On May 16, 2017, the Governor of the State of Washington, Jay Inslee, signed into law House Bill 1493, which sets forth requirements for businesses who collect and use biometric identifiers for commercial purposes. The law will become effective on July 23, 2017. Washington becomes the third state to pass legislation regulating the commercial use of biometric identifiers.… Continue Reading
On October 3, 2016, the Texas Attorney General announced a $30,000 settlement with mobile app developer Juxta Labs stemming from allegations that the company engaged in deceptive practices regarding its collection of personal information from children.… Continue Reading
On August 25, 2016, WhatsApp announced in a blog post that the popular mobile messaging platform has updated its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy to permit certain information sharing with Facebook. … Continue Reading
On December 27, 2015, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China published the P.R.C. Anti-Terrorism Law. The law was enacted in response to a perceived growing threat from extremists and terrorists, particularly in regions in Western China, and came into effect on January 1, 2016.… Continue Reading
On October 15 and 16, 2015, Hunton & Williams is pleased to sponsor PDP’s 14th Annual Data Protection Compliance Conference in London. This blog entry provides a link to register for the conference.… Continue Reading
Delaware Governor Jack Markell recently signed four bills into law concerning online privacy. The bills, drafted by the Delaware Attorney General, focus on protecting the privacy of website and mobile app users, children, students and crime victims.… Continue Reading
Recent class actions filed against Facebook and Shutterfly are the first cases to test an Illinois law that requires consent before biometric information may be captured for commercial purposes. Although the cases focus on biometric capture activities primarily in the social-media realm, these cases and the Illinois law at issue have ramifications for any business … Continue Reading
On June 9, 2015, Max Schrems tweeted that the advocate general of the European Court of Justice will delay his opinion in Europe v. Facebook, a case challenging the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Framework.… Continue Reading
On May 13, 2015, the Belgian Data Protection Authority published a recommendation addressing Facebook’s social plug-in practices. The Recommendation stems from the recent discussions between the Belgian Data Protection Authority and Facebook regarding its privacy policy and the tracking of Internet activities.… Continue Reading
On May 11, 2015, the French Data Protection Authority announced that it will participate, along with 28 other data protection authorities in the Global Privacy Enforcement Network, in a joint online audit to assess whether websites directed toward children comply with global privacy laws.… Continue Reading
On January 1, 2015, Finland's Information Security Code became effective. The new law extends the security and confidentiality provisions traditionally associated with telecoms providers to providers of online communications services.… Continue Reading
On January 14, 2015, the data protection authority of the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein issued an appeal challenging a September 4, 2014 decision by the Administrative Court of Appeals, which held that companies using Facebook’s fan pages cannot be held responsible for data protection law violations committed by Facebook because the companies do not have any control over the use of the data. … Continue Reading
As reported in the Hunton Employment and Labor Perspectives Blog, in Purple Communications, Inc., a divided National Labor Relations Board held that employees have the right to use their employers' email systems for statutorily protected communications, including self-organization and other terms and conditions of employment, during non-working time.… Continue Reading
On September 30, 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown announced the recent signings of several bills that provide increased privacy protections to California residents. These bills are aimed at protecting student privacy, increasing consumer protection in the wake of a data breach, and expanding the scope of California's invasion of privacy and revenge porn laws.… Continue Reading
Hunton and Williams' Corporate Governance team reports on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new guidance concerning the use of social media in certain securities offerings, business combinations and proxy contests. This blog post includes a link to a PDF version of the team’s client alert on this topic.… Continue Reading
On April 10, 2014, the FTC announced that the Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection had notified Facebook and WhatsApp, reminding both companies of their obligation to honor privacy statements made to consumers in connection with Facebook's proposed acquisition of WhatsApp.… Continue Reading
On March 28, 2014, the 87th Conference of the German Data Protection Commissioners concluded in Hamburg. This blog post provides an overview of several key resolutions adopted during the Conference.… Continue Reading
Join us in New York City on May 19-20, 2014, for the Privacy, Policy & Technology Summit – A High Level Briefing for Today’s Top Privacy Executives. Lisa Sotto, partner and head of the Global Privacy and Cybersecurity practice at Hunton & Williams LLP will be a featured speaker at the session on “Cybersecurity: Insider … Continue Reading
On December 16, 2013, the French Data Protection Authority released practical guidance on how to obtain consent for the use of cookies and similar technologies in compliance with EU and French data protection requirements.… Continue Reading
On October 22, 2013, the Federal Trade Commission announced a proposed settlement with Aaron's, Inc. stemming from allegations that it knowingly assisted its franchisees in spying on consumers.… Continue Reading
As reported in the Hunton Employment and Labor Perspectives Blog, a federal district court in New Jersey recently ruled that non-public Facebook wall posts are protected under the Stored Communications Act. This blog post outlines the court's analysis of the relevant SCA provisions and exceptions applicable to the case.… Continue Reading
On September 5, 2013, Pew Research Center released a report detailing the results of a new survey that questioned Internet and smartphone users in the United States about anonymity, privacy and security online. This blog entry provides a brief summary of the survey results and includes a link to the full report.… Continue Reading
On August 26, 2013, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California approved a settlement with Facebook related to the company’s alleged misappropriation of certain Facebook members’ personal information in connection with its Sponsored Stories program.… Continue Reading
As reported by Bloomberg BNA, the Irish Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has stated that it will not investigate complaints relating to the alleged involvement of Facebook Ireland Inc. and Apple Distribution International in the PRISM surveillance program.… Continue Reading
