The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) issued a Request for Comments (RFC) on a new consumer privacy approach that is designed to focus on outcomes instead of prescriptive mandates. The RFC presents an important opportunity for organizations to provide legal and policy input to the administration, and comments are due October 26.
Tag Archives: consumer privacy
Privacy and Cybersecurity February 2017 Events
Please join us for our February 2017 Privacy and Cybersecurity Events.
Upcoming DC Program Explores Where We Are Headed with Section 5 of the FTC Act
Data privacy and security regulators don’t always agree. Take a look at the Federal Trade Commission for example. In recent years, FTC commissioners have disagreed about the role that cost-benefit analyses should play and the types of consumer harms that should be considered in the FTC’s data privacy and security enforcement actions. For organizations that rely on the collection and use of consumer information, understanding the different viewpoints at the FTC and how those viewpoints may influence future enforcement is vital to evaluating risk. On Thursday, November 5, 2015, the Future of Privacy Forum will look at those issues as it celebrates its new home and its new partnership with Washington & Lee University School Law by hosting a panel discussion addressing the Future of Section 5 of the FTC Act. Panelists David Vladeck (former FTC Consumer Bureau Director David Vladeck) and James Cooper (former Acting Director of the Office of Policy Planning) will look at key Section 5 issues.
California AG Sends Enforcement Letter to Developers of Popular Mobile Apps
On Tuesday, October 30, the California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced that her office has begun “formally notifying” mobile device application (“app”) operators that they are out of compliance with the notice provisions of the California Online Privacy Protection Act of 2003 (“CalOPPA”). The letters are a reminder that app developers and their partners should review their app data privacy and security practices and ensure that any apps collecting PII comply with the CalOPPA requirements, as well as other applicable Federal and state laws.
Details on FTC Recommendation of Legislation to Address Practices of Information Brokers
In the report issued by the FTC yesterday, the FTC calls on Congress to consider enacting targeted legislation to provide greater transparency for, and control over, the practices of information brokers and to allow consumers to access their data maintained by information brokers. The FTC notes that Congress could model any such legislation on a bill that the House passed during the 111th Congress, as well as similar bills introduced in the 112th Congress. These bills included some data accuracy and access provisions that were targeted specifically to information brokers. The bills are detailed in this blog entry.
White House Announces New Privacy Framework Including Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights
The White House released its long-awaited Privacy “White Paper” that outlines the Obama Administration’s proposal for a new American privacy framework, which consists of four key elements: (1) a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights; (2) a multi-stakeholder process to determine how these rights will apply in specific business contexts; (3) an effective enforcement model; and (4) greater interoperability between the privacy frameworks of the United States and its international partners.
BREAKING NEWS: White House to Unveil Blueprint for a “Privacy Bill of Rights” in its Long-Awaited Privacy Report
Later today the White House will release its long-awaited privacy report entitled, “Consumer Data Privacy in a Networked World: A Framework for Protecting Privacy and Promoting Innovation in the Global Digital Economy.” The cornerstone of the report is a “Privacy Bill of Rights” aimed at improving consumers’ privacy protections and providing greater certainty to businesses, in order to foster innovation and growth in the Internet economy. The White House also announced that the companies responsible for the delivery of nearly 90% of online behavioral advertisements have agreed to honor consumers’ privacy choices made via Do Not Track technology on web browsers.