Tag Archives: FTC

D.C. Amends Data Breach Notification Law, Adds Security Requirements

By Julia Kadish on May 14, 2020 Posted in Data Breach, FTC

At the end of March, Washington, D.C. signed the Security Breach Protection Amendment Act of 2019, which adds some significant changes to D.C.’s existing data breach law, first enacted in 2007. The law is projected to take effect by June 13, 2020. Some of the major changes are summarized below.… Continue Reading

FTC Provides Direction on AI Technology

By Jonathan E. Meyer and Liisa Thomas on May 5, 2020 Posted in Consumer Privacy, FTC

The FTC recently issued comments on how companies can use artificial intelligence tools without engaging in deceptive or unfair trade practices or running afoul of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The FTC pointed to enforcement it has brought in this area, and recommended that companies keep in mind four key principles when using AI tools. … Continue Reading

FTC Releases 2019 Privacy and Security Year in Review

By Julia Kadish on March 4, 2020 Posted in Consumer Privacy, COPPA, FTC, Online Privacy

The FTC recently released its annual privacy and security report, providing a snapshot of the issues focused on in the previous year. These reports are often looked at as a signal for insights into the agency’s upcoming priorities. Generally, the report contains a summary of the FTC’s enforcement, advocacy, and rulemaking actions from 2019, a … Continue Reading

FTC Outlines Expected Privacy Program Elements in BLU Settlement

By Liisa Thomas on June 22, 2018 Posted in Consumer Privacy, Data Security, FTC, Mobile Privacy

The FTC recently settled with the mobile phone company BLU Products, Inc., over allegations that the company was letting one of its vendors pull extensive and detailed personal information off of users’ phones. According to the FTC, BLU phones were pre-loaded with firmware updating tools made by ADUPS Technology. ADUPS, through its software, was then … Continue Reading

FTC / DAA Extend Data Privacy Focus to Cross-Device Tracking

By Sheppard Mullin on February 6, 2017 Posted in Advertising, Privacy, Privacy and Data Security

Enforcement of the Digital Advertising Alliance “Application of the Principles of Transparency and Control to Data Used Across Devices” (DAA Cross-Device Principles) officially began on February 1, just a week after the FTC issued a staff report discussing the application of the FTC Online Behavioral Advertising Principles in the context of “Cross Device Tracking” and … Continue Reading

FCC Issues New Privacy Rules for Internet Service Providers: Safeguarding Consumers or Lulling Them Into A False Sense of Privacy?

By Jonathan E. Meyer, Aaron George, Carrie Ross and Megan Grant on November 1, 2016 Posted in Cybersecurity, Privacy

Last Thursday, in a vote split along party lines, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) approved a new regulatory regime staking its claim to privacy regulation of both fixed and mobile Internet service providers (“ISPs”) like Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T. The FCC’s rules follow its decision in the Open Internet Order, released last year and analyzed … Continue Reading

No Protection for Network Marketing Provider That Had Knowledge and Authority to Control Deceptive Conduct of Affiliates

By James Chadwick on October 14, 2016 Posted in Advertising

In Federal Trade Commission v. LeadClick Media, LLC, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 17383 (2nd Cir. 2016), the Second Circuit recently held that an affiliate marketing network provider could be subjected to liability under the Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTC Act”) for deceptive marketing materials published by the affiliates. It also concluded that Section 230 of … Continue Reading

Is Your Company’s Social Media Launch Ahead Of Its Compliance Program

By Sheppard Mullin on May 17, 2011 Posted in Marketing, Privacy, Social Media

Many businesses are still coasting along enjoying the marketing advantages of social media without making sure they have a good compliance program in place. For every company with a Facebook fan page or Twitter account roughly 65 percent would admit they do not have a social media policy. For companies with a social media policy, … Continue Reading

The Federal Trade Commission’s Proposed Framework For Consumer Privacy Protection – The Basics

By Sheppard Mullin on December 14, 2010 Posted in Advertising, Consumer Protection, Privacy

The preliminary Staff Report issued by the FTC earlier this month is the most aggressive effort by the FTC to date on the issue of online and mobile privacy generally. The preliminary Staff Report proposes a “do not track” mechanism along with an overall online privacy framework that would rigidly regulate how information is collected … Continue Reading