The UK Information Commissioner's Office announces new rules for website cookies, which will normally require explicit user consent.
On May 12, 2011, the Federal Trade Commission announced that the operators of 20 online virtual worlds have agreed to pay $3 million to settle charges that they violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection (COPPA) Rule by collecting and disclosing personal information from hundreds of thousands of children under age 13 without their parents' prior consent. The FTC noted that this settlement is the largest civil penalty for a violation of the FTC's COPPA Rule.
On May 10, 2011, the Senate Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law held a hearing on mobile privacy. We covered the hearing in detail on our blog. Yesterday, InfoLawGroup partner Boris Segalis spoke with Fox Live's Tracy Byrnes about the balance between business and consumer interests that mobile privacy implicates.The clip from the interview is available on Fox at http://video.foxnews.com/v/4689248/the-congressional-mobile-privacy-hearing/?playlist_id=86861
On May 3, 2011, the Federal Trade Commission announced that Ceridian Corporation and Lookout Services, Inc. agreed to settle the FTC's allegations that the companies failed to safeguard their business customers' employee personal information. Ceridian's services include payroll processing, payroll-related tax filing, benefits administration and other human resource services for business customers. Lookout provides a web-based computer product that is designed to help employers comply with their obligations under federal law to complete and maintain a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Form I-9 about each employee in order to verify that the employee is eligible to work in the United States.
Our readers may have noticed that there is a lot in the privacy news this week. On Monday, I appeared on FoxNews.com Live to discuss smartphones and location privacy. Yesterday, Dave appeared on Fox 31 Denver KDVR to discuss The National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC). And new privacy and security law stories are breaking on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis. We will continue to watch these and other rapidly evolving issues and will post new developments here.
In what may be a sign of an evolving judicial atmosphere and approach concerning data breach lawsuits, a Federal judge in the Northern District of California District Court recently refused to dismiss various causes of action related to a data breach involving RockYou. In particular, the Court explored the issue of whether the plaintiff sufficiently alleged "harm" arising out of the data breach. This blog post takes a look the highlights of the Court's decision.
Dave, Scott and I recently spoke with Nymity about the Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights Act of 2011 introduced by Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and John McCain (R-AZ) last Tuesday. You can read the interview here. We provide a general summary of the bill and identify some of the key challenges organizations will face if the bill becomes law.
As we have reported previously on our blog, federal agencies, including the FTC, NLRB and EEOC have been very active in taking action against privacy and information security violations. This trend continues with the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC's) recent announcement of a settlement with three former executives a brokerage firm (GunnAllen Financial, Inc.). The SEC alleged that the former executives violated the Commission's Privacy Rule and Safeguards Rule (Regulation S-P) and aided and abetted the firm in violating these rules. This enforcement action marks the first time the SEC assessed financial penalties against individuals charged solely with violating Regulation S-P.
InfoLawGroup was recently profiled in the Los Angeles Daily Journal. "The Social (Law Firm) Network" is reprinted here with permission from the Daily Journal. We wish all of our clients, friends, and readers a great weekend.
The Google Buzz settlement that the Federal Trade Commission announced on March 30, 2011 is the latest in the line of the Commission's numerous Section 5 actions related to privacy and data security violations. The Google Buzz settlement, however, is unique in several important ways. The settlement represents (i) the first FTC settlement order has requires a company to implement a comprehensive privacy program to protect the privacy of consumers' information, and (ii) the Commission's first substantive U.S.-EU Safe Harbor framework enforcement action. Let's dive in (make sure to read the "Action Item" at the conclusion of the post!).
The FTC's December 2010 release of its much anticipated Privacy Framework included the typical public comment period, which ended in February. We've reviewed each of the 442 separate comments received by the FTC during the comment period to uncover the themes, trends and thoughts raised by the Framework. The result is added perspective into what the FTC will be weighing in its future versions and any resulting recommendations for additional legislation and regulation. With this in mind, what can the public comments tell us?
On March 18, 2011, the Oklahoma State House passed the Electric Utility Data Protection Act (House Bill 1079). The state's Senate will consider the bill next.The Act seeks to establish standards to govern the use and disclosure of electric utility usage data (including personal information) by electric utilities, customers of electric utilities and third parties. The Act also requires electric utility companies to maintain the confidentiality of customer data and allow customers to access the data. State Rep. Scott Martin noted that customers will see energy savings from the Smart Grid, but are vulnerable to potential access of their data by third parties. "This legislation should ensure customers can reap the many benefits of this new system without having to fear someone getting access to their data without permission," said Martin. The legislation is said to have the support of the Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company, which has already converted 100,000 standard meters to smart meters in the state and plans to install 800,000 smart meters in the next two years.