Privacy & Security Matters Mintz Levin : Data Compliance & Security, Employee Privacy Lawyer & Attorney

Monthly Archives: March 2012

FTC Issues Long-Awaited Privacy Report

Posted in Federal Trade Commission, Legislation, Online Advertising, Privacy Regulation

Written by Adam Veness Earlier today, the FTC held a press conference and issued a final report setting forth best practices for businesses to protect American consumers and to provide consumers with greater control over the collection and use of their data.  You can find the full report here:  Final Commission Report on Protecting Consumer… Continue Reading

Facebook speaks out on employers asking for — or requiring — passwords

Posted in Uncategorized

Following up on our post yesterday on the disturbing practice of employers requesting — and sometimes requiring — both employees and prospective employees to hand over social networking passwords — Facebook has something to say about this. In a company blog post today, Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan said, “This practice undermines the privacy… Continue Reading

Overheard in the interview room: What is your Facebook password?

Posted in Employee Privacy, Privacy Regulation

If you’ve missed this development of late, the word on the street is that prospective employers are not just using Google to search for whatever may be available on the Internet — they are asking applicants to provide their Facebook passwords to allow the prospective employer to peruse their Facebook page. Our colleagues over at… Continue Reading

The cost of HIPAA non-compliance – $17 million – UPDATE

Posted in Data Breach, Data Breach Notification, Data Compliance & Security, HIPAA/HITECH

Written by Kevin McGinty   If it wasn’t clear before, a recent settlement of HIPAA claims brought by the Department of Health and Human Services against BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (“BCBST”) underscores the high regulatory cost of non-compliance with privacy requirements.  HHS announced on March 13, 2012  that BCBST has agreed to pay $1.5 million… Continue Reading

Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights – Summary and Invitation to Comment

Posted in Data Compliance & Security, Legislation, Privacy Regulation

The Department of Commerce has already taken the first steps to implementing the White House’s Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights announced last month.  Commerce has invited comment on “what issues should be addressed through the privacy multi-stakeholder process and how to structure these discussions so they are open, transparent, and most productive.” According to the Federal… Continue Reading