The Federal Trade Commission issued notices on March 5 seeking public comment on proposed amendments to the regulations implementing the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, commonly known as the Safeguards Rule and Privacy Rule. Once the notices are published in the Federal Register comments must be received within 60 days. The proposed changes to the Safeguards Rule add a number of more detailed security requirements, whereas the proposed changes to the Privacy Rule are more focused on technical changes to align the Rule with changes in law over the past decade.
Tag Archives: Consumer Protection
FTC Obtains Record COPPA Settlement
On February 27, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it settled with the operators of a video social networking app for a record civil penalty of $5.7 million under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”). This FTC COPPA action was notable not just for the size of the penalty, but also because of the joint statement by the two Democratic Commissioners, Rebecca Slaughter and Rohit Chopra, that future FTC enforcement should seek to hold corporate officers and directors accountable for violations of consumer protection law.
Busting the Myth: Compliance with the ‘Gold Standard’ of the GDPR Does Not Buy You a ‘Free Pass’ Under China’s New Personal Information Guidelines
On December 29, 2017, the Standardization Administration of China, jointly with the PRC General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, issued the Information Security Technology – Personal Information Security Specification, which officially came into effect on May 1, 2018. The Specification has, in very practical terms, become an important point of reference in evaluating the complex overlay of data protection compliance requirements found in the Cyber Security Law, the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, the e-Commerce Law and other enactments and measures.
Privacy and Cybersecurity June 2017 Events
Please join us for our June 2017 Privacy and Cybersecurity Events.
Consumer Protection Enforcement is #trending: How to Avoid FTC and State Investigations, and What to do When You Get the Knock on the Door
Join us for a discussion of hot topics in Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state consumer protection enforcement. Partners Bret Cohen, Meghan Rissmiller, and Steven Steinborn will cover recent developments and enforcement trends in data privacy/security, advertising/endorsements, and claim substantiation in practice before the FTC and state authorities.
The White House Announces a Cybersecurity Summit and Information Sharing Proposals
President Obama today addressed cybersecurity for the second time in as many days in a speech at the Department of Homeland Security’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC). Early this morning, the White House announced a February 13 Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection and released further details on several initiatives to promote cybersecurity information sharing between the private sector and government. The President then convened a meeting with congressional leaders in which he discussed cybersecurity issues. Speaking about his cooperation with House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the President noted “I think we agreed that this is an area where we can work hard together, get some legislation done and make sure that we are much more effective in protecting the American people from these kinds of cyber attacks.” Today’s developments follow the President’s address to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) yesterday, in which he announced a legislative proposal on national data breach reporting and emphasized the importance of student and consumer privacy. Together, these events provide a preview of initiatives that the President is expected to highlight during his State of the Union address on January 20.
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.