New York’s Attorney General Letitia James recently secured a $1.9 million settlement from online retailer Zoetop Business Company, Ltd. to settle allegations that Zoetop had improperly handled a 2018 data breach and subsequent consumer notification. The scrutiny given to Zoetop provides insights into the NYAG’s expectations around breach investigations and response.
Continue Reading Lessons From New York AG Scrutiny of Breach Investigation and Response
The White House recently released its Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights in an effort to guide the discussion on the design, use and deployment of AI in systems that impact the American public. The Blueprint outlines the following five guiding principles:
The FTC recently took action against the online alcohol marketplace company Drizly and its CEO for alleged security failures. The case arose from a 2018 data breach which was caused – according to the FTC – by poor security measures stemming from the company’s alleged failure to devote sufficient resources or attention to data security.
Continue Reading FTC Action Against Drizly and CEO Provides Insight Into Its Security Expectations
In a recent settlement with the New York Department of Financial Services, EyeMed Vision Care LLC agreed to pay a $4.5 million penalty and undertake remedial measures to increase its cybersecurity. This includes undertaking an action plan based on a comprehensive risk assessment, subject to the review and approval of NYFSD.
Continue Reading NYDFS’s $4.5 Million EyeMed Cyber Settlement Reminder To Industry
The White House recently hosted a group of industry and government partners to discuss the development and implementation of an Internet of Things (IoT) labeling program. This program would develop a common label to help consumers easily recognize which devices meet the highest cybersecurity standards to protect against vulnerabilities.
Continue Reading White House Aims for Spring 2023 Rollout of Internet of Things Labeling Program
On October 18, the CFPB sued a software company for utilizing their online payment platform to enroll unknowing consumers into annual subscriptions through deceptive acts and “dark pattern” techniques in violation of the CFPA and EFTA. Among other things, the complaint alleges that the company encouraged consumers to unknowingly enroll in free trials and converted the free trials into annual subscriptions through a “negative option” renewal policy (our sister blog covered “negative option” marketing in a previous post here). During this process, the company allegedly collected consumers’ registration information and consumer payments data (e.g., credit or debit card number) so that it could transmit the consumer payments data through its payments systems.
Continue Reading CFPB Sues Payment Platform Over Dark Patterns
The ICO, Britain’s privacy authority, recently issued reprimands to seven organizations citing multiple failures of the organizations to respond to data subject access requests either within the statutory time frame
Continue Reading UK Reprimands Companies For Failing to Keep Up with Access Requests
Companies who participate in the AdTech and digital advertising eco-system are very familiar with the Interactive Advertising Bureau and its form advertiser agreements. Those agreements can help streamline negotiations, presenting the parties with, essentially, a pre-negotiated approach to common issues. When CCPA was passed, IAB updated its form to address that law and address consumer notice and consent. With the upcoming laws in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah and Vermont, the document is now outdated.
The talk of “opt-out preference signals” or global privacy controls (GPC) has been increasing as companies dig into the forthcoming requirements under US “comprehensive” privacy laws. What is an opt-out preference signal? An “opt-out preference signal” also known colloquially as ”GPC,” is a signal sent by a platform or technology on behalf of a consumer that communicates the consumer’s choice to opt out of sale or sharing. Below, we summarize how each of the states treats this requirement.
Continue Reading Comparing and Contrasting the Opt Out Preference Signal Across States
With 2023 quickly approaching, many are spending this final quarter preparing for the five US state “comprehensive” privacy laws. Some of these contemplate clarifying regulations with technical and operational requirements. Requirements that will impact preparation activities.
Continue Reading State Comprehensive Privacy Laws: Status of the Regulations
President Biden signed a new executive order on Friday, with a framework that seeks to replace the existing Privacy Shield program. That program was found to be an invalid mechanism for transferring personal data between the EU and the US in 2020 (the Schrems II decision). Since then, companies have struggled to establish an appropriate mechanism for transfer of information from the EU to the US.
Continue Reading EU To Review New EU-US Data Transfers Framework