Rebecca Weitzel Garcia

Subscribe to Rebecca Weitzel Garcia's Posts

We are less than a month into the new Trump administration and are seeing an unprecedented wave of activity and major changes at federal agencies. These changes promise to bring significant disruption to the staff and negatively impact the typical activities of numerous agencies, including the nation’s consumer protection watchdog, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). As discussed below, we expect the impact on the FTC to be significant given the rapid and aggressive moves by the new administration. And we expect state Attorneys General (AGs) to step in to fill the gap.Continue Reading Consumer Protection Update: With Disruption at the Federal Level, State Attorneys General Are Likely to Loom Large

Companies that may have child users, or whose competitors have child users, take note. On January 16, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the final amendments to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA Rule). At a high level, the COPPA Rule requires websites or online services to provide notice and obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting information from children under the age of 13. The Rule’s amendments slightly expand the Rule’s scope, change the previous notice and consent provisions, and implement new data security requirements. Violations of the Rule would be subject to $53,088 in civil penalties per violation.Continue Reading New Federal Children’s Privacy Requirements Are Not Child’s Play: FTC Amends COPPA Rule, Imposing New Obligations on Child-Directed Services

With Inauguration Day just around the corner, we are likely to see a host of new legislative and enforcement initiatives at the federal level. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will shift certain priorities under incoming Chairman Andrew Ferguson’s direction. And at the state level, legislatures and state attorneys general (state AGs) will continue to be active, enacting and enforcing a slate of new laws. As we ring in the new year, companies should be mindful of the new laws, regulations, and enforcement priorities that will likely impact them. Below are the top 10 U.S. privacy, cybersecurity, and consumer protection developments to watch out for in 2025:Continue Reading New Year, New Developments: 2025 U.S. Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Consumer Protection Predictions

Companies that automatically renew customers’ subscriptions or memberships, take note. On October 16, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced sweeping amendments to the Negative Option Rule, which would apply to a host of subscription-based products and services that have an auto-renewal feature (i.e., a negative option offering), including those directed to businesses. The Rule includes specific and prescriptive requirements, such as requirements to 1) obtain consumers’ affirmative consent to an auto renewal feature “separate from any other portion of the transaction,” 2) present all material terms of the transaction “immediately adjacent to” the means of recording consumer consent, and 3) allow for simple cancellation in the same medium the consumer used to consent, noting that a chatbot cancellation method would not be acceptable unless the initial transaction was made through a chatbot. Violations of the Rule would be subject to $51,744 in civil penalties per violation.Continue Reading Subscription and Auto-Renew Offerings Face New Hurdles: FTC Issues Broad “Click-to-Cancel” Rule Imposing Nationwide Requirements

On October 1, 2024, the Maryland Age-Appropriate Design Code (Maryland AADC) became effective. The Maryland AADC introduces onerous new compliance requirements on companies that are reasonably likely to be accessed by minors under the age of 18.Continue Reading Maryland Age-Appropriate Design Code Effective October 1, 2024

In a decision with far-ranging implications for federal administrative law, the United States Supreme Court issued its long-awaited ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (Loper Bright).1 The Supreme Court’s six-Justice majority held that the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) requires courts interpreting agency regulations to determine independently whether the agencies have acted within their statutory authority, even where the statute at issue is ambiguous. In so holding, the Court overruled its 1984 decision in Chevron USA v. Natural Resources Defense Council, which for the last four decades had governed thousands of cases involving federal agency interpretations of ambiguous laws.Continue Reading “Chevron is overruled”: How Loper Bright Will Change the Regulatory Law Landscape

On June 18, 2024, the California Attorney General and the Los Angeles City Attorney (collectively, “the People”) announced a settlement with Tilting Point Media LLC (Tilting Point). The settlement resolves allegations that Tilting Point violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and the Privacy Rights for California Minors in the Digital World Act (Digital Privacy for Minors Act).Continue Reading Video Game App Developer Agrees to Pay $500,000 for Children’s and Minors’ CCPA, COPPA, and Ads Violations