On July 14, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission issued warning letters to 28 companies relating to apparent false claims of participation in the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules. … Continue Reading
On July 12, 2016, the EU Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Vera Jourova and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker announced the formal adoption of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework, which is composed of an Adequacy Decision and accompanying Annexes. … Continue Reading
On June 29, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission announced that, to account for inflation, it is increasing the civil penalty maximums for certain violations of the FTC Act effective August 1, 2016. … Continue Reading
On June 22, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it reached a settlement with a mobile advertising company, InMobi, to resolve charges that the company deceptively tracked hundreds of millions of consumers’ locations without their knowledge or consent. Among other requirements, the settlement orders the company to pay 950,000 dollars in civil penalties. … Continue Reading
In a recent video segment from Mimesis Law’s Cy-Pher Executive Roundtable, Lisa Sotto and other privacy professionals discussed the Federal Trade Commission’s jurisdiction in bringing enforcement actions against law firms in a breach event.… Continue Reading
On June 8, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission announced that Practice Fusion, an electronic health records company, agreed to settle FTC charges that the company misled consumers about the privacy of doctor reviews submitted to the company. … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission announced that it will host a workshop on September 15, 2016, "Putting Disclosures to the Test," on the efficacy and costs of consumer disclosures advertising and privacy policies. … Continue Reading
On May 9, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission announced it had issued Orders to File a Special Report to eight mobile device manufacturers requiring them to, for purposes of the FTC's ongoing study of the mobile ecosystem, provide the FTC with "information about how [the companies] issue security updates to address vulnerabilities in smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices."… Continue Reading
On May 4, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission issued a press release announcing its recent settlement with hand-held vaporizers manufacturer Very Incognito Technologies, stemming from charges that the company falsely claimed it had certified under the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Cross-Border Privacy Rules framework.… Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission recently released an interactive tool for mobile health apps. The tool was developed in conjunction with several other federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, and the Food and Drug Administration.… Continue Reading
On April 6, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission endorsed the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s updated guidelines on consumer protection in e-commerce. This blog entry provides highlights on the OECD’s new recommendations. … Continue Reading
In a recent article published by Corporate Counsel, Hunton & Williams partner Lisa Sotto and associate Ryan Logan discuss the privacy and data security-related legal issues that arise in corporate transactions, and provide a how-to guide on addressing those issues during the various stages of a transaction.… Continue Reading
On February 29, 2016, the European Commission issued the legal texts that will implement the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, including a draft adequacy decision of the European Commission, Frequently Asked Questions and a Communication summarizing the steps that have been taken over the last few years to restore trust in transatlantic data flows.… Continue Reading
On February 23, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it reached a settlement with Taiwanese-based hardware manufacturer ASUSTeK Computer, Inc. to resolve claims that the company engaged in unfair and deceptive security practices in connection with developing network routers and cloud storage products sold to consumers in the U.S.… Continue Reading
On January 5, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission announced that dental office management software provider, Henry Schein Practice Solutions, Inc., agreed to settle FTC charges that accused the company of falsely advertising the level of encryption it used to protect patient data.… Continue Reading
On January 6, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission released its report on big data entitled Big Data: A Tool for Inclusion or Exclusion? Understanding the Issues. The report is a compilation of a seminar on alternative scoring products, the discussions at a big data public workshop held on September 15, 2014, and other recent research and public commentary on the issue.… Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission issued enforcement guidance on “native advertising” — ads that purposely are formatted to appear as noncommercial and are integrated into surrounding editorial content. The agency’s guidance took two parts: an Enforcement Policy Statement on deceptively formatted ads, and a Guide for Business on native advertising. Importantly, the FTC notes that its policy statement does not apply just to advertisers but also applies to other parties that help create the content: ad agencies, ad networks and potentially, publishers.… Continue Reading
On December 21, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission announced software company Oracle Corporation has agreed to settle FTC charges that accused the company of misrepresenting the security of its software updates. … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced that LifeLock, Inc., has agreed to pay 100 million USD to settle contempt charges for deceptive advertising.… Continue Reading
On December 17, 2015, the FTC announced a pair of COPPA settlements against operators of child-direct mobile apps available for download in the major app stores. These cases are the FTC’s first COPPA actions involving the collection of persistent identifiers from children since the FTC’s updated COPPA Rule went into effect in 2013.… Continue Reading
On December 9, 2015, the FTC announced that Wyndham Worldwide Corporation settled charges brought by the FTC stemming from allegations that the company unfairly failed to maintain reasonable data security practices.… Continue Reading
As reported in the Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives Blog: On November 2, 2015, a putative class action was filed against retailer Big Lots Stores, Inc. in Philadelphia, stemming from allegations that the company “systematically” violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s (“FCRA’s”) “standalone disclosure requirement” by making prospective employees sign a document used as a … Continue Reading
On November 13, 2015, Chief Administrative Law Judge D. Michael Chappell dismissed the FTC’s complaint against LabMD Inc. for failing to show that LabMD’s allegedly unreasonable data security practices caused, or were likely to cause, substantial consumer injury. … Continue Reading
On November 2, 2015, Hunton & Williams LLP’s Centre for Information Policy Leadership Senior Policy Advisor, Fred H. Cate, moderated an academic panel on The Data Dilemma: A Transatlantic Discussion on Privacy, Security, Innovation, Trade, and the Protection of Personal Data in the 21st Century.… Continue Reading
