Have you thought about or bolstered your cybersecurity lately? Because while government agencies, corporations and banks might be the top targets of would-be cyber attackers, small businesses need to make sure they’re protected, too, lest hackers succeed in their attempts to intrude and, in some form or fashion, monetize their…
Chicago Business Attorney Blog
Illinois Biometric Law Keeping the Courts Busy
The Biometric Information Privacy Act, which the Illinois legislature passed in 2008, has led to a barrage of class action lawsuits in the past six months. Thought to be the nation’s most stringent law protecting biometric identifiers—which include fingerprints, iris or face scans, and voice identification—BIPA has spurred about 30…
Got Customers in the Europe? Better Get Familiar with GDPR!
Small business owners with customers based in the European Union will want to circle May 25 on their calendars. That’s the date that the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) goes into effect, significantly impacting enterprise cybersecurity and data governance policies and practices among organizations that handle data on EU…
Alternative Dispute Resolution Goes Online
The growth of e-commerce and the resulting physical distance between parties in various transactions, along with advances in technology more broadly, have helped lead to the rise of online dispute resolution, a digital offshoot of traditional alternative dispute resolution that provides greater efficiency and convenience to the parties involved. While…
Is Facial Recognition Technology an Invasion of Privacy?
The burgeoning science of biometrics both excites and unnerves people, the subject of both a razzle-dazzle upgrade in the new iPhone X and a growing body of privacy-related litigation in Illinois stemming from the 2008 passage of the Biometric Information Privacy Act. That law requires companies using biometric data—which includes…
Small Businesses Should Shy Away from Bitcoin
Should your small business be dealing in the online currencies (“cryptocurrencies”) like Bitcoin? What are they, anyway, and what are the risks and benefits? Bitcoin is what’s known as a “cryptocurrency,” a digital coin that buyers and sellers of goods and services can use to undertake transactions over the Internet…
Holiday Cheer Could Lead to a Harassment Hangover
It’s the holiday season: time for small businesses to plan their annual parties and give employees a chance to celebrate, unwind and get to know one another better, right? The correct answer is yes, but. But you need to make sure that employees understand they are still at a work-related…
What Does ‘Net Neutrality’ Mean to Small Businesses?
The Federal Communications Commission will vote December 14 on whether to repeal so-called “net neutrality” rules. Those in favor of the current rules, established in 2015, say this would mean a playing field tilted toward those with money to pay Internet service providers for rapid content delivery speeds, giving them…
Facial Recognition creates Privacy Concerns
The new iPhone X uses facial recognition instead of a thumb print. That is cool, right? Not so fast. Facial recognition software is just one of a group of metrics that is referred to biometrics, which includes facial scans, fingerprints and iris scans and all verification or identification data excluding…
Illinois prohibits Non-Compete Agreements for Low Pay Employees
Under a new Illinois law, non-compete agreements must be premised on a legitimate business interest and narrowly tailored in terms of time, activity, and place. In addition, under the newly enacted Illinois Freedom to Work Act, employers are prohibited from entering into non-competes with employees who make less than $13/hour.…