University Cyber Law Assignment: PA and CA States Comparison

This assignment provides a comparative analysis of the information security laws in Pennsylvania and California. It begins by outlining the key features of Pennsylvania's IT laws, including the Breach of Personal Information Notification Act (BPINA) and the Social Security Number Privacy Act, highlighting their focus on protecting personal data and addressing data breaches. The assignment then explores California's IT laws, emphasizing the role of businesses in managing Personally Identifiable Information (PII), the importance of data breach notification, and the specific regulations related to consumer data, children's online privacy, and e-reader privacy. The comparison section contrasts the approaches of the two states, noting Pennsylvania's complex web of general and industry-specific laws and California's broader focus on consumer privacy and protection. The assignment also references relevant codes and acts from both states, providing a comprehensive overview of their respective cyber law landscapes.

University
Information Security Laws
Comparison between Laws of Pennsylvania and California
Student Credentials
10/29/2019
This assignment discusses the Information Security laws of two main states in United States,
Pennsylvania and California. The summary of laws of both states and comparison between them is
analyzed below.

Cyber Laws 1
Information Technology Laws of Pennsylvania
The state of Pennsylvania has information technology based laws that focus mainly on the
privacy policy statements that are untrue and deceiving in nature published on websites or the
ones that are distributed in the business practices statute. The state of Pennsylvania has two
major online laws that it focuses on:
1. Breach of Personal Information Notification Act (BPINA): The BPINA
incorporated in 2005. According to this Act, the Personal Information (as defined
under this act) shall be protected by the businesses using them. In case of any breach
by any hacker or any other unwelcomed party, the businesses and the third party
providers have to notify the users regarding the breach of their personal information.
The residents can also go ahead and take legal action against such a business that
neglects their duty to inform the users about the same as they consider it as a
misleading trade practice (Bernstein, 2005).
2. Social Security Number Privacy Act: This Act came into existence in 2006 in order
to reduce the harm caused due to the breach of data. This Act was introduced so that
the residents instead of providing the Social Security Number directly could provide
alternates. This way the Social Security Numbers could be protected from any
security breach (Lear & Reynolds, 2003).
Information Technology Laws of California
The regulations and rules related to security of data, in California are administered by
the businesses or people who collect and maintain Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
and the third party contractors as well. The basic idea behind all legislations regarding data
breach is to prevent any breach at first and secondly, to provide the information regarding any

Cyber Laws 2
such information breach and details related to same, as soon as possible to the victims.
Disposal method according to this State’s law includes erasure and shredding.
California’s privacy specific laws are used widely through United States which do not
just deal with websites and online services but also relate with consumer data, do not track, e-
reader privacy and also children’s online privacy. California’s laws regarding data are usage
specific and the companies have to especially inform the consumers regarding the data they
share and how it is being used or will be used in future, which the consumers can opt out of if
they wish to.
Limits regarding usage of content or advertisements which children see or access is
maintained by the Child Online Privacy Rules of California (Kelly & Rowland, 2000).
Similarly, the E-Reader Privacy laws protect the information linked with consumer such as
the search records, content of library records and as such in order to maintain privacy of the
customer (Proia, 2013).
Some of the specific codes that specify and help regulation of the Information
Technology laws include, California Business and Professions Code Section 22575
(California Legislative Information, 2019), California Business and Profession Code Section
22575-22578 (CalOPPA) and California Education Code Section 99122 (California
Legislative Information, 2019).
Comparison
The Information Technology Laws in both Pennsylvania and California deal with a
general idea of protecting residents from any specific data breach or IT related frauds. But the
way they deal with such Information Technology related issues are quite different. The
businesses of Pennsylvania have a mind boggling arrangement of general and industry-

Cyber Laws 3
explicit government laws that may apply to organizations that manage Information
Technology. Also, even those government laws have Pennsylvania-explicit changes. For
instance, the government Third Circuit covering Pennsylvania right now perceives that the
FTC may manage information breaks as "out of line and tricky" exchange rehearses.
Different states, considerably under government law, probably won't have such necessities
causing disarray. Exceptional information detailing might be required in therapeutic and
banking information ruptures or in different businesses. An information rupture may likewise
trigger legally binding, proficient licensure, or merchant commitments (requiring warning of
temporary workers or subcontractors).
While, the Californian law related to IT focuses on not just the business related usage
of people but also restricts the children, their education and their online privacy. Business and
Profession also constitute as a very important part of California law. Consumer Privacy Act,
California Education Code, California Business and Profession Code and E-reader privacy
Laws are a few to name.

Cyber Laws 4
Bibliography
Bernstein, L. (2005). Pennsylvania enacts the breach of personal information notification act.
Widener Law Journal, 15, 335.
California Legislative Information. (2019). BPC- CHAPTER 22. Internet Privacy
Requirements [22575 - 22579] . Retrieved October 29, 2019, from California
Legislative Information:
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?
sectionNum=22575&lawCode=BPC
California Legislative Information. (2019). EDC- CHAPTER 2.5. Social Media Privacy
[99120 - 99122]. Retrieved October 29, 2019, from California Legislative
Information : https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?
lawCode=EDC&division=14.&title=3.&part=65.&chapter=2.5.&article=
Kelly, E., & Rowland, H. (2000). Ethical and online privacy issues in electronic commerce.
Business Horizons, 43(3), 3.
Lear, R., & Reynolds, J. (2003). Your social security number or your life: Disclosure of
personal identification information by military personnel and the compromise of
privacy and national security. Boston University International Law Journal, 21, 1.
Proia, A. (2013). A new approach to digital reader privacy: state regulations and their
protection of digital book data. Indiana Law Journal, 88, 1593.