The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Immigration Policy Center last week released an interesting report on law enforcement’s increasing efforts to gather biometric data, and associated risks of data inaccuracy, racial profiling, erroneous deportations, security breaches, and privacy invasions. The report calls for greater accountability in the biometrics context, including collection and retention limitations; clear … Continue Reading
The afternoon panels at yesterday’s FTC workshop focused on mobile issues, with the first focusing on mobile advertising disclosures and the second focusing on mobile privacy disclosures. Some themes were common to both panels. In particular, panelists in both sessions identified the unique challenges of designing disclosures that will effectively communicate with consumers who often … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the FTC held a public workshop titled “In Short: Advertising & Privacy Disclosures in a Digital World.” The workshop explored whether and how the FTC should revise its 2000 guidance concerning advertising and privacy disclosures in the new era of online and mobile technology. This post will highlight the morning workshop sessions on … Continue Reading
According to court documents filed last week, Netflix has agreed to change its data storage practices and pay about $9 million to settle allegations that it unlawfully retained and disclosed customers’ video-viewing histories. Specifically, Netflix agreed to decouple viewing history from identification information once users have been inactive for a year; to pay $30,000 to … Continue Reading
Two bills have been proposed in the New York State Legislature that aim to de-anonymize online commenting. The proposed Internet Protection Act — introduced in the identical bills S.6779 and A.8688 —would amend New York civil rights law to require a website administrator upon request to “remove any comments posted on his or her web … Continue Reading
The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has released a Public Notice seeking comments on the steps wireless phone carriers are taking to protect the privacy and data security of customer information that is stored on consumers’ mobile devices and on how existing laws apply to the carriers’ information practices. Section 222 of the Communications Act and the FCC’s … Continue Reading
On May 25, 2012, the UK’s data protection authority, the ICO, issued updated guidance on the new cookie rules (Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2011). As we have reported here and here, when the rules were first introduced in May 2011, the ICO granted UK website operators a “honeymoon” period of 12-months … Continue Reading
Judge Feess of the Central District of California recently rejected Carrier IQ’s attempt to litigate in federal court a class action concerning whether Carrier IQ’s software, installed on a wide range of smart phone devices from many different manufacturers running on various wireless networks, violated California law. Judge Feess remanded the case to state court … Continue Reading
Last week, Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) introduced legislation (H.R. 5817) to limit the obligations of certain financial institutions to provide an annual privacy notice to consumers. Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“GLBA”), financial institutions must provide customers an initial privacy notice and, for the duration of a customer relationship, an annual privacy notice that describes the … Continue Reading
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision that put an end to a proposed class action lawsuit stemming from a data breach. The suit, Reilly v. Ceridian Corp., was brought by two individuals who were among approximately 27,000 employees at 1,900 companies whose personal and financial … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the Payment Card Industry Council issued guidance for merchants using smartphones or tablets to accept payments from customers. The guidance follows up on the PCI Council Chairman’s pledge in February, as reported in this blog, to make mobile payments a top priority. Payment card readers that can be attached to a smartphone or tablet have become … Continue Reading
Last week, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner in Canada (OPC) issued important guidance under Canada’s national privacy law, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). The guidance highlights various scenarios in which PIPEDA applies based on judicial opinions and previous OPC interpretations. In general, PIPEDA applies to the personal information that an … Continue Reading
Last week, the ABA’s Commission on Ethics 20/20 recommended a series of changes to the Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct that are intended to bring the Rules more in line with the realities of law practice in the 21st Century. The recommendations are the result of the Commission’s three-year study that revealed two overarching … Continue Reading
Earlier today, members of Congress and regulators gathered for a symposium on “The Impact of Media on the Health & Well-Being of Children.” Participants included Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA), Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jon Leibowitz, Chairman, Federal Trade Commission, and Mignon Clyburn, Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission, as well as researchers … Continue Reading
Today, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing to seek the views of the Federal Trade Commission and the Administration on privacy issues. Discussion at the hearing, entitled “The Need for Privacy Protections: Perspectives from the Administration and the Federal Trade Commission,” focused in significant part on the privacy reports recently … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the FTC announced that MySpace has agreed to settle charges that it engaged in deceptive practices by disclosing personal information to third parties despite statements in its privacy policy suggesting it would not engage in such sharing. The proposed settlement with MySpace reflects the FTC’s continuing concern with the privacy practices of social networking … Continue Reading
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued updated guidance concerning employer use of criminal histories. As many as 92 percent of employers use criminal background checks as part of their hiring processes. The EEOC’s updated guidance generally provides that the EEOC will regard as suspect blanket or automatic exclusions of individuals from employment or promotion … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced a preliminary agenda for its upcoming public workshop called Advertising and Privacy Disclosures in a Digital World. The goal of the workshop is to discuss revisions to the Dot Com Disclosures, the FTC’s current guidance document on online advertising disclosures, which was published in 2000. The Dot Com Disclosures discusses … Continue Reading
Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) recently introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would prohibit employers from requiring current and prospective employees to disclose website usernames, passwords, and other online content. The Social Networking Online Protection Act (SNOPA), H.R. 5050, also would apply to students at colleges, universities, and K-12 schools, and impose a … Continue Reading
Earlier this week the European Data Protection Supervisor (“EDPS”) adopted an Opinion on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (“ACTA”) between the EU and its Member States, Australia, Canada, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United Mexican States, the Kingdom of Morocco, New Zealand, the Republic of Singapore, the Swiss Confederation and the USA. The Agreement … Continue Reading
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Last week, a district court declined to stay a lawsuit against Google Inc. and group-texting service Slide, Inc. alleging a violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). The court found that a related, ongoing proceeding at the Federal Communications Commission relating to the scope of the definitions of “consent” and “automatic telephone dialing system” … Continue Reading
