{"id":366268,"date":"2026-10-06T21:58:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T21:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/366268\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T21:58:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T21:58:11","slug":"data-privacy-and-cybersecurity-in-the-age-of-ai-attorney-jean-marc-appolon-is-protecting-new-yorkers-sensitive-information","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/366268\/","title":{"rendered":"Data privacy and cybersecurity in the age of AI: Attorney Jean-Marc Appolon is protecting New Yorkers\u2019 sensitive information"},"content":{"rendered":"

Receiving notice that their personal information or online activity<\/a> has been stolen and shared with criminals is many people\u2019s worst nightmare. That\u2019s why attorney Jean-Marc Appolon has dedicated his career to forming a piece of the wall that protects New Yorkers\u2019 sensitive data and information.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Currently a subject matter expert in privacy, cybersecurity, and technology at civil litigation firm Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP<\/a>, Appolon proactively reviews the data privacy practices of companies from the outside \u2013 examining how they\u2019re handling information, testing to see if their stated policies are actually being followed, and analyzing if their conduct is in line with city, state, and federal law.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Based on that work, he then takes legal action against companies if they are improperly or illegally handling people\u2019s personal identifying information. That role has become an increasingly critical one in the ever-advancing digital age, Appolon says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of privacy issues that I find very interesting today because now, we don\u2019t just have to worry about a \u2018peeping tom,\u2019\u201d Appolon said. \u201cWe have to worry about people internet stalking and companies collecting vast amounts of information that\u2019s very personal to you and leveraging that to maximize profit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Appolon works to protect New Yorkers\u2019 digital privacy.Photo provided by Jean-Marc Appolon.<\/p>\n

A material example of the type of work Appolon does includes nabbing a menstrual cycle tracking app for illegally sharing users\u2019 private medical data with unauthorized third parties looking to use that information to direct targeted advertisements to app users or sharing it with other entities that are improperly using, analyzing, and storing it in ways that put people\u2019s privacy at risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If a company is hacked or experiences a data breach that puts people\u2019s private information \u2014 like medical records, credit card numbers, government identification, or other sensitive data \u2014 at risk, Appolon and his firm respond by assessing whether the entity had the proper safeguards in place, whether they were followed, and accounting for what information has been compromised. He and his team also work to uncover whether a company is illegally or improperly tracking and collecting information on what videos a person watches or sites they visit online or other pieces of their digital footprint.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, let\u2019s say you go on a website that has a cookie-sharing policy, and a notice pops up asking, \u2018Do you want your [cookies] information to be shared?\u2019 and if you click no, are they actually not sharing your personal information? That\u2019s what I\u2019m looking for,\u201d Appolon said. \u201cIt\u2019s really using my background in cybersecurity and privacy to find companies that are breaking the law and moving forward with claims against those companies for breaking the law, as well as protecting consumer protection policies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not many attorneys specialize in this specific type of law, Appolon said. He told amNewYork Law he was drawn to it because preventing data and identity theft felt like one of the most pressing issues of the present day, particularly as the growth of artificial intelligence has resulted in an exponential increase in data privacy issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy passion for this first started when I was trying to look at what\u2019s relevant and why it\u2019s important,\u201d Appolon said. \u201cIssues that used to happen in the physical world were happening in the virtual world, for lack of better words. It\u2019s super interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jean-Marc Appolon\u2019s road to law<\/p>\n

Prior to his current position, he provided legal counsel to companies on how to create and enforce strong data privacy protections to prevent breaches and hacks. He\u2019s also worked for the New York State Insurance Fund, where he handled cybersecurity for the state\u2019s workers\u2019 compensation program, making sure people\u2019s information was kept confidential. There, he was also tasked with reviewing and assessing every AI program the state was deploying in his department \u2013 right at the time generative AI was beginning to sprout up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Appolon\u2019s inclination towards dedicating himself to the most pressing, collective-consciousness capturing issues is at the root of what drew him to law in the first place.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was always wanting to be involved in social issues that are relevant to people in general and my immediate community,\u201d Appolon said. \u201cFor example, when you hear about the Constitution and things of that nature as a kid, people talk about it as a big thing and something that\u2019s very important that really sets the standards for America. As a kid, you\u2019re like, \u2018Okay, it was just a piece of paper.\u2019 But, I was curious enough to look into why this document is more important than everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat natural curiosity that led me into law,\u201d he added.
\n\"\"Appolon holding a legal book.Photo provided by Jean-Marc Appolon.\n<\/p>\n

Appolon\u2019s desire to help his community is also what\u2019s led him to dedicate large swaths of his time to the City Bar and pro bono data privacy work for small nonprofits after his day job effectively serving as a data privacy watchdog.<\/p>\n

As the co-chair of the City Bar\u2019s Privacy, Technology and Cybersecurity Committee, Appolon has helped develop a report on AI and student data privacy in the city\u2019s public school system that the City Bar is now in the process of reviewing and submitting to Mayor Zohran Mamdani.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The report \u2013 which involved Appolon and colleagues reviewing and interrogating contracts the city has with vendors whose products are in the school system to determine whether their privacy policies properly protect student data \u2013 includes recommendations for the city\u2019s Department of Education on how to improve its data governance and incident preparedness plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe identified the laws that they need to follow, and then we went in and reviewed the vendors that they contract with, the language for the privacy requirements and the security requirements,\u201d Appolon said. \u201cOne thing that we found is that some of the technology vendors are collecting vast amounts of kids\u2019 personal information.\u201d<\/p>\n

For example, he said, the city was contracting with an electronic hall pass company that was essentially monitoring how long students were in the bathroom. This tracking \u2014 along with grading and gamifying basic student activities \u2014 are things that Appolon\u2019s committee advised against.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were collecting so much information about kids in the city,\u201d Appolon said. \u201cThe New York City public school system \u2013 most public schools \u2013 do not have a stellar record when it comes to protecting that information.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Appolon recently finished a report on data privacy and safety within the city\u2019s school system.Photo provided by Jean-Marc Appolon.<\/p>\n

After his work on the report, Appolon gave testimony in a September City Council hearing focused on the use of AI in public schools<\/a> as an expert on the matter. He said he encourages the city to reconsider the guidance on artificial intelligence and screen time, like the complete prohibition on the use of AI for grading purposes, as well as to provide greater clarity regarding the implementation of screen time recommendations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He believes the jury is still out on whether AI will help or harm student learning, so the school system should implement a limited pilot program for artificial intelligence and grading in order to create an evidence-based approach to creating policy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need a pilot program,\u201d Appolon said. \u201cIt\u2019s so important that the city, the state, and the federal government are not creating policy based on just what we think. We need to create policies based on evidence, and that could only be gathered after doing pilot programs and testing things out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Appolon\u2019s also spent the past three years working with a professor and students from New York Law School \u2013 his alma mater \u2013 to offer free legal support to nonprofits, museums and other small organizations, helping them develop and enforce secure data privacy and protection for their clients and donors that they otherwise wouldn\u2019t be able to afford.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re helping nonprofits get the documents they need to be prepared on knowing how to handle personal information, their clients\u2019 information, or their members\u2019 information, and also knowing how to respond to a cybersecurity attack,\u201d Appolon said. \u201cFor their privacy policy, that basically means setting the terms of how they use people\u2019s personal information, what they collect, how they share it, who they share it with, the list goes on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also help them with [developing] a cybersecurity incident response plan for when things go bad, or if they were to be hacked,\u201d Appolon continued. \u201cThat\u2019s something that\u2019s very important because, as more and more of our lives are being taken online, an incident like that could cost the company. For example, in the case of a nonprofit, if your donor\u2019s personal information is out there, that could cost you the donor no longer donating to your nonprofit if their information has been compromised by your site.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Appolon says he enjoys using his legal degree to give back to his community.Photo provided by Jean-Marc Appolon.<\/p>\n

Appolon said he sees this type of volunteer work as extremely important because it allows him to give something back to organizations that he feels are having a positive impact on the world and ensure they\u2019re able to keep doing their work securely.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to help someone that\u2019s fighting a good fight is something that I think is always net positive,\u201d Appolon said. \u201cIt\u2019s a way for me to give back to the city, and it\u2019s a way for me to really use my knowledge and my position in a way that helps an organization out. And by helping them, I am helping New Yorkers and Americans because I\u2019m trying to make sure that their personal information is safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Appolon said his work on all of these issues is far from over. He sees himself remaining in this type of law long-term \u2013 the need for it is only going to go up as time goes on, technology continues to develop and people\u2019s personal data becomes increasingly more valuable to everyone, including bad actors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis work is important because it\u2019s not if it\u2019s going to happen; it\u2019s when it\u2019s going to happen,\u201d Appolon said of data breaches and identity theft. \u201cThat\u2019s basically the reality of the present time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Receiving notice that their personal information or online activity has been stolen and shared with criminals is many…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":366269,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[66,96752,64871,2710,9,24,63,135654,20090,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-366268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-data-privacy","tag-digital-age","tag-law","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-online-security","tag-profiles","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=366268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/366269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=366268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=366268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=366268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}