FTC’s first-ever settlement for violation of children’s privacy through connected toys

On January 8, 2018, the FTC announced that VTech Electronics Limited and its US subsidiary (VTech) agreed to settle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) a claim that the companies violated children’s privacy through the commercialization of some connected toys. Allegedly VTech violated COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998) by collecting personal information from children […]

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Eleventh Circuit restricts FTC’s interpretation of unfair privacy practices

On November 10, 2016, the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that merely exposing sensitive data is not reasonably likely to harm consumers. LabMD operated as a clinical laboratory and as part of its business, receives patients’ sensitive personal information, which included their names, birthdates, addresses, and Social Security numbers. LabMD’s billing manager allegedly […]

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FTC settles with data brokers for selling sensitive personal information to marketers/scammers

Three defendants (John Ayers, Leaplab and Leads Company) settled with the Federal Trade Commission the charges that they knowingly provided marketers/scammers with consumers’ sensitive personal information. The FTC pressed charges alleging that the defendants, after collecting from consumers hundreds of thousands of loan applications through payday loan websites (the application included names, address, phone number, […]

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Wyndham settles with FTC after being accused of exposing hundreds of thousands of payment cards’ information

Update on: Federal Trade Commission v. Wyndham Worldwide Corporation et al, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, case no. 13-cv-1887 On December 9, 2015, Wyndham agreed to settle FTC charges that the company “failed to provide reasonable and appropriate security for the personal information [it] collected” (here). According to the settlement agreement, […]

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FTC and European DPAs discuss ways to improve privacy protection at the 2015 Amsterdam Privacy Conference

On October 23, 2015, FTC Commissioner Julie Brill gave the keynote at the Amsterdam Privacy Conference. According to her talk, the EU Court of Justice (ECJ) recent decision to hold Safe Harbour decision invalid (see here)  is an opportunity to improve privacy laws on both sides of the Atlantic. The ECJ decision highlighted “the need to have an […]

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FTC has authority to bring unfairness claims even without formally issuing regulations, the Third Circuit found

The US Court of Appeals for the Third District confirmed that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), does have authority to bring an unfairness claim involving data security breach without formally issuing regulations before bringing such claims. Background. As reported here, after several data breaches the FTC alleged that Wyndham “failed to provide reasonable and appropriate […]

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FTC’s new Office of Technology Research and Investigation

On March 23, 2015, the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection announced the formation of its Office of Technology Research and Investigation. The office aims at ensuring that consumers enjoy technological progress without being placed at risk of deceptive and unfair practices. Follow us on& Like us on    

FTC provides recommendations to address IoT privacy and security challenges

On January 27, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission “FTC” released a detailed report on the Internet of Things (“IoT”), recommending a series of concrete steps for businesses to enhance and protect consumers’ privacy and security. The report includes several recommendations addressing four main topics. First, it recommends the implementation of security measures for companies developing […]

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Snapchat settles with FTC after being accused of deceiving consumers over the amount of personal data collected

On December 31, 2014, the FTC approved a final order settling charges that Snapchat – a popular mobile messaging application – deceived consumers over the amount of personal data it collected and the security measures taken to protect data from misuse and unauthorized disclosure. The final order prohibits Snapchat  from misrepresenting the extent to which it […]

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