Written by Julia Siripurapu Today, the FTC sent more than ninety (90) “educational” letters to domestic and foreign businesses whose Web sites and online services (including mobile apps) appear to collect personal information from children that are 12 years old and under, in an attempt to help the businesses come into compliance with the amendments… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Federal Trade Commission
Subscribe to Federal Trade Commission RSS FeedFTC on COPPA: No Delay
Posted in Children, Federal Trade Commission, Privacy RegulationThis afternoon, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) unanimously rejected requests from industry organizations to delay the July 1 date for compliance with the amendments to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). In its response letter, the Commission noted that the updated rule has been in the works for three years and the July… Continue Reading
War of Words Regarding Implementation of Amendments to COPPA – UPDATE
Posted in Children, Federal Trade Commission, Privacy RegulationUPDATE — The Federal Trade Commission has published its promised COPPA FAQs here. Volley #1 – Trade Associations to FTC: Please Delay! The long-awaited amendments to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) have been the subject of much discussion and debate. Last week, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Edith Ramirez received letters… Continue Reading
Activity at the Federal Trade Commission
Posted in Federal Trade Commission, Privacy Litigation, Privacy RegulationWritten by Amy Malone There is much going on at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) these days, particularly in the privacy arena. In addition to the settlements discussed below, today the White House confirmed that President Obama will nominate Edith Ramirez as Chair of the FTC, replacing outgoing Chairman Jon Leibowitz. Path Settlement: Path, a… Continue Reading
Updated COPPA Rule – “Strong, Stronger and Yet Stronger” or Just More Confusion?
Posted in Children, Federal Trade Commission, Privacy RegulationWritten by Amy Malone After years of consideration and feedback the Federal Trade Commission released the final revision to the 14-year old Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule. The FTC began its review of the Rule back in April 2010 and we reported on the proposed amendments here. The revised Rule, with only a few exceptions, essentially… Continue Reading
“Fair, Adequate and Reasonable”: Federal Judge Approves the FTC’s $22.5 Million Settlement with Google
Posted in Class Action Litigation, Federal Trade CommissionWritten by Jake Romero As previously reported in this blog , Google, Inc. agreed to pay $22.5 Million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it misrepresented its data collection practices to users of Apple, Inc.’s Safari Internet browser . That settlement has now been approved by U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, following a challenge brought… Continue Reading
The FTC Fires Back Against Wyndham
Posted in Data Breach, Data Breach Notification, Federal Trade Commission, Privacy Litigation, Privacy RegulationWritten by Adam Veness The Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) has filed its response to the Wyndham Hotel & Resorts LLC’s (“Wyndham”) Motion to Dismiss. More information about Wyndham’s Motion can be seen in an earlier blog post here. In its response, the FTC rebuts Wyndham’s Motion and argues three main points: 1) the FTC… Continue Reading
FTC to Mobile App Developers: Get Privacy Right from the Start
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, Federal Trade Commission, Online Advertising, Privacy RegulationMobile app developers have some unique challenges when it comes to preparation and implementation of privacy policies. But, regulators have made it quite clear that the general privacy laws and regulations apply whether the application is online or mobile. To refresh your memory, see our Mintz Client Alert (here) regarding the California AG’s agreement with… Continue Reading
Wyndham Motion Puts the FTC on the Defensive
Posted in Data Breach, Federal Trade CommissionWritten by Adam Veness Wyndham Hotel & Resorts LLC (“Wyndham”) has filed a Motion to Dismiss the Federal Trade Commission’s (the “FTC”) Complaint against it, which alleges that Wyndham committed unfair and deceptive acts related to three data security breaches that Wyndham has suffered since 2008. More information about the FTC’s Complaint can be seen… Continue Reading
Federal Trade Commission Sends Strong Message with $22.5 Million Google Settlement
Posted in Federal Trade CommissionWritten by Amy Malone The FTC has finally released details of their settlement with Google, including the hefty price tag of $22.5 million, the highest fine ever slapped on a violator of an FTC consent order. The Internet giant was charged with breaking the terms of the consent order they entered into last year by misrepresenting… Continue Reading
From the Data Protection and Privacy Conference: Words of Advice from the Federal Trade Commission
Posted in Data Breach Notification, Data Compliance & Security, Federal Trade Commission, Identity Theft, Privacy RegulationWritten by Amy Malone Amy Malone is attending the Data Protection & Privacy Law Conference in Arlington, Virginia this week and will be providing updates. Kevin Moriarty from the Division of Privacy and Identity Protection of the Federal Trade Commission addressed the privacy conference on Wednesday. His discussion focused on the current FTC policy work, including workshops… Continue Reading
FTC Sues Wyndham Hotels
Posted in Data Breach, Federal Trade Commission, Privacy LitigationWritten by Amy Malone The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that it has filed suit in U.S. District Court in Phoenix against Wyndham Worldwide Corporation and three of its subsidiaries. The lawsuit cites “alleged data security failures that led to three data breaches at Wyndham hotels in less than two years.” The breaches in question… Continue Reading
Spokeo Agrees to $800,000 FTC Settlement
Posted in Federal Trade CommissionWritten by Adam Veness Spokeo, Inc. has agreed to pay the FTC $800,000 to settle the FTC’s claims alleging that Spokeo violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and committed unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the FTC Act. Spokeo is a data broker that collects personal information of millions of consumers and compiles… Continue Reading
FTC v. Myspace Part II — The Takeaways
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, Federal Trade Commission, Online Advertising, Privacy Litigation, Privacy RegulationThe FTC has again provided us with a road map to compliance through the Myspace consent order. Here are the takeaways that should concern every company with an online presence. Keeping the FTC Out of Your Space — The Takeaways Much can be learned from how the FTC has evaluated the adequacy of Myspace’s privacy policy… Continue Reading
FTC Warns: Practice What You Promise – Part 1
Posted in Federal Trade Commission, Privacy RegulationThe Federal Trade Commission has issued yet another warning to companies operating online: make sure your privacy policy is not making promises that you cannot (or do not) keep. Recently, the FTC entered into an agreement with Myspace and issued a consent order to settle a complaint it filed against the social networking website. This post… Continue Reading
Federal Trade Commission to host mobile payment workshop
Posted in Federal Trade Commission, Privacy RegulationBack in January, the FTC announced that it would hold a workshop to examin the use of mobile payments in the marketplace and the effects on consumers. As promised, the workshop has been scheduled for April 26th, with a link to the agenda . According to the FTC, the workshop will gather consumer advocates, industry members, government representatives,… Continue Reading
$30 million Fine Underscores Importance of Do-Not-Call Compliance
Posted in Federal Trade CommissionWritten by Ernie Cooper Ruling earlier this week on a case brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a federal district court judge levied a total of $30 million in fines against two telemarketers for, among other things, placing prerecorded telemarketing “robocalls” to more than 2.7 million people with numbers on the national Do-Not-Call… Continue Reading
FTC Issues Long-Awaited Privacy Report
Posted in Federal Trade Commission, Legislation, Online Advertising, Privacy RegulationWritten 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
President Obama: “American consumers can’t wait any longer….”
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, Federal Trade Commission, Legislation, Online Advertising, Privacy RegulationAt the White House today, President Obama unveiled his administration’s framework for new privacy regulations and the long-awaited white paper entitled “Consumer Data Privacy in a Networked World: A Framework for Protecting Privacy and Promoting Innovation in the Global Digital Economy.” This follows up on the Department of Commerce “green paper” issued well over a year… Continue Reading
A Top Five List: Data Security and Privacy Issues 2012
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, European Union, Federal Trade Commission, Legislation, Privacy RegulationHere is an article published in Westlaw Journal on the top 5 data security and privacy issues in 2012 (and there could be a “top 20″ if we’d had the column inches!) — a little crystal ball-gazing: Top 5 Commercial Data Security and Privacy Issues in 2012
Broken Privacy Promises from Upromise? FTC Settlement and Key Takeaways (Update)
Posted in Data Compliance & Security, Federal Trade CommissionWritten by Jake Romero According to the Federal Trade Commission, the most remarkable aspect of Upromise, an online college savings program, was not how much its users saved. Rather, it was how much they were giving away. The FTC has announced settlement regarding a complaint it had filed against Upromise, Inc. alleging that the corporation… Continue Reading
