Haul out the holly, fill up the stockings, even though it’s just one week past Thanksgiving day….. Rather than look back at 2013, next week the Privacy & Security blog will count down The 12 Days of Privacy, looking ahead to what we might expect in 2014. The editor’s muse for this series… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Federal Trade Commission
Privacy Monday – August 26, 2013
Posted in Privacy MondayAs the summer winds down, we find that privacy and security issues remain at the top of mind for companies, hackers, and regulators alike. EMPLOYEE PERSONAL INFORMATION EXPOSED AT FED Bloomberg is reporting today on a large-scale exposure of the personal information of every employee of the Federal Reserve Bank. According to the article, a… Continue Reading
You Can Have a Say on a New Mechanism for Obtaining Verifiable Parental Consent under the COPPA Rule
Posted in Children, Federal Trade Commission, Privacy RegulationWritten by Julia Siripurapu, CIPP Yesterday, the FTC published a Federal Register notice requesting public comment on the first new method for obtaining verifiable parental consent submitted for FTC approval by AssertID, Inc under the Voluntary Commission Approval Process provision of the COPPA Rule. The FTC is particularly interested in receiving comments on the questions… Continue Reading
War of Words Regarding Implementation of Amendments to COPPA – UPDATE
Posted in Children, Federal Trade Commission, Privacy RegulationUPDATE — The Federal Trade Commission has published its promised COPPA FAQs here. Volley #1 – Trade Associations to FTC: Please Delay! The long-awaited amendments to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) have been the subject of much discussion and debate. Last week, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Edith Ramirez received letters… Continue Reading
FTC Staff Report Shines a Light on the Treacherous Road Ahead for Mobile Payments
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, Privacy Regulation, SecurityWritten by Jake Romero Perhaps we are being cynical, but if we imagine the current conversation between consumers and the makers of mobile payment applications, it would be something along the lines of: Mobile Payment Industry: “Hello Consumer, would you like to start using your mobile device to transmit payments and make purchases?” Consumer: “Thank… Continue Reading
#3 in our 2013 Issues Series: Privacy of Mobile Applications
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, Privacy Litigation, Privacy RegulationAs we continue our “new year, new look” series into important privacy issues for 2013, we boldly predict: Regulatory Scrutiny of Data Collection and Use Practices of Mobile Apps Will Increase in 2013 Mobile apps are becoming a ubiquitous part of the everyday technology experience. But, consumer apprehension over data collection and their personal privacy… Continue Reading
Nickelodeon Target of Privacy Complaint; Final COPPA Amendments to be Released Tomorrow
Posted in Children, Privacy RegulationWritten by Amy Malone The Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) filed a complaint yesterday asking the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by Nickelodeon and mobile app-maker PlayFirst. The CDD alleges that the mobile game SpongeBob Diner Dash collects personal information about children, including full names,… Continue Reading
Survey Says: Consumers Confused about Online Tracking
Posted in Privacy RegulationWritten by Amy Malone Amid the chatter regarding the elections, the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology recently released a report on Americans’ views of “Do Not Track”. They found that 87% of the 1,200 people surveyed had never heard of Do Not Track. The Do Not Track regulations that privacy groups began advocating for over… Continue Reading
Federal Trade Commission Turns an Eye to Facial Recognition
Posted in Privacy RegulationWritten by Amy Malone This week the Federal Trade Commission released a best practices guide that outlines how companies using facial recognition can protect consumer privacy. The Commission continued to push the “privacy by design” model that it first promoted in its March 2012 report, “Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change.” The… Continue Reading
FCC Adopts Rules Requiring Written Consent for Telemarketing “Robocalls”
Posted in Privacy Regulation, UncategorizedWritten by Ernie Cooper The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has adopted new rules that require companies to obtain prior express written consent from consumers before calling them with prerecorded telemarketing “robocalls.” For the most part, the new robocall rules adopted by the FCC simply mirror similar rules adopted by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) in… Continue Reading
FTC: Facebook “Deceived” Consumers by Failing to Keep Privacy Promises
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, Legislation“Facebook is obligated to keep the promises about privacy that it makes to its hundreds of millions of users” – Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced the long-rumored proposed consent decree with Facebook, settling allegations in a complaint that Facebook violated Section 5 of the FTC Act by failing to live… Continue Reading
Breaking News — Wall Street Journal: Facebook Close to Settlement with the Federal Trade Commission
Posted in Privacy Regulation, UncategorizedUpdate: Post from Daily Online Examiner blog. If you’re a power Facebook user, you are likely tired of the constant changes to privacy settings. At last count, the most recent change was the 13th. This report may make your day. The Wall Street Journal reports this afternoon (registration required) that Facebook is finalizing a proposed settlement… Continue Reading
Federal Data Security Legislation Update: House Subcommittee Approves SAFE Data Act
Posted in UncategorizedWritten by Julie Babayan The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade has approved a data security bill by a voice vote, moving it to the full Energy and Commerce Committee for consideration. The Secure and Fortify Electronic Data (“SAFE Data”) Act would establish national rules for securing data containing personal information,… Continue Reading
FTC Announces $1.8 Million Settlement for Violation of Fair Credit Reporting Act
Posted in UncategorizedWritten by Stu Eaton In a settlement announced by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) on June 27, 2011, Teletrack, Inc. agreed to pay $1.8 million to settle FTC charges that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) by selling consumer reports to marketers without a “permissible purpose.” Teletrack sells credit reports and other services… Continue Reading
Privacy and Security Bits and Bytes
Posted in UncategorizedOur Friday feature is back! FTC Imposes Largest Civil Penalty Ever for Violation of Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) – Magic Kingdom Subsidiary Pays Up The Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, Jon Leibowitz, said: It’s the law, it’s the right thing to do, and, as today’s settlement demonstrates, violating COPPA will not come… Continue Reading
Review of Telecom/Media Industry Comments to FTC’s Privacy Framework
Posted in UncategorizedWritten by Stu Eaton Our ongoing effort to summarize the comments (see post here) filed in response to the FTC’s Privacy Framework continues this week as we focus on the Telecommunications and Media industry. The bulk of the comments came from the telecommunications industry, including key players such as AT&T, Verizon, the National Cable and… Continue Reading
FTC Privacy Framework: Comments from the Retail/Promotion/Advertising Industry
Posted in UncategorizedWritten by Stu Eaton In our continuing effort to summarize the more than 400 comments posted in response to the FTC’s Privacy Framework, we have organized our summaries into the following five industry groups: Retail/Promotion/Advertising; Software/Technology; Telecommunications/Media; Privacy Advocates/Government; and Financial Services/General Business. This week we reviewed the comments posted by companies and trade groups… Continue Reading
Federal Trade Commission receives large number of public comments
Posted in UncategorizedAttorneys General of 14 states ask FTC not to reduce state privacy powers in any privacy framework or regulations. California did not participate.
If you don’t want privacy regulation — FTC advises industry to “move quickly”
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, Legislation, Online AdvertisingThe Federal Trade Commission’s public comment period on its preliminary staff report, Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change: A Proposed Framework for Businesses and Policymakers, has closed. The FTC received over 300 comments during the extended comment period, including several states. It is looking more likely that some form of privacy regulation… Continue Reading
FTC Extends Comment Period – UPDATED
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, Online AdvertisingThe Federal Trade Commission has extended the public comment period on its December 1, 2010 report — FTC Privacy Report. The FTC press release says that, in light of the complex issues raised by the report, a number of organizations have requested an extension of the original January 31, 2011 deadline. Stakeholders now have until February 18,… Continue Reading
Comparison of Commerce Department and Federal Trade Commission Privacy Proposals
Posted in UncategorizedJust before the end of 2010, both the Commerce Department (here) and the Federal Trade Commission (here) released their agencies’ respective proposals for privacy frameworks in the United States. The reports make similar proposals in some respects, but in others are quite different. We have prepared a comparison report on both. (Thanks to Mintz Levin… Continue Reading
Onward into 2011 – the Commerce Department Privacy “Green Paper”
Posted in UncategorizedHappy New Year to our readers! The Commerce Department and the Federal Trade Commission’s privacy initiatives are proceeding apace in this new year. We’ve prepared a summary of the Commerce Department’s “green paper” that can be read here: Commerce Privacy Report Summary. In the coming days, we will also post a comparison of the Commerce… Continue Reading
Questions Asked by the FTC in the Privacy Report – Part II
Posted in UncategorizedIn last week’s Privacy Report , the Federal Trade Commission posed a series of questions, soliciting comment and discussion from stakeholders to better inform its final report on the subject, due to be issued mid-2011. We reviewed some of the questions in our December 2 post. Here are some of the other questions — parties with… Continue Reading
It’s almost 2011. Do you know where your Red Flags Rule compliance program is?
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, Identity Theft(UPDATED) Late Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed the Red Flag Program Clarification Act of 2010 on a voice vote, clearing the way for President Obama’s signature. The Clarification Act exempts doctors, lawyers, accountants and certain other professionals from compliance with the Red Flags Rule. As you may recall, we discussed lawsuits filed by the American… Continue Reading
