ThinkstockPhotos-87341406-webThis article is the second in a series of articles that discuss the importance of privacy and data security considerations in the transactional context.

In light of numerous costly security breaches affecting disparate sectors of the American economy, public companies—ranging from merchants like Target Corporation and The Home Depot to technology firms like Adobe Systems, and from entertainment companies like Sony Entertainment to insurers like Anthem Blue Cross, to name a few examples—are under increased pressure to ensure that cyber risks are appropriately evaluated, addressed, and disclosed to investors. Because of the increasing number and cost of data security incidents, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken an active role in advising public companies on how to appropriately manage and disclose cyber risks. SEC cyber risk guidance to date, outside of advice specific to the financial services industry, relates to: (i) the responsibilities and duties that boards of public companies must bear with regard to cyber risk; and (ii) the manner in which public companies should disclose (when appropriate) the relevant cyber risks in company filings with the SEC.
Continue Reading Navigating Public Company Cybersecurity Obligations: Advising Boards and Disclosing to Investors

ThinkstockPhotos-469750754-webOn October 17, 2014, the White House released its plans for a “BuySecure Initiative” in an executive order entitled “Improving the Security of Consumer Financial Transactions.” The initiative aims to push the market toward adopting more secure payment methods and to reduce the burden on consumers seeking to remediate identity theft incidents. The White House simultaneously published a fact sheet explaining the impetus for the action, the changes proposed in the order, and the potential downstream effects from the steps outlined.
Continue Reading Recent Executive Order to Push for Security of Consumer Financial Transactions, Identity Theft Remediation

Making a splash with its first-ever data security enforcement actions, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) entered uncharted waters late last year by aggressively asserting its role in safeguarding consumer information. In the fall of 2014, for the first time, the FCC took administrative enforcement action in two instances against telecommunications carriers that misused data, misrepresented their data security efforts, and failed to appropriately secure customer data. The FCC’s efforts demonstrate that it believes it has a role to play in the wider privacy landscape, even as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has thus far taken the lead on privacy and data security enforcement.1
Continue Reading FCC Dives into Privacy and Data Security Enforcement

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently adopted the Privacy Notice Rule, a final rule that permits the financial institutions it regulates the option to post annual consumer privacy notices online, rather than mailing paper copies to customers, under certain conditions.1

The Privacy Notice Rule is the latest instance of regulatory relief provided to financial institutions by the CFPB. The new rule, which follows on the heels of other streamlining rulemakings by the CFPB, aims to reduce unnecessary or unduly burdensome regulatory requirements in the financial sector: the CFPB estimates that, as a result of the rule, financial institutions’ compliance expenses will decrease by approximately $17 million annually.2
Continue Reading Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Issues Final Rule Regarding Online Annual Consumer Privacy Notices

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) prohibits companies from collecting personal information from children under the age of 13 without first providing notice to parents and obtaining their verifiable consent. The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) recent settlements with Yelp and TinyCo serve as a reminder to mobile app developers that the failure to consider COPPA when developing and testing mobile apps can have serious consequences.
Continue Reading COPPA Looms Large for Mobile Apps

Online interest-based advertising, sometimes called behavioral advertising, is big business. Advertisers—and the technology companies that make this business possible—use information collected from a particular computer or device, over time and across others’ websites, to predict preferences and target and display advertising that is most likely to interest the user.

With encouragement from the Federal Trade Commission,1 online advertising industry organizations adopted a set of “Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising (OBA Principles),”2 which apply to members of those organizations: the ad networks, advertising agencies, service providers, and web publishers that engage in or facilitate the collection of online user data across websites for purposes of interest-based advertising. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) enforces the OBA Principles through its Online Interest-Based Advertising Accountability Program (Accountability Program). Recent action by the BBB reflects its commitment to vigorously enforce the OBA Principles.
Continue Reading Better Business Bureau Keeps Promise of Vigorous Enforcement of Online Interest-Based Advertising Accountability Program