hosch relayed the story of how Europe reacted to the fall of the Berlin wall and eventually unearthing all the documents that were held by the secret police forces. In astonishment of what was recorded, Europe responded by enshrining the idea that their personal information as a fundamental right to be protected against unauthorized use by government and private business. Ultimately, this has led to the GDPR (General Data Protective Regulation) which now covers all personally identifiable information of European citizens. As noted by Mr. Hosch, Europe has taken an aggressive stance while the United States is still grappling with the appropriate policy.

In contrast to Europe, Ms. Morris highlighted how the United States has historically regulated privacy as a sector-by-sector consideration in laws such as HIPAA, GLBA, and others. However, the new California law (CCPA or California Consumer Privacy Act) will bring GDPR-type regulations for California citizens, regardless of industry. She discussed that, at the Federal level, there is a chance we may see regulation there as well that mimics California or Europe, but that is just speculative at this time.

Our participants were able to ask several great questions which ended in some stimulating conversations. Some interesting conversations included:

• The difference between data privacy and data security
• Changing from opt-out to opt-in
• Getting ahead of new regulations by implementing privacy-by-design
• Where technologists should lead and where they should call in legal help
• The tension between collecting data for future analysis vs. clarifying how any such data is intended to be used at the point of collection

In addition, the meeting provided the opportunity for networking and a nice lunch served at Lawry’s prime rib restaurant.

This event is part of Headstorm's seminal series impacting technology executives across the metroplex. Unlike other meetings, our goal is to have an experiential event where you not only learn but participate by contributing your own experience and respond to real-world situations you may encounter in the course of your career.