We previously reported that LabMD had a big victory in the case filed against it by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). There was speculation as to whether or not the FTC would appeal the decision....more
We reported last week, that LabMD was successful in its fight against the FTC in the administrative investigation against it, prompted by a complaint made to the FTC by Tiversa, when LabMD refused to hire Tiversa to repair an...more
We have been following the fight between LabMD and the FTC for years. It has been a story of high emotions, principles, standoffs, aggression, lawsuits, court decisions, Congressional hearings and accusations, all outlined in...more
We previously reported that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had filed suit against LifeLock alleging that it had violated a previous settlement with the FTC regarding false advertising and was in contempt....more
It is scary to read the headlines that kids become victims of crimes, some of them horrific, because of online activity. Kids are naive and susceptible to online predators. Parents must be vigilant in educating their children...more
Last week, the Vienna Higher Regional Court ruled that most of Max Schrems’ claims against Facebook can proceed, including his claim that Facebook improperly allowed his personal information to be shared with the National...more
10/30/2015
/ Austria ,
Binding Corporate Rules ,
Class Action ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection Authority ,
EU Data Protection Laws ,
European Commission ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
International Data Transfers ,
Ireland ,
National Security ,
National Security Agency (NSA) ,
Personal Data ,
Privacy Laws ,
Right to Privacy ,
Safe Harbors ,
safe-h ,
Schrems I & Schrems II ,
US-EU Safe Harbor Framework
Many retail pharmacies, supermarkets and other retailers offer rewards cards that offer discounts on certain items to be purchased in the store. They give you the cards that contain a bar code in regular size, which looks...more
A lot has happened since the European Court of Justice’s declaration that the EU-US safe harbor framework is invalid.
First, the Article 29 Working Party, an organization comprised of representatives from each data...more
10/23/2015
/ Article 29 Working Group ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection Authority ,
Edward Snowden ,
EU Data Protection Laws ,
European Commission ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
International Data Transfers ,
Ireland ,
Judicial Redress Act ,
National Security ,
National Security Agency (NSA) ,
Personal Data ,
Privacy Laws ,
Right to Privacy ,
Safe Harbors ,
Schrems I & Schrems II ,
US-EU Safe Harbor Framework
The European Court of Justice, (the EU’s highest court), ruled on Tuesday, October 6th that the safe harbor pact between the EU and the U.S. should be declared invalid because it fails to provide adequate protection for EU...more
10/9/2015
/ Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection Authority ,
EU Data Protection Laws ,
European Commission ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
International Data Transfers ,
Ireland ,
National Security ,
National Security Agency (NSA) ,
Personal Data ,
Privacy Laws ,
Right to Privacy ,
Safe Harbors ,
Schrems I & Schrems II ,
US-EU Safe Harbor Framework
We’ve all gotten them–the dreaded letter that informs us that our data has been compromised, including our Social Security number. Some have received so many of these “notifications” that they are de-sensitized, throw their...more
10/9/2015
/ Breach Notification Rule ,
Credit Monitoring ,
Credit Reports ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fraud ,
Hackers ,
Identity Theft ,
Personally Identifiable Information
Cybersecurity, encryption, and government surveillance are daily challenges for public officials, corporations, and lawyers. On October 16, the Roger Williams University School of Law will present Cybersecurity and Law...more
10/2/2015
/ Apple ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Edward Snowden ,
Encryption ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Google ,
Hackers ,
National Security ,
National Security Agency (NSA) ,
OPM ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Public Employees ,
Surveillance ,
Symposium
Tricolor Auto Acceptance (Tricolor), a Texas based auto dealer has agreed to settle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Tricolor will pay the FTC $82,777 in...more
Using the Maryland Consumer Protection Act, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh has announced that eye care retailer Visionworks, Inc. has agreed to pay the state of Maryland $100,000 and enhance its security measures...more
9/4/2015
/ Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Encryption ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC v Wyndham ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Wyndham
California based Machinima, an online entertainment network that promoted Xbox One, has settled an investigation with the FTC surrounding its advertising practices. The FTC alleged that Machinima paid “influencers” to post...more
In a strongly worded opinion, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday slammed Wyndham Worldwide Corporation’s arguments that the FTC did not have jurisdiction to enforce the security practices of businesses following a...more
8/31/2015
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC v Wyndham ,
Hackers ,
Jurisdiction ,
Privacy Policy ,
Section 5 ,
Wyndham
The IRS announced last week that the value of identity theft protection services are not taxable and do not have to be included in gross income calculations for tax purposes.
Identity theft continues to be the number one...more
8/21/2015
/ Adjusted Gross Income ,
Credit Monitoring ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hackers ,
Identity Theft ,
IRS
The FTC has made it clear over the past year that it is serious about companies’ compliance with the US-EU and US-Swiss safe harbor programs, and has publicly stated that it is randomly reviewing company websites to ensure...more
The FTC recently announced that it is sending more than $969,000 to 10,387 customers who were bilked out of their funds through a telemarketing scam operated by Innovative Wealth Builders (IWB)....more
In 2010, LifeLock Inc. entered into a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 35 state attorneys general for $12 million for allegations involving false promises and lack of security. The settlement was...more
We (and others) often comment on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) increased enforcement activity of data security issues, particularly with the Wyndham and LabMD cases, and the fact that it is enforcing data security...more
7/10/2015
/ C-Suite Executives ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Security ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC v Wyndham ,
Hackers ,
Information Technology ,
LabMD ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Settlement ,
Wyndham
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was sued this week by Philip Reitinger, a fellow blogger and former Deputy Undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security. He is now President of VisionSpear LLC, an information...more
Intuit, Inc., the maker of the software used by TurboTax customers to file electronic tax returns stopped its e-filing return program in February after receiving notices from multiple states that thousands of fraudulent tax...more
We have been following this case closely. On April 16, the administrative law judge in the FTC v. LabMD case denied LabMD’s request to exclude the FTC from introducing new evidence into the proceeding regarding how Tiversa...more
Target Corp. announced yesterday that it has settled the claims of MasterCard International Inc. (MasterCard) against it to reimburse MasterCard and its card issuers for the losses it sustained in issuing new credit and debit...more
4/17/2015
/ Banks ,
Credit Unions ,
Data Breach ,
Dish Network ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hospitals ,
Information Sharing ,
MasterCard ,
Misrepresentation ,
NLRB ,
Protected Concerted Activity ,
Settlement ,
Target ,
TCPA ,
US-EU Safe Harbor Framework
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced last week that it is settling investigations against American International Mailing, Inc. and TES Franchising LLC alleging that each were misrepresenting to consumers that they...more