social networking

FDA has previously included claims made on Facebook or other social media platforms along with broader allegations of misbranding using a variety of sources in its enforcement letters . . . [b]y contrast, the present untitled letter focuses solely on a single statement on a Facebook page, and does not take issue with any statements outside the Facebook page.
Continue Reading FDA Issues Untitled Letter Focused On Promotional Claims On Facebook

Path, a social networking mobile app, has agreed to enter into a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) regarding charges that the company deceived consumers by collecting contact information from users’ mobile address books without notice and consent.  The agreement also resolves charges that the company violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) by collecting personal information from children under  13 years old without parental notice and consent.  Path did not admit any liability by entering into the consent decree, which is for settlement purposes only.

The FTC alleged that the Path application included an “Add Friends” feature that allowed users to make new connections within the app.  Users were given three options when using the “Add Friends” functionality:  “Find friends from your contacts,” “Find Friends from Facebook,” or “Invite friends to join Path by email or SMS.”  Regardless of which option was chosen, Path automatically collected and stored contact information from the address book on the user’s mobile phone.  The FTC argued that this practice was contrary to representations made in the company’s privacy policy that only certain technical information, such as IP address, browser type, and site activity information, was automatically collected from the user.  Under the settlement, Path agreed to implement a comprehensive privacy program and obtain biennial, independent privacy assessments for the next twenty years. Continue Reading FTC Settles Deception, COPPA Charges Against Social Networking App Path

On January 22, 2013, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council proposed guidance on the applicability of consumer protection and compliance laws, regulations, and policies to activities conducted via social media by depository institutions.  The proposed guidance would not impose additional compliance obligations on institutions.  Instead, the guidance is intended to help financial institutions understand potential consumer compliance, legal, reputation, and operational risks associated with the use of social media, along with expectations for managing those risks. 

The proposed guidance defines “social media” as “a form of interactive online communication in which users can generate and share content through text, images, audio, and/or video.”  The FFIEC warns that social media can impact a depository institution’s risk profile by increasing the risk of harm to consumers, compliance and legal risk, operational risk, and reputational risk. 

Continue Reading FFIEC Proposes Social Media Guidance

On August 1, Illinois became the second state in the country to prohibit employers from requesting or requiring employees to provide their passwords for social networking accounts.  As reported in this blog, Maryland adopted similar legislation in April.  The bill (HB 3782) was signed into law by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and will become

The European Data Protection Supervisor (“EDPS”) has issued an opinion on Europe’s strategy for protecting children on the Internet.  The European Commission consults with the EDPS on a variety of data protection issues.  However, the opinions of the EDPS are not legally binding. 

Among other things, the EDPS expressed support for: 

  • The implementation of technical tools, such as age-appropriate default privacy settings, to enhance the privacy of children online.     
  • Clear notice about the impact a change to a default setting would have on a child’s privacy and the potential harm it may cause. In particular, the EDPS suggested that in some circumstances a child might not be permitted to change the default settings, or might change the defaults only with parental consent, stating that the “extent to which a child may change the default privacy settings should also be linked to the age and level of maturity of the child.  It should be explored to what extent, and within which age group, parental consent would be required to validate a change of privacy settings.” 
  • A requirement that service providers inform children about the level of sensitivity of each piece of information they provide when creating an online profile and about the potential risks or harms they may encounter when such information is disclosed to a defined group of people or to the public. 
  • A restriction on industry’s ability to create online behavioral advertising segments that target children.
  • A legal mandate for industry to deploy an EU-wide reporting tool for content that is harmful to children.

Continue Reading European Data Protection Supervisor Issues Opinion on Children’s Privacy

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued updated guidance concerning employer use of criminal histories.  As many as 92 percent of employers use criminal background checks as part of their hiring processes. 

The EEOC’s updated guidance generally provides that the EEOC will regard as suspect blanket or automatic exclusions of individuals from employment or promotion simply based on an individual’s criminal record, particularly when the individual is an African American or a Hispanic male.  However, the EEOC indicates that it will accept as a defense to a statutory discrimination claim an employer’s showing that the exclusion is job-related and consistent with business necessity and that the employer has made an individualized determination that hiring or promoting the individual in question would be likely to create a risk of improper conduct that would be detrimental to the employer’s business or workplace.  Specifically, the guidance indicates that, in making individualized assessments, employers should consider the following three factors:Continue Reading EEOC Issues Updated Guidance Regarding Employer Use of Criminal History; Considers Use of Social Networking Information

Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) recently introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would prohibit employers from requiring current and prospective employees to disclose website usernames, passwords, and other online content.  The Social Networking Online Protection Act (SNOPA), H.R. 5050, also would apply to students at colleges, universities, and K-12 schools, and impose

Yesterday, Maryland became the first state to pass legislation banning employers from asking employees or job applicants to provide their passwords to social media sites.  The legislation also prohibits employers from taking, or threatening to take, disciplinary action on employees or applicants who refuse to disclose such information. The bill now has to be signed

Lawmakers in Maryland and Illinois have introduced bills that would prohibit employers from requiring job applicants or employees to grant access to their social networking accounts.  The bills arose from reports that employers have impliedly or explicitly required access to social networking accounts as a condition of hiring or employment.

A few bills have been