On 13 September, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) published draft guidance on GDPR contracts and liabilities on contracts between controllers and processors under the GDPR (the “Guidance”). The ICO is consulting on the Guidance until 10 October. We summarize the key aspects of the Guidance below.… Continue Reading
As businesses increasingly work with various types of third parties that process sensitive information and, in some cases, access a company’s networks, there is an inherent risk: these third parties create new avenues of attack against a company’s data, systems, and networks. Covington attorneys David Fagan, Nigel Howard, Kurt Wimmer, and Elizabeth Canter describe these … Continue Reading
In May 2015, reports about the German government’s plans to establish federal German cloud infrastructure (the “Bundes-Cloud”) raised concerns about the possible introduction of data localization requirements (preventing the storage and processing of data outside Germany). The criteria for the use of cloud services by Germany’s federal administration, which have recently been published, now give … Continue Reading
New consumer protection provisions that clarify how companies may collect, use, and protect personal information of consumers will come into effect in China on March 15, 2015. On January 5, 2015, China’s State Administration of Industry and Commerce (“SAIC”) issued measures to implement China’s Consumer Rights Protection Law (“CRPL”), which was amended effective March 2014 … Continue Reading
Today, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a staff report examining the consumer-protection implications of popular shopping apps. These services are intended to ease and enhance the shopping experience by allowing consumers to, for example, compare prices in-store across retailers, collect and redeem deals, or pay for purchases while shopping in brick-and-mortar stores. The FTC … Continue Reading
On Thursday, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) hosted a workshop to explore the practices and privacy implications of comprehensive data collection. The event gathered consumer protection groups, academics, privacy professionals, and business and industry representatives to examine the current state of comprehensive data collection, its risks and potential benefits, and what the future holds for … Continue Reading
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that the federal government does not always lose its sovereign immunity to damages lawsuits claiming that an agency violated the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (“FACTA”) by printing the expiration date of a credit card on a receipt issued to a consumer. In a unanimous decision, authored … Continue Reading
Yesterday the Department of Transportation issued its final rule on “Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections.” The proposed rule had been published in December 2009 and received over 2,000 comments. One of the most controversial aspects of the original proposed rule was a requirement that airlines must provide all their fare and product information to Global Distribution Systems … Continue Reading
Fiserv, Inc. recently released the results of a survey suggesting banks are taking a “wait and see” approach to mobile payments. Fiserv commissioned and Forrester Consulting conducted the survey of 15 large U.S. banks, which found that most of the banks offered mobile banking services allowing customers to make transfers between accounts, find an ATM, … Continue Reading
I attended the ABA’s Antitrust Law Spring Meeting the last two days. What struck me the most was the increased prominence of data and privacy as factors in analysis of markets and competition in antitrust law. This was the topic in the Chairman’s Showcase session on Thursday. Julie Brill, the FTC Commissioner, perhaps made the … Continue Reading
We have previously blogged on the FTC’s privacy report on “Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change” and the Department of Commerce’s Green Paper on “Commercial Data Privacy and Innovation in the Internet Economy: A Dynamic Policy Framework.” We have also published client alerts on the FTC report and the DOC green paper. … Continue Reading
