Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the much-discussed update to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 and the Video Privacy Protection of 1988 (“VPPA”). The Committee adopted Senator Leahy’s manager’s amendment (which we discussed here), with a minor modification proposed by Senators Cornyn and Lee. Senator Feinstein also offered an amendment to the VPPA … Continue Reading
On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee reportedly will vote on Sen. Patrick Leahy’s bill that would amend the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) and the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). The bill would amend the VPPA by clarifying that a consumer may consent to the disclosure of her video viewing information “though an electronic means … Continue Reading
Last Friday, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced the ECPA 2.0 Act, H.R. 6529, which would strengthen the legal standards for law enforcement to gain access to electronic communications and location information. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) is more than 25 years old and is widely seen as needing modernization to address changes in digital … Continue Reading
In the wake of the Senate’s failure to pass comprehensive cybersecurity legislation in August and amid continued discussion about the possibility of a cybersecurity executive order, Senator Jay Rockefeller has sought information directly from Fortune 500 companies. Senator Rockefeller has urged President Obama to issue a cybersecurity executive order, but in a letter sent to … Continue Reading
On July 19, 2012, Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Susan Collins (R-ME), Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Tom Carper (D-DE) introduced a revised version of the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 (“CSA2012”), which they initially introduced in February. The revision includes elements drawn from efforts by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ) to … Continue Reading
By Ryan Mowery In a hearing held by the Senate Commerce Committee last Thursday, a representative from the advertising industry vigorously defended its self-regulatory regime for online behavioral advertising. Other witnesses were less sanguine about the efficacy of self-regulation, while Committee Chairman Sen. John D. Rockefeller (D-WV) decried the current state of consumer privacy protection in … Continue Reading
Today, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing to seek the views of the Federal Trade Commission and the Administration on privacy issues. Discussion at the hearing, entitled “The Need for Privacy Protections: Perspectives from the Administration and the Federal Trade Commission,” focused in significant part on the privacy reports recently … Continue Reading
As we previously reported, the Video Privacy Protection Act reform bill sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) passed the House. And now the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law has scheduled a hearing on video privacy, to be held next Tuesday, January 31. The VPPA has come under scrutiny in recent … Continue Reading
Following up on its “Face Facts” workshop that brought together a variety of stakeholders to discuss the privacy issues relating to commercial uses of facial recognition technology, the FTC has announced that it is seeking public comment on the issues raised at the workshop. According to the Commission, these issues include: What are the current … Continue Reading
Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV), chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, is still working to reach consensus on the data security bill that he and Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) introduced in June. A scheduled markup was canceled in September, and the committee decided not to consider the bill at yesterday’s executive session. Nonetheless, a spokesman for … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance issued a guidance document regarding public companies’ disclosure obligations relating to cybersecurity risks and breaches. The guidance responds to a request by Sen. Jay Rockefeller that the SEC clarify its position on this increasingly important issue. The Division noted that as companies have turned to digital technologies to … Continue Reading
Last Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee began its consideration of the several pending data security bills by marking up S. 1151, the legislation introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). S. 1151 would require business entities to develop a data privacy and security plan for protecting sensitive personally identifiable information, require agencies and business entities to … Continue Reading
On Thursday, July 14, 2011 two Subcommittees of the House Energy and Commerce Committee (Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade and Communications and Technology) will hold a joint hearing entitled “Internet Privacy: The Views of the FTC, the FCC, and NTIA.” The hearing, which is the first in a series of anticipated dialogues aimed at examining how … Continue Reading
As we previously discussed, the House Energy & Commerce Committee announced last month that it would be undertaking a comprehensive review of electronic privacy concerns. That process will kick off on July 14, 2011 with a joint hearing by the Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee and the Communications and Technology Subcommittee. Regulators from the Federal … Continue Reading
In light of the number of privacy and data security-related bills currently being considered by Congress, we thought it might be helpful to provide a roundup of the legislation introduced or circulated to date: Comprehensive privacy legislation: BEST PRACTICES Act, H.R. 611 (Rep. Rush): introduced Feb. 10, 2011. Referred to the House Subcommittee on Commerce, … Continue Reading
By Elizabeth Katz Twenty-five years after authoring the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (“ECPA”), Senator Patrick Leahy has introduced a bill, the ECPA Amendments Act of 2011 (S. 1011), that is intended to adapt the Act to the privacy and security challenges of the 21st Century. The bill would amend Title II of ECPA, commonly called the … Continue Reading
By David Fagan and Josephine Liu The Obama Administration today sent Congress its long-awaited legislative proposal for improving U.S. cybersecurity. The proposal is in the form of individual legislative amendments tackling various issues, packaged together as a comprehensive legislative framework. As we previously discussed, cybersecurity is a subject of interest in both chambers of Congress. … Continue Reading
On May 9, 2011, Senator John Rockefeller (D-WV), chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, introduced the Do-Not-Track Online Act of 2011. The bill tasks the Federal Trade Commission with creating and implementing a do-not-track (“DNT”) mechanism for users who do not want to have personal information collected by providers of … Continue Reading
On Wednesday, April 6, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to examine ECPA, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. The hearing, which focused on the federal government’s perspective on ECPA reform, followed up on a hearing held last September and Sen. Patrick Leahy’s (D-VT) January 2011 pledge that “[t]he Judiciary Committee will continue the work … Continue Reading
Following up on Wednesday’s Senate Commerce Committee hearing, Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) indicated yesterday that the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade will also hold hearings on online privacy matters later this spring. The Subcommittee, which she chairs, will look at the state of current privacy laws, transparency in privacy policies, and protections … Continue Reading
Speaking at today’s Senate Commerce Committee hearing on “The State of Online Consumer Privacy,” Assistant Secretary of Commerce Lawrence E. Strickling stated that the Obama administration supports comprehensive privacy legislation. As we noted in yesterday’s post, this announcement represents a shift in Administration policy. Although in its December 2010 “Green Paper,” Commerce recommended that consumers’ … Continue Reading
The pace of privacy legislation at the federal level has begun to pick up, with news that Senator John Kerry (D-MA) and Representative Bobby Rush (D-IL) both will introduce comprehensive privacy bills in the coming days or weeks. In discussing Senator Kerry’s proposal, staff have suggested that it will build on the three key privacy … Continue Reading
Here’s a five-minute overview of the five major bodies that will influence the privacy, data protection and data security areas as we start 2011. 1. The Federal Trade Commission. The FTC’s privacy efforts focus on the FTC Act’s broad prohibition against “unfair or deceptive” acts or practices. The FTC also has played a valuable role … Continue Reading
Multiple press outlets are reporting on remarks from Rep. Robert Goodlatte (R-Va.) regarding his intent to take up cybersecurity legislation during the 112th Congress. In remarks at the 2011 State of the Net Conference, sponsored by the Congressional Internet Caucus, Goodlatte reportedly said that the Judiciary Committee should explore the use of “limited liability protections” as an incentive … Continue Reading
