Photo of Petrina McDaniel

Petrina McDaniel

Czarina of TCPAWorld, Petrina has built a nationally-recognized TCPA defense litigation practice, and regularly serves as lead counsel in individual and class action litigation across the country. Petrina’s TCPA practice spans over 13 years and clients look to her for subject matter leadership and creativity to ensure compliance under the statute, with an eye towards litigation avoidance. Petrina also defends, counsels, and represents clients relating to a myriad of consumer privacy statutes, including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the CAN-SPAM Act, and a patchwork of other federal privacy statutes and their state analogs. In addition to her defense litigation practice, Petrina creates consumer-facing marketing strategies to comply with federal regulations promulgated by the FCC and the FTC, and provides strategic compliance related to state and federal privacy statutes.

Petrina is a frequent author and speaker on the TCPA and consumer privacy trends, and often conducts client trainings on these topics.

View full website bio.

Contact: Read more about Petrina McDaniel

Thanks to our Summer Associate, Maya Thomas, for her work on this timely blog.

2021 saw creative plaintiff attorneys initiating a string of class action lawsuits alleging that sessions replay software violated state wiretap acts— notably in California and Florida.

While decisions out of Florida led many to believe these types of cases were dying …

Last year, the California legislature enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”), which imposes key data privacy requirements on businesses collecting or storing data about California residents.  The CCPA provides for civil penalties imposed by the California Attorney General (“AG”) and creates a private right of action for those residents impacted by a data breach.  While the CCPA does not go into effect until January 1, 2020, businesses that will likely be subject to the new law have been busy evaluating compliance measures, as the window between enactment and implementation is quickly closing.

Almost 30 years ago, the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (the “TCPA”) was likewise implemented to protect consumers when enacted in 1991, but the law was focused on public concern with telemarketing communications at the time.  The amount of litigation, and the number of class actions, under the TCPA has grown exponentially since then, with the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform reporting a 1,272% increase in TCPA lawsuits from 2010 to 2016.
Continue Reading Will the CCPA be the New TCPA for Plaintiffs?

On May 8, Georgia governor Nathan Deal vetoed Senate Bill 315, a proposed cybersecurity law imposing penalties of up to one year in jail and a $5,000 fine for “unauthorized computer access.”  In his veto, Governor Deal expressly cited concerns with the “national security implications” of the bill.  He noted the it could “inadvertently hinder the ability of government and private industries” to protect against cybersecurity breaches.
Continue Reading Cybersecurity Bill Vetoed in Georgia

With no central federal data breach law, states have taken the reins, passing an increasing number of laws that require both the protection of citizens’ private data and prompt notice of any breach of that privacy.  Governors in the last two holdout states, South Dakota and Alabama, recently signed bills to enact laws governing data breaches.  Now, all 50 states (plus D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands) have passed data breach notification laws.
Continue Reading Data Breach Laws on the Books in Every State; Federal Data Breach Law Hangs in the Balance