How private is your cell phone? Smartphones provide all kinds of information that advertisers might find useful, including the user’s locations throughout the day. While this information is aggregated and anonymized—excluding names and other identifiers—it’s possible that hackers or other malevolent actors could gain access to a user’s raw data.…
Articles Posted in Business
Pandemic Survival Tips for Small Business Owners
The Key to Surviving as a Small Business How can your business – and you – survive the COVID-19 pandemic? It’s a tall order. But small business owners have means of surviving. The corollary shutdowns have impacted 20% of small businesses, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and restrictions…
Entrepreneurs Should Examine Page Views for New Business Concept
Entrepreneurial Business Concepts Companies like GE, Disney and HP got their start during the Great Depression, while Airbnb, Uber, Slack and Venmo launched in cyberspace during the Great Recession. Taboola’s analysis of more than 8 billion page views, along with data from the aggregated readership among 1,000 of its publisher…
Businesses Should Re-examine Cyber Insurance Coverage due to COVID-19
Cyber Security Insurance UPDATED AUGUST 23, 2020 – A federal judge in Kansas has ruled that three Missouri restaurants can proceed with their claims against Cincinnati Insurance Company alleging that the policies also covered “physical loss,” which the insurers failed to define in the policies. The insurance company’s argument is…
4th Amendment Protections for Digital Data Have Remained Modest
The Supreme Court decided two years ago in Carpenter v. United States that the Fourth Amendment requires police to obtain a warrant, in most circumstances, to access GPS location information spanning seven days or more from a cell phone user. Prior to that decision, the court had held that voluntarily…
New Illinois Law Says Essential Workers Can Claim Workers’ Comp for COVID-19
Workman’s Comp for Essential Workers An emergency rule promulgated in April by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission gave certain classes of “essential” workers the ability to claim COVID-19 as an occupational disease vis-à-vis the ability to collect workers compensation. This is a change that every Illinois business should be aware…
Suggested COVID-Related Health, Safety Regs for Business Owners
Health and Safety Regulations On June 24, Virginia became the first state in the country to implement workplace health and safety rules to protect workers from coronavirus infections. Could Illinois be next? Whatever happens, these actions should serve as an example of what every business should do. Virginia’s health…
How Can Your Business Reopen Safely—On All Fronts?
Small Businesses Reopening As of today June 26, Illinois has reached Stage 4 of coronavirus reopening, which allows essentially all types of businesses to reopen provided they observe public health safety guidance and capacity limits, with no more than 50 people allowed in one place. What does this mean for…
Tea Leaves Starting to Sprout for COVID’s Impact on Employment Law
How concerned should small businesses be about wrongful discharge lawsuits from plaintiffs terminated after alleging publicly that their employer did not follow health and safety guidelines to combat the spread of COVID-19? The first clues may emerge from one of the first employment lawsuits related to the pandemic, filed in…
Could Reopening Businesses Be Held Liable for COVID-19 Infections?
CoronaVirus FAQs Business owners are anxious to reopen their doors and revive their sales. But there are concerns that the proper precautions be taken to protect their employees and customers, at a time when no treatment or vaccine for COVID-19 appears imminent. As governors and mayors begin to ease restrictions…