Manufacturers of wireless devices used for Internet of Things (IoT) applications should take heed of new Trump Administration proposals aimed at reducing the cybersecurity threats from botnets and other automated and...more
6/26/2018
/ Automation Systems ,
Bots ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Internet of Things ,
Manufacturers ,
NIST ,
NTIA ,
Popular ,
Smart Devices ,
Software Developers ,
Trump Administration ,
Wireless Devices
Answering the centuries’ old question, it appears it is the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) that watches the watchmen. The FTC sent warning letters to a pair of foreign app developers cautioning them that their practices of...more
5/9/2018
/ COPPA ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Collection ,
Data Protection ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Guidance Update ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Safety for Children ,
Parental Consent ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Smart Devices ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Uber Technologies, Inc. (“Uber”) has agreed to an expansion of its initial August 2017 proposed consent agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), in light of revelations of an additional security breach in October...more
4/23/2018
/ Cloud Storage ,
Consumer Information ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Security ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Notification Requirements ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Uber
As we near the end of a year that has seen more than its share of massive data breaches, two bills have been introduced (one re-introduced) in the U.S. Senate....more
12/11/2017
/ Breach Notification Rule ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Equifax ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Identity Theft ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Uber
On September 7, 2017, Equifax, one of the three large credit reporting bureaus, announced a cybersecurity incident impacting approximately 143 million U.S. consumers. According to Equifax, the breach occurred mid-May through...more
9/13/2017
/ Breach Notification Rule ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Cards ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Security ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equifax ,
FBI ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular
Recently, Uber agreed to a proposed Federal Trade Commission (FTC) consent order (“Consent Order”) to settle charges in an FTC complaint (“Complaint”) regarding behavior stemming back to at least 2014. Acting Chairman Maureen...more
8/25/2017
/ Consent Order ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Misrepresentation ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Uber
Recently, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (“EPIC”) asked the FTC to begin an investigation into a Google program called “Store Sales Management.” The purpose of Store Sales Management is to allow for the matching...more
Oregon’s legislature recently expanded the scope of statutory consumer protections by passing a bill to amend the state’s Unlawful Trade Practices Act (the “Act”). Recently, Oregon’s Governor Kate Brown signed H.B. 2090 into...more
“Don’t make promises that you don’t intend to keep” is an admonishment received by every child and delivered by every parent. This pithy maxim is equally applicable to consent orders entered into with regulatory authorities....more
3/22/2017
/ Breach of Contract ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Consent Order ,
Cookies ,
Data Collection ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Failure to Comply ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Privacy Policy ,
Rewards Programs ,
Settlement
What does your TV-watching history say about you? According to a recent lawsuit against VIZIO, Inc., it might be more than you think! One of the world’s largest sellers of “smart” televisions has recently paid a $2.2 million...more
2/14/2017
/ Data Collection ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Personal Data ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Privacy Concerns ,
Smart Devices ,
Technology ,
Technology Sector ,
Television Programming ,
Tracking Systems ,
VIZIO
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has filed a lawsuit against device manufacturer D-link for allegedly deceiving the marketplace about the security of its products and, in turn, unfairly placing customer privacy at...more
Google’s recent changes to its privacy policy are coming under fire from a complaint filed late last year with the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) that accuses the company of downplaying “transformational change” in its...more
On Friday, the heads of the Federal Trade Commission overruled the decision of the Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) in In the Matter of LabMd., Inc. The FTC concluded that the ALJ had erred in dismissing the Commission’s case...more
8/1/2016
/ Actual Injuries ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Security ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
LabMD ,
Risk Assessment ,
Section 5 ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
I. Introduction: Privacy Shield to Go Live August 1 (at Last) -
The replacement for Safe Harbor is finally in effect, over nine months after Safe Harbor was struck down by the Court of Justice of the EU in the Schrems...more
7/25/2016
/ Consent ,
Data Protection Authority ,
Data Security ,
EU ,
EU-US Privacy Shield ,
European Commission ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
International Data Transfers ,
Notice Requirements ,
Personal Data ,
Surveillance ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
US-EU Safe Harbor Framework
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced (press release) that Practice Fusion, the largest cloud-based electronic health company in the United States, has agreed to settle FTC charges over deceptive practices...more
The years-long saga of the Federal Trade Commission’s suit against Wyndham Hotels over data breaches that occurred at least as early as April 2008 is finally coming to an end with a proposed settlement filed today with the...more
The recent data breach of Hong Kong-based electronic toy manufacturer VTech Holdings Limited (“VTech” or the “Company”) is making headlines around the world for good reason: it exposed sensitive personal information of over...more
We will be following up our post last week regarding the latest US-EU Safe Harbor decision out of Europe with further analysis both from the Mintz Privacy team and our international network of privacy specialists. Our...more
9/28/2015
/ Advocate General ,
Consent ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection Authority ,
Data Security ,
Edward Snowden ,
EU ,
EU Data Protection Laws ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
International Data Transfers ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
US-EU Safe Harbor Framework
Rather than our usual Privacy Monday “bits and bytes,” we have a breaking story relating to the ongoing Wyndham/FTC saga.
Today, Wyndham Worldwide Corp. lost a critical round in the Third Circuit. Anticipated since...more
8/25/2015
/ Best Practices ,
Credit Cards ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
FTC v Wyndham ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Section 5 ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Wyndham
On Thursday, April 23, the FTC settled deception charges against start-up Nomi Technologies, Inc. related to Nomi’s in-store, sensor-based, tracking technology.1 This is the first FTC enforcement action against emerging...more
Facebook does it. Google does it. It’s everywhere in the mobile ad ecosystem. And your smartphone does it often than you know, according to a study released on Monday by Carnegie Mellon....more
On Friday, the FTC published updates to the COPPA FAQs, the Commission’s compliance guide for businesses and consumers, to address the applicability of COPPA and the Amended COPPA Rule to educational institutions and...more
Taking another “step” toward developing comprehensive privacy legislation, the White House has released a discussion draft of the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights Act of 2015. The draft reflects the Fair Information Practice...more
As expected in his State of the Union address last night, President Obama made it very clear that cybersecurity is on his agenda for 2015. After stating that:
“No foreign nation, no hacker should be able to shut down...more
This has been a big week for cybersecurity announcements from Washington. In what the White House has called a series of “SOTU Spoilers,” President Obama announced his intention to follow through on some of the...more