As we previously blogged, in a case concerning retail chain Michaels Stores, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (SJC) recently issued a broad ruling regarding the circumstances in which consumers may sue for collection of zip code information during credit card transactions under Massachusetts law. Two separate putative class actions now have been filed under … Continue Reading
Following the German Government’s adoption of a cybersecurity strategy back in February 2011, and only a couple of weeks after the publication of the European Commission’s CyberSecurity Strategy and proposal for a Directive on Network and Information Security (see InsidePrivacy EU Adopts CyberSecurity Strategy and Proposes Network and Information Security Directive, February 7, 2013), Germany … Continue Reading
On 20 March 2013, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced that it had issued a fine of £90,000 against DM Design, a Glasgow-based kitchen and bedroom fitting company, for breaching the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) by making thousands of unwanted direct marketing calls. This fine, made two years after the ICO was first granted … Continue Reading
The Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee of the European Parliament (EP)– the EP’s lead committee for the European Commission’s legislative proposal for a General Data Protection Regulation to replace the current EU Data Protection Directive–was supposed to vote at the end of April on the proposed amendments to the draft Regulation. However, … Continue Reading
In a recent decision, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (“SJC”) broadly interpreted a statute that governs the personal information that may be collected by a merchant during a credit card transaction. The decision, Tyler v. Michaels Stores, Inc., SJC-1145 (Mass. March 11, 2013), was issued in response to three questions that had been certified … Continue Reading
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Tuesday that plaintiffs bringing class actions cannot escape federal jurisdiction by stipulating to seek less than $5 million in damages. In a nine-page opinion, the Court held that plaintiff Greg Knowles had no power to speak for the proposed class when he stipulated in a lawsuit against Standard … Continue Reading
By Dan Cooper and Philippe Bradley This week the Article 29 Working Party released its Opinion 2/2013 on apps on smart devices (WP 202), a 30-page report on mobile app privacy and data protection considerations. This development follows on the Working Party’s Statement on the draft General Data Protection Regulation on 27 February 2013 (which … Continue Reading
On March 12, 2013, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released new guidance for online advertisers, providing specific tips and examples of how to make disclosures clear and conspicuous, and, therefore, not deceptive in the context of emerging technologies, space-constrained screens, and social media platforms. The guidelines—titled “.com Disclosures: How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital … Continue Reading
Earlier this week, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 749, the Eliminate Privacy Notice Confusion Act. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Blaine Leutkemeyer (R-MO) and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA). An earlier version of the bill passed the House in December but was never taken up by the Senate. We previously covered similar legislation introduced by … Continue Reading
On 27 February 2013, the Article 29 Working Party published its latest statement regarding the draft General Data Protection Regulation (the “Regulation”), which continues to undergo revision in the European Parliament and Council. (The latest European body to comment on the draft was the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL), which published … Continue Reading
On 7 March 2013, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued new guidance on the use of personal devices for business purposes. The guidance is largely informed by a survey commissioned by the ICO and carried out by the market research firm YouGov. According to the survey, 47% of adults in the UK use personal … Continue Reading
Last Friday, the Federal Trade Commission released a report, Paper, Plastic…or Mobile?, on the use of mobile payments. The report follows a workshop hosted by the FTC in April 2012 that explored innovative mobile payment products and services, the potential benefits offered by mobile payments, and the concerns they raise. For purposes of the report, mobile … Continue Reading
According to recent press reports, the Irish Presidency has prepared a note to report to the Council of the EU on the progress achieved on the European Commission’s legislative proposal for a General Data Protection Regulation. Ireland holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2013 and has already … Continue Reading
By Emily Borgen Legislation was reintroduced in the Senate last week that would allow Internet users to opt out of certain forms of online tracking. The bill [PDF] was previously introduced in 2011. The “Do-Not-Track Online Act of 2013,” introduced on February 27 by Senators Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Blumenthal (D-Conn.), would require the Federal Trade Commission … Continue Reading
This week, in a 5-4 decision in Clapper et al. v. Amnesty International USA et al., the United States Supreme Court rejected two theories of Article III standing presented by a group of attorneys, human rights, labor, legal, and media organizations who sought a declaration that surveillance under section 1881a of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act … Continue Reading
