The Supreme Court yesterday denied an attempt by a defendant to moot a class action under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 48 Stat. 1064, Pub. L. 102–243 (Dec. 20, 1991) (codified at 47 U.S.C. § 227), on the basis of an unaccepted settlement offer to the named plaintiff. The case, Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez
CPSC Staff Appear Set to Get Vote on Voluntary Standards
Members of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are set to vote on a final rule to allow the staff not only to participate on the committees that develop voluntary standards, but to vote as members of the committees and even lead them (provided the Executive Director gives prior approval). If the Commission approves
Brain-Training App Maker to Pay $2 Million to Settle FTC False Ad Claims
Lumosity, an online site and smartphone app, is supposed to help its users train their brains so they can achieve their “full potential in every aspect of life.” Unfortunately, the company was unenlightened when it came to avoiding false advertising claims. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the company claimed that using its
New Year, New Cyber Law
In the rush of holidays and storms around the country (and weirdly warm weather here in D.C.), it was easy to miss that Congress finally approved the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA). The bill was included in the middle of its omnibus spending package, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, Pub. L. 114–113 (Dec. 18,
FTC Issues Enforcement Policy Statement and Guidance on “Native Advertising”
“Native Advertising” has been on the radar screen for several years, with consumer groups, businesses and regulators alike considering what the rules of the game should be to avoid deception as the nature of publishing and advertising continue to evolve at a dizzying pace. Those rules became clearer on December 22, 2015, when the Federal
Two App Developers Agree on COPPA Settlement with FTC
Two app developers have settled complaints from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that they allowed third parties to collect information, including persistent identifiers, through their apps, and allowed third parties to serve advertising to children, in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The FTC’s announcement was released the same day it announced
Agreement Reached on Landmark EU Data Protection Reform
On December 15, 2015, the European Commission announced that an agreement has been reached with the European Parliament and the Council (the “trilogue” meetings) regarding the Commission’s sweeping 2012 EU Data Protection Reform proposal. The reform package, which consists of a General Data Protection Regulation and a Data Protection Directive for Police and Criminal
False Advertising Contempt Suit Costs LifeLock $100 Million
On December 17, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that Lifelock, Inc. (LifeLock), agreed to pay a record-breaking $100 million to settle charges that it violated an earlier consent agreement related to flawed data security practices issued in March 2010. The LifeLock settlements implicate both the “fairness” of the company’s data security practices and
Vermont Chemical Reporting Rule Moves Forward, but with Delay
The Vermont Department of Health won approval for its new, burdensome children’s product green chemistry reporting program from the state’s Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules on November 19, 2015. The final version of the Toxic Substances in Children’s Products Rule took effect on December 10, 2015, and follows from the state’s 2014 green chemistry bill,
Life After the U.S.–EU Safe Harbor
We’ve written about the ground-breaking and panic-inducing ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) invalidating the U.S.–EU Safe Harbor framework as an adequate data transfer mechanism, and ruling that national authorities are not bound by Commission approvals. Click here for our September 23, 2015 blog post, and here for a related October 16, 2015