Massachusetts appears to have followed California’s lead in opening a litigation floodgate over ZIP code collection at the point of sale. In 2011, the California Supreme Court held in Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma Stores, Inc., 246 P.3d 612 (Cal. 2011), that a retailer illegally collects personal identification information (PII) when it requests and records ZIP codes… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Consumer Protection
FTC Updates Its “Dot Com Disclosures” With a Focus on Social Media Advertising
Posted in FTCOn March 12, 2013, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an important update to its “Dot Com Disclosures” guide to advertisers on making effective online disclosures. In doing so, the FTC has driven home the points that: The consumer protection laws apply to all advertisers, regardless of the medium used—and including social media, even where there… Continue Reading
FTC Announces Important Settlement With Social Networking App and Releases New Mobile App Report
Posted in FTC, Litigation, PrivacyThe Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a potentially groundbreaking settlement with the social networking app Path and released an important new staff report on Mobile Privacy Disclosures late last week. The FTC’s Settlement with Path suggests a new standard may be on the near-term horizon: out-of-policy, just-in-time notice and express consent for the collection of… Continue Reading
You Can’t Make a Square Peg Fit in a Round Hole: California Supreme Court Holds Online Purchases of Electronically Downloadable Products Outside Scope of Song-Beverly Act
Posted in Litigation, PrivacyHanding a victory to online retailers, on February 4, 2013, the California Supreme Court held in a split decision that online transactions involving electronically downloadable products fall outside the scope of the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act (Apple v. Superior Court (Krescent), S199384). Despite acknowledging the unique fraud issues present in online transactions, the Court refused… Continue Reading
FTC Issues Substantially Revised COPPA Rule, Effective July 1, 2013: Review of Changes and Compliance Tips
Posted in FTC, PrivacyOn December 19, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission (“Commission”) announced long-awaited amendments to its rule implementing the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“Rule”). The changes—which take effect on July 1, 2013—are significant. They alter the scope and obligations of the Rule in a number of ways. We discuss the revisions in greater detail below. The… Continue Reading
FTC Snuffs Out Online “History Sniffing”
Posted in FTC, PrivacyThe Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has cracked down on a company that was engaged in “history sniffing,” a means of online tracking that digs up information embedded in web browsers to reveal the websites that users have visited. In a proposed settlement with Epic Marketplace, Inc. and Epic Media Group (together, “EMG”) announced on December… Continue Reading
California A.G. Makes Good on Promise to Pursue Apps That Don’t Comply With the State’s Privacy Policy Law
Posted in FTC, PrivacyOn October 30, 2012, California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced that her office would begin notifying the developers of as many as 100 mobile apps that their apps do not comply with the state’s Online Privacy Protection Act (OPPA) and that they have 30 days to bring them into compliance. The announcement does not come… Continue Reading
More Change Coming: The FTC Proposes Further Significant Changes to Its COPPA Rule
Posted in FTC, PrivacyThe Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (“COPPA”), which became effective in April 2000, has long served as the primary regulatory tool of the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) to police online privacy issues concerning children under 13. The COPPA Rule (the “Rule”), promulgated by the FTC pursuant to COPPA, in general requires the… Continue Reading
FTC’s Privacy Report Suggests Tightening of Privacy Regime, Provides Guidance to Business
Posted in FTC, PrivacyOn March 26, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission (the “Commission” or “FTC”) released its much-anticipated final privacy report, Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change. The report builds upon the Commission’s December 2010 preliminary report, and provides recommendations for businesses and policymakers with respect to online and offline privacy practices. The report will… Continue Reading
Real News About Fake News Sites
Posted in FTCThe Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) recently asked federal courts to shut down ten websites that touted the purported benefits of acai berry weight-loss products. These were not your average promotional sites: Each was convincingly designed to have the look and feel of a news reporting site. For example, the headline of one site read, “Acai… Continue Reading