On April 25, 2023 four federal agencies—the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...more
5/2/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Automation Systems ,
Bias ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Joint Statements ,
Machine Learning
On Wednesday, March 15, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced an inquiry into data brokers, issuing a “Request for Information Regarding Data Brokers and Other Business Practices Involving the Collection...more
On Thursday, March 2, the FTC announced an enforcement action against BetterHelp, Inc., an online mental health counseling service, relating to claims that the company’s collection and use of consumer health data were unfair...more
3/8/2023
/ Advertising ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
LGBTQ ,
Mental Health ,
Pharmacies ,
Section 5 ,
Settlement ,
Telehealth ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On February 27, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a blog post advising companies to monitor their claims regarding their use of artificial intelligence (or AI). ...more
On February 17, 2023, the state attorneys general of Pennsylvania and Ohio reached a settlement with Ohio-based DNA Diagnostics Center (“DDC”) for a 2021 data breach that affected 2.1 million individuals nationwide and...more
2/23/2023
/ Clinical Laboratories ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Laboratories ,
Material Misstatements ,
PHI ,
Settlement ,
State Attorneys General ,
Statutory Violations
On February 1, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reached a settlement with digital health platform GoodRx for sharing users’ personal health information with third parties without properly disclosing their data...more
On December 19, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reached two separate record-breaking settlements with Epic Games, Inc. (“Epic”) over allegations, among others, that the Fortnite video game maker knowingly violated the...more
On November 15, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a six-month delay of the deadline by which companies must comply with recent amendments to its Standards for Safeguarding Customer Information (“the Safeguards...more
On September 15, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a report on dark patterns (the, “Report”) that identifies the types of misleading and manipulative interface practices that the agency believes can harm...more
On August 11, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (the FTC or the Commission) published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to request public comment on the prevalence of “commercial surveillance and data security...more
On May 24, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a new publication aimed at offering financial institutions and their service providers guidance on the FTC’s recently revised Safeguards Rule under the...more
On May 19, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or the “Commission”) including Commissioner Alvaro M. Bedoya in his first sitting since being sworn in to the Commission, held an open meeting to discuss two critical topics:...more
5/26/2022
/ Administrative Authority ,
Advertising ,
Compliance ,
COPPA ,
Data Collection ,
Educational Institutions ,
Endorsements ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Endorsement Guidelines ,
Online Reviews ,
Public Comment ,
Public Meetings ,
Public Policy ,
Public Schools ,
Testimonial Statements ,
Virtual Education Tools
On Wednesday, May 11, after a lengthy delay, the US Senate voted 51-50 to confirm Alvaro M. Bedoya as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”), and he was sworn in on May 16. Bedoya fills the...more
On April 19, 2022, the Better Business Bureau’s (BBB) Center for Industry Self-Regulation introduced the TeenAge Privacy Program (TAPP), an emerging initiative that sets out to help companies develop a teen-centric approach...more
5/4/2022
/ Behavioral Advertising ,
Better Business Bureau ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) ,
Consent ,
COPPA ,
Data Retention ,
Data-Sharing ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Online Advertisements ,
Online Platforms ,
Parental Consent ,
User-Generated Content
U.S. privacy law is undergoing dramatic change on an accelerating pace. New laws across the country address specific industries, certain kinds of data, and various concerning practices. There is international pressure to...more
4/22/2022
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition Authorities ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection Authority ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Personal Data ,
Privacy Laws ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Right to Privacy ,
Social Networks
In the latest of a flurry of FTC actions, the agency recently announced that it had entered into a consent order with CafePress, an online customized merchandise platform, over allegations that it failed to secure consumers’...more
3/22/2022
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
NIST ,
Personal Information ,
Popular ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reached a settlement with WW International Inc., formerly known as Weight Watchers (WW), over allegations that the company collected children’s information without parental consent in...more
Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) released two guidance documents to aid in compliance with its Health Breach Notification Rule (“the Rule”), which requires “vendors of personal health records” or “PHR related...more
Will 2022 be the year for a national privacy law? We are seeing new federal proposals, ongoing negotiations about key issues such as a private right of action and state pre-emption, and new activity at the state level. There...more
12/29/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Data Privacy ,
Disparate Impact ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
International Data Transfers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Notice Requirements ,
Personal Data ,
Personal Information ,
State Privacy Laws
On October 27, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a newly updated rule under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) intended to require financial institutions to strengthen their data security safeguards to protect...more
11/1/2021
/ Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Gramm-Leach-Blilely Act ,
Personal Information ,
Risk Assessment ,
Safeguards Rule ,
Security Risk Assessments ,
Third-Party Service Provider
On September 16, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) held its third Open Commission Meeting in as many months. The Commission addressed four items: (1) whether to issue a policy statement affirming that...more
10/13/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ,
Committee Meetings ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mobile App Privacy Guidelines ,
Mobile Apps ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
PHI ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
Technology Sector ,
Vertical Mergers
On July 21, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) held its second Open Commission Meeting. There were three items on the agenda: (1) whether or not to rescind a 1995 policy statement on prior approval and...more
8/9/2021
/ Competition ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Magnuson-Moss Act ,
Manufacturers ,
Mergers ,
Policy Statement ,
Product Labels ,
Public Comment ,
Public Meetings ,
Right to Repair
On Thursday, July 1, the Federal Trade Commission held its first meeting under Chair Lina M. Khan and first open business meeting in over twenty years. The Commission considered four items during the nearly two hour long...more
7/13/2021
/ Administrative Procedure ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Labeling ,
Made in the USA ,
Magnuson-Moss Act ,
Public Comment ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On June 7, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a settlement with MoviePass relating to allegations that MoviePass and its executives took steps to block subscribers from using the service as advertised, and...more
Last Friday - on March 25, 2021 - Acting FTC Chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter announced the creation of a new rulemaking group within the FTC’s Office of the General Counsel. With this group, the FTC is poised to create new...more