Another week, another proposal concerning Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. This week, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced the Online Content Policy Modernization Act, which primarily establishes an alternative dispute resolution program for copyright small claims. Relevant to this blog, however, are the last three pages of the proposal, which limit civil liability … Continue Reading
The FTC recently updated Complying with COPPA: Frequently Asked Questions, the set of FAQs meant to provide informal guidance for complying with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and the Commission-issued COPPA Rule. In an accompanying blog post, the FTC staff emphasized that the revisions to the FAQs “don’t raise new policy issues” and that … Continue Reading
On our fourth episode of our Inside Privacy Audiocast, we are aiming our looking glass at the California Privacy Rights Act, and are joined by guest speaker Jacob Snow, Technology and Civil Liberties Attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California. In September 2019, Alastair Mactaggart, Board Chair and Founder of Californians for … Continue Reading
Earlier this week, a group of Republican Senators, including Roger Wicker (R-MS), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced the Online Freedom and Viewpoint Diversity Act. This proposal seeks to “modify the scope of protection from civil liability for ‘good Samaritan’ blocking and screening of offensive material” under Section 230 of the 1996 Communications … Continue Reading
What guidance has the FTC recently provided on the use of AI and algorithms? Our colleagues, former FTC Commissioner, Terrell McSweeny, and AI Initiative Co-Chair, Lee Tiedrich, explain in The Journal of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Law.… Continue Reading
The California legislature has approved a contingency plan to ensure that certain California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) exemptions will be extended beyond December 2020. Regardless of what happens with the November ballot initiative, businesses will have at least another year before they must comply with all of the CCPA’s provisions when collecting or using certain … Continue Reading
Two developments in the past week will likely have a significant impact on businesses subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”): the long-awaited CCPA regulations have been finalized and put into immediate effect with modifications, while at the same time it seems increasingly likely that the exemptions for employees’ and business-to-business contacts’ data will … Continue Reading
Today, the California Senate Judiciary Committee will consider AB 1281, which would extend the California Consumer Privacy Act’s (CCPA) business-to-business and employment exemptions until January 1, 2022, in the event that the pending ballot initiative—which also would extend the exemptions—does not pass this November. In addition, the Committee will consider two contact tracing measures, AB … Continue Reading
Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Merkley) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) recently introduced the National Biometric Information Privacy Act (NBIPA), which would require private entities to obtain consumers’ and employees’ written consent prior to collecting their biometric information and expand nationwide individuals’ access rights and rights to request additional information from businesses. The bill also would grant a … Continue Reading
Today, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants, which addressed the constitutionality of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Although the Court splintered in its reasoning—producing four separate opinions—the justices nevertheless coalesced around two core conclusions: (1) the TCPA’s exception for government debt collection calls is unconstitutional, and (2) the … Continue Reading
Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) have introduced the Lawful Access to Encrypted Data Act, a bill that would require tech companies to assist law enforcement in executing search warrants that seek encrypted data. The bill would apply to law enforcement efforts to obtain data at rest as well as … Continue Reading
Earlier this week, the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) Consumer and Government Affairs Bureau released a Declaratory Ruling clarifying the agency’s interpretation of the “Automatic Telephone Dialing System” (an “autodialer” or “ATDS”) definition in the Telephone Consumer Protection (TCPA). The Ruling clarified that, in the context of a call or text message platform, the definition does … Continue Reading
Continuing the flood of recent proposals to amend the scope of Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, a bipartisan group of Senators unveiled the Platform Accountability and Consumer Transparency Act (“PACT Act”) last week. Proposed by Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and John Thune (R-SD), the PACT Act comes on the heels of legislative … Continue Reading
On June 16, 2020, the First Circuit released its opinion in United States v. Moore-Bush. The issue presented was whether the Government’s warrantless use of a pole camera to continuously record for eight months the front of Defendants’ home, as well as their and their visitors’ comings and goings, infringed on the Defendants’ reasonable expectation … Continue Reading
As consumers rely more and more on the “independent” reviews of their peers in choosing products and services, advertisers need to remain vigilant that their role (if any) in disseminating such reviews is fairly disclosed, accurate and not misleading. The pitfalls in this area were recently illustrated by a pair of enforcement actions brought by … Continue Reading
On Wednesday, two proposals were unveiled that would reform the scope of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. Section 230 immunizes online platforms from civil liability based on third-party content, and provides immunity for acting in “good faith” to restrict or remove content that is “obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, … Continue Reading
Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) introduced bipartisan legislation this week to address privacy issues in the COVID-19 era. The proposal, entitled the “Exposure Notification Privacy Act,” would regulate “automated exposure notification services” developed to respond to COVID-19. This bipartisan legislation comes on the heels of dueling privacy proposals from both political parties. … Continue Reading
In a new post on the Covington Inside Tech Media Blog, our colleagues discuss how the pandemic is driving connected and automated vehicle (CAV) initiatives at the federal and state levels. At the federal level, NHTSA and Congress have recently expressed support for utilizing CAV technology to address pandemic-related challenges. In California, a privacy bill … Continue Reading
On May 5th, 2020, the California Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection held a hearing and considered AB 2811, a bill that would amend existing California law governing automatic renewals. As currently drafted, AB 2811 would: require businesses to provide 3-7 days’ notice explaining how to cancel an automatic renewal offer or continuous service … Continue Reading
House and Senate Democrats recently unveiled proposed legislation—tentatively titled the “Public Health Emergency Privacy Act”—that would regulate the collection and use of health and location information in connection with efforts to track and limit the spread of COVID-19. Below we describe the proposed Public Health Emergency Privacy Act and how it differs with a separate … Continue Reading
On May 8, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a notice soliciting public comment regarding whether changes should be made to its Health Breach Notification Rule (the “Rule”). The request for comment is part of a periodic review process “to ensure that [FTC rules] are keeping pace with changes in the economy, technology, and … Continue Reading
On May 4th, 2020, Californians for Consumer Privacy confirmed that they had submitted hundreds of thousands more signatures than required to qualify for a ballot initiative. It is still yet unknown whether the Attorney General will qualify the ballot for the November 2020 election, let alone whether it would pass. If the initiative passes, it … Continue Reading
On May 5, 2020, the Seventh Circuit held that violations of the section 15(b) disclosure and informed consent provisions of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, 740 ILCS 14/1 et seq. (“BIPA”) constitute “an invasion of personal rights that is both concrete and particularized” for the purposes of establishing Article III standing to sue in … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument (by telephone) in Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants, a case that centers on the constitutionality of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and, more specifically, the prohibition on transmitting automated calls or texts to mobile telephone numbers without prior express consent. Given the litigious environment surrounding … Continue Reading
