On Tuesday, Joseph Simons was sworn in as the new Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. The five-member Commission will soon be at full strength, as Simons is set to be joined by four other new FTC Commissioners, each of which were confirmed for seven-year terms by the Senate on April 26: Democrats Rebecca Kelly … Continue Reading
On April 24, 2018, Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Kennedy (R-LA) introduced the Social Media Privacy and Consumer Rights Act of 2018. The bill aims to protect consumers’ online data by increasing the transparency of data collection and tracking practices, and requiring companies to notify consumers of a privacy violation within 72 hours. “Our … Continue Reading
Last week, President Trump nominated four new commissioners to the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”): Joseph J. Simons, an antitrust attorney, as Chairman; Noah Joshua Phillips, chief counsel for Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas), for the second Republican seat; Christine Wilson, an executive for Delta Air Lines, for the third Republican seat; and Rohit Chopra, … Continue Reading
On January 9, the House of Representatives passed the Cyber Vulnerability Disclosure Reporting Act by voice vote. The Act directs the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) to prepare a report describing the policies and procedures that DHS developed to coordinate the cyber vulnerability disclosures. Under the Homeland Security Act of 2002 … Continue Reading
Last week, the Advisory Committee to the Congressional Internet Caucus hosted “Hacking: What Color Is Your Hat? Vulnerability Disclosures and the Law,” a discussion on the importance of vulnerability disclosures to protect information systems and the nation’s cyber security defenses, and how private and public actors can safely encourage vulnerability reporting. Technology and security companies … Continue Reading
On August 1, 2017, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced legislation (fact sheet) that would establish minimum cybersecurity standards for Internet of Things (“IoT”) devices sold to the U.S. Government. As Internet-connected devices become increasingly ubiquitous and susceptible to evolving and complex cyber threats, the proposed bill attempts to safeguard the security of executive agencies’ … Continue Reading
The House voted today to adopt a joint resolution to repeal the FCC’s broadband privacy rules, following the Senate’s vote to adopt the same resolution last week. President Trump is expected to sign the resolution into law, which overrules the FCC rules that were set to go into effect later this year. The mechanism for … Continue Reading
Today, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) introduced legislation that would criminalize the non-consensual distribution of sexually explicit images, commonly referred to as “revenge porn.” The Internet Privacy Protection Act would make it a federal crime for individuals to knowingly distribute sexually explicit images or video of a person without or with a “reckless disregard” for their … Continue Reading
Following the announcement of the President’s Cybersecurity National Action Plan (CNAP), an initiative designed to “enhance cybersecurity capabilities within the Federal Government and across the country,” the White House has released a fact sheet outlining the different components of the CNAP. The announcement of the CNAP follows the President’s request for $19 billion in funding … Continue Reading
According to a recent analysis by the Congressional Research Service (“CRS”), the extent of state law preemption in recent federal legislative proposals relating to data security is unclear. Several bills introduced in the 114th Congress would impose federal data security or breach notification requirements on covered entities, similar to existing requirements in nearly every state. … Continue Reading
The Senate Judiciary Committee today held a hearing about the increased challenges that encryption poses for law enforcement. Government officials testified that advances in encryption technology make it more difficult for them to monitor communications, but there was little indication that lawmakers are prepared to require technology providers to ensure that law enforcement has backdoor … Continue Reading
Although Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) may have received the most attention for his attendance at South by Southwest (“SXSW”) Interactive, many other members of Congress were represented this year. Continuing our coverage of the conference, this past weekend we attended a panel on “The Future of Privacy,” featuring congressional representatives Darrell Issa (R-CA), Suzan DelBene … Continue Reading
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration today requested public comment on privacy issues related to the use of drones, or unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS”). The request came a day after two members of Congress introduced a bill that would impose significant privacy restrictions on drone operators. The NTIA request is a result of a Feb. … Continue Reading
By Caleb Skeath Last week, Reps. Joe Barton (R-TX) and Bobby Rush (D-IL) re-introduced the Data Accountability and Trust Act (DATA Act) in the House of Representatives. The bill (H.R. 580), which has been introduced several times in previous years, would provide a nationwide data security standard, backed by FTC enforcement and civil penalties, as … Continue Reading
By Caleb Skeath Earlier this week, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held its first hearing of the new Congress, entitled “Protecting America from Cyber Attacks: The Importance of Information Sharing.” The hearing focused in large part on the White House’s recent information sharing proposal, which would protect private entities from civil … Continue Reading
This morning, the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, chaired by Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX), held a hearing to determine what elements should be included in federal data breach legislation. Despite the momentum for legislation created by high-profile breaches at retailers like Target and Home Depot, and most recently at Sony, ongoing efforts in … Continue Reading
Tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade will hold a hearing to determine what elements should be included in federal data-breach legislation. The following witnesses are scheduled to testify: Elizabeth Hyman, Tech America Executive Vice President of Public Policy Jennifer Glasgow, Acxiom Chief Privacy Officer Brian Dodge, Retail Industry Leaders Association … Continue Reading
The Senate Judiciary Committee will continue to dedicate a subcommittee to privacy and technology issues. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the new chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced today that Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., is the new chairman of the Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law. Former Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy created the … Continue Reading
Data security and privacy concerns received special attention in President Obama’s State of the Union address last night. As expected, the President advocated his recently released data security and privacy legislative proposals, which InsidePrivacy has covered extensively. With regard to data security, President Obama urged Congress to pass legislation to guard against cyber-attacks, combat identity … Continue Reading
On Tuesday, President Obama announced his proposal for legislation that would encourage sharing of cyber threat information between the public and private sector by shielding private entities from liability for sharing information on cyber threats. The White House has since released the text of the proposed bill, which includes limitations on liability for private entities … Continue Reading
On Monday, President Obama announced his proposal of the Personal Data Notification & Protection Act, which would set nationwide rules for data breach notifications and preempt the patchwork of state breach notification laws. The White House has since released the text of the nine-page bill. Below is an overview of the key provisions of the … Continue Reading
In his final days as a United States senator, West Virginia Democrat Jay Rockefeller released a draft bill that would subject drone operators to unprecedented new privacy regulations. Currently, commercial organizations cannot operate drones unless they get special approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA is preparing a proposal to allow the commercial use … Continue Reading
When Republicans take over the Senate in January, new leaders will control key committees that oversee privacy and data security issues, and their priorities will differ significantly from those of their predecessors. Privacy issues, however, generally tend not to break neatly along party lines and there will remain bipartisan support – and bipartisan opposition – … Continue Reading
Following the Guardian’s recent exposé on Whisper’s consumer-privacy practices, alleging that the social-media app that supposedly allows people “to anonymously share [their] thoughts with the world . . . in a community built around trust and honesty,” in fact tracks the geolocation of users who opted out of such data collection, Chairman of the Senate … Continue Reading
