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On November 3, the FTC announced that it entered into a significant $100 million settlement with Vonage to resolve allegations relating to the internet phone service provider’s sales and autorenewal practices. The FTC alleged that Vonage violated both the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA) by failing to provide a simple cancellation mechanism, failing to disclose material transaction terms prior to obtaining consumers’ billing information, and charging consumers without consent.…

Continue Reading FTC Flexes ROSCA Muscle With $100 Million “Dark Patterns” Settlement with Vonage

On October 7, 2022, President Biden signed an Executive Order directing the steps that the United States will take to implement its commitments under the new EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.  The framework was announced by the U.S. and the EU Commission in March 2022, after reaching a political agreement in principle (see our blog post…

On October 10, 2022 the draft rules implementing the Colorado Privacy Act (“CPA”) were officially published in the Colorado Register.  Written comments on the draft rules are due by November 7, 2022.  The CPA draft rules share some similarities with the draft rules set forth by the California Privacy Protection Agency (“CPPA”) interpreting the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”).  Both sets of draft rules address requirements for privacy policy disclosures, consumer rights requests, and providing opt-out mechanisms.  However, there are a number of key differences between the two drafts. We highlight some of these below.…

Continue Reading Colorado Attorney General Releases Draft CPA Rules

On September 4th, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (“OSTP”) released its Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights (“Blueprint”), which identifies five principles to minimize potential harms stemming from certain applications of AI.  The Blueprint recognizes the “extraordinary benefits” that AI can provide, and the Blueprint states that harms stemming from AI are not inevitable.  …

Continue Reading White House Releases Blueprint for AI Bill of Rights

This morning, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Gonzalez v. Google LLC, 2 F.4th 871 (9th Cir. 2021) on the following question presented:  “Does section 230(c)(1) immunize interactive computer services when they make targeted recommendations of information provided by another information content provider, or only limit the liability of interactive computer services when they engage in traditional editorial functions (such as deciding whether to display or withdraw) with regard to such information?”  This is the first opportunity the Court has taken to interpret 47 U.S.C. § 230 (“Section 230”) since the law was enacted in 1996.…

Continue Reading Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Gonzalez v. Google, Marking First Time Court Will Review Section 230

On September 16, the Fifth Circuit issued its decision in NetChoice L.L.C. v. Paxton, upholding Texas HB 20, a law that limits the ability of large social media platforms to moderate content and imposes various disclosure and appeal requirements on them.  The Fifth Circuit vacated the district court’s preliminary injunction, which previously blocked the Texas Attorney General from enforcing the law.  NetChoice is likely to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Fifth Circuit’s decision.…

Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Upholds Texas Law Restricting Online “Censorship”

Last week, the FTC announced its release of a staff report discussing key topics from the April 29, 2021 workshop addressing dark patterns. The report states that the FTC will take action when companies employ dark patterns that violate existing laws, including the FTC Act, ROSCA, the TSR, TILA, CAN-SPAM, COPPA, ECOA, or other statutes and regulations enforced by the FTC. The report highlights examples of cases in which the FTC used its authority under these laws and regulations to bring enforcement actions against companies that allegedly used dark patterns. Accordingly, the report builds upon the FTC’s historical approach of using its existing authority to bring enforcement actions in this context.…

Continue Reading New FTC Report on Dark Patterns

Today, the California Attorney General announced the first settlement agreement under the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”).  The Attorney General alleged that online retailer Sephora, Inc. failed to disclose to consumers that it was selling their information and failed to process user requests to opt out of sale via user-enabled global privacy controls.  The Attorney General also alleged that Sephora did not cure these violations within the cure period. …

Continue Reading California Attorney General Announces First CCPA Settlement