AI-enabled mental health tools are moving quickly from novelty to mainstream use, and regulators are starting to draw sharper lines around what those tools can and cannot claim to do. Recent lawsuits against Character Technologies Inc.,  the company behind Character.ai, allege that the platform hosted bots that mimicked licensed therapists, including one persona that allegedly…

Recent privacy litigation against Shopify and the NBA highlights a shared theme: companies may face risk not only for what their websites say about privacy choices, but for how embedded technologies actually collect data behind the scenes.

In the Shopify case, a California federal court refused to dismiss claims alleging that Shopify collected California consumers’…

A recent decision from a federal district court in Virginia adds to the growing body of Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation over whether its “Do Not Call” protections apply to marketing texts sent to cell phones. In McGonigle v. Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., No. 1:25-cv-01062, 2026 WL 2114507 (E.D. Va. July 22, 2026),…

On July 20, 2026, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed SB 992, updating and expanding Pennsylvania’s Telemarketer Registration Act of 1996 and strengthening restrictions on unwanted telemarketing communications. The law reflects that telemarketing is no longer limited to live calls and that texts, prerecorded messages, and other automated tools are increasingly reaching consumers and businesses…

A recent Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) article reports that companies that make wearable trackers, whether for fitness or health, “are behind the times when it comes to basic privacy practices and transparency” and urges those companies to “improve those practices.”

The article, Most Smart Watches, Rings, and Bands Lack Basic Transparency Reports and Key Privacy …

The White House is moving closer to a voluntary framework under which AI companies would submit their most advanced models to the federal government before public release. The White House’s Office of the National Cyber Director reportedly circulated the draft framework by to OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, and those companies jointly submitted edits. Although the review…

Sony smart TV owners have voluntarily dropped their proposed class action against Samba TV, an analytics company accused of collecting and selling television-viewing information to third-party advertisers in violation of state and federal privacy laws. DellaSalla v. Samba TV, Inc., No. 3:25-cv-03470 (N.D. Cal. 7/23/26).The dismissal came after the federal court had already allowed several…

Over 30 individual Minnesota water and wastewater treatment facilities were simultaneously hit with a cyber-attack from an unknown source on July 26 and 27, 2026. The coordinated attack targeted the utilities’ operational technology systems and caused some affected communities to request that residents minimize water use due to limited stored water. Other communities experienced equipment…

This article was co-authored by Labor + Employment group lawyer, Christopher Costain.

Workplace issues can arise quickly and take many forms, from complaints of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and bullying to policy and compliance violations related to workplace safety or other employee misconduct. In the post-#MeToo era, it is critically important for employers to be…