On March 21, 2019, the Advocate General (AG) of the highest EU Court (the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)) issued an opinion (opinion) in the Planet49 case[1] on what constitutes valid consent for cookies under the Data Protection Directive, the GDPR, and the e-Privacy Directive. In particular, the AG opines that: 1) … Continue Reading
On March 20, 2019, WSGR partner Cédric Burton and Of Counsel Lore Leitner hosted a webcast, “Brexit and Its Implications for Data Protection.” In this webcast, Burton and Leitner break down the potential far-reaching effects of the United Kingdom’s pending exit from the European Union on businesses operating in the UK and EU. In this … Continue Reading
On January 23, 2019, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) issued an opinion (Opinion) on the interplay between the Clinical Trial Regulation (CTR) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), an issue which has been the subject of intense debate and that resulted in a draft, and still non-public, FAQ prepared by the EU Commission. … Continue Reading
Recently, Vermont became the first state to enact legislation that regulates data brokers who buy and sell personal information. Under the new law, data brokers in Vermont will now have to register with the state, adopt standard security measures, and provide information to the state regarding their data collection practices. The law was passed in … Continue Reading
California Signs the First IoT Security Bill into Law, and the FTC Submits Comments to the Consumer Product Safety Commission Regarding the IoT California’s New IoT Law On September 28, 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a cybersecurity bill governing Internet of Things (IoT) devices, the first law of its kind in the … Continue Reading
In July 2018, the French data protection authority (the CNIL) issued two public formal notices against two marketing platform providers— Teemo1 and Fidzup2—for failing to obtain valid consent under the General Data Protection Regulaton (GDPR) for the use of location data for profiling and targeted advertising.3 The CNIL gave the two French companies three months … Continue Reading
On September 1, 2018, a new Colorado law took effect that, among other things, amends the state’s data breach law to: (1) expand the scope of the categories of “personal information” that trigger notification requirements; (2) require notification to residents and the state attorney general no more than 30 days after determining that a security … Continue Reading
On April 30,2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a settlement with mobile phone manufacturer BLU Products and its owner over allegations that the company failed to implement appropriate procedures to oversee their service providers’ security practices, which allowed the service provider to install software containing commonly known security vulnerabilities on consumers’ mobile devices and … Continue Reading
On April 12, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it was withdrawing its proposed August 2017 privacy and data security settlement with Uber Technologies and issuing a new and expanded proposed settlement.1 According to the FTC, the reason for this extraordinary step was to address additional allegations of misconduct by the ride-sharing company … Continue Reading
On March 23, 2018, President Trump signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, which contained a section entitled the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act. The CLOUD Act significantly revises the rules underlying law enforcement requests for access to communications information stored abroad, and may have far-reaching implications for companies that collect, … Continue Reading
In February 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a report that explores the complexities of the mobile ecosystem and makes recommendations for industry to improve the mobile security update process for consumers. The report is part of the FTC’s effort to address concerns that mobile devices are not receiving the operating system patches they … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently granted a petition by Sears Holding Management requesting that the FTC reopen and modify a 2009 FTC order settling charges that Sears failed to disclose adequately the scope of consumers’ personal information it collected via a downloadable software app. Sears’ 2009 Order On August 31, 2009, the FTC entered … Continue Reading
On June 1, 2018, the Alabama Data Breach Notification Act of 2018 will take effect. In addition to being the last state to enact a breach notification law, Alabama’s new law distinguishes itself in a variety of unique ways. Consistent with other state breach notification laws, the new law defines “sensitive personally identifying information” maintained … Continue Reading
On February 26, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an en banc decision in FTC v. AT&T holding that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act’s “common carrier” exemption is activity-based, reversing the panel’s decision that the exemption is status-based, which would have opened a large enforcement gap for telecommunications companies … Continue Reading
On February 27, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced1 that it had reached an agreement with PayPal to settle allegations that its peer-to-peer payment service, Venmo, engaged in deceptive acts and practices and violated the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)’s Safeguards Rule2 and Privacy Rule.3 Since 2011, Venmo has offered peer-to-peer payment services through an app … Continue Reading
On February 21, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its latest Interpretive Guidance on Public Company Cybersecurity Disclosures. Although cybersecurity has been a focus of the SEC for many years, the release is the first formal guidance issued by the agency. Previously, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance issued informal staff guidance … Continue Reading
2018 promises to be an interesting year in the world of privacy and cybersecurity. In this article, we highlight a few of the most notable developments we expect this year, including major developments in Europe, changes and pending cases at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), notable U.S. Supreme Court cases scheduled to be decided this … Continue Reading
On September 5, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it and 32 state attorneys general had settled charges with Lenovo, Inc., regarding the company’s practice of pre-loading advertising software on its laptops that compromised consumers’ cybersecurity and privacy.1 In many respects, the case was reasonably straightforward: the facts as alleged were clear, and … Continue Reading
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California recently issued a mixed ruling on D-Link Systems’ motion to dismiss in FTC v. D-Link Sys., Inc.1 D-Link sells routers and Internet protocol (IP) cameras that it markets as having good data security, including “the latest wireless security features to help prevent unauthorized access” and … Continue Reading
The biggest question looming over every class-action case filed in response to a data breach is: Will the plaintiffs have standing? The answer has divided courts in recent cases across the country. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins that Congress could not confer standing to plaintiffs based on a … Continue Reading
On September 5, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it and 32 state attorneys general had settled charges with Lenovo regarding the company’s practice of pre-loading software on its laptops that compromised consumers’ cybersecurity and privacy. As part of the settlement, Lenovo agreed to pay $3.5 million in penalties to the states, and per an … Continue Reading
On August 15, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had reached an agreement with Uber Technologies to settle allegations that the ride-sharing company had deceived consumers by failing to live up to its privacy and data security promises.1 Specifically, the FTC levied two deception counts against Uber: (1) that the company had … Continue Reading
On July 3, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had settled charges that defendants Blue Global, an operator of dozens of consumer loan lead generation websites, and its founder and CEO, Christopher Kay, violated the FTC Act. The FTC alleges that the defendants had, among other practices, misled consumers about Blue Global’s … Continue Reading
On August 25, 2016, investment firm Muddy Waters Research announced it had taken a short position in St. Jude Medical, Inc., and released a report suggesting a “strong possibility that close to half of” St. Jude revenues were about to disappear for a period of roughly two years because St. Jude’s implantable cardiac devices were allegedly … Continue Reading
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