Since we last wrote about how marketers can craft social media policies to offer engaging promotions while meeting the scrutiny of regulators, social media has continued to be a popular venue for marketers to reach consumers. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has also kept the spotlight on compliance with the FTC Guides Concerning Use of
State Data Breach Notification Laws – Overview of Requirements for Responding to a Data Breach (Updated June 2016)
We have updated our summary of state data breach notification laws in light of recent amendments to some of the laws since our last update in September 2015.
Notably, Tennessee amended its data breach notification law, the Identity Theft Deterrence Act, effective July 1, 2016, by eliminating an encryption safe harbor and requiring that
FAA Paves the Way for More Ubiquitous Use of Drones
On June 21, 2016, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released its much-anticipated new Small Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Rule (Part 107). Simultaneously with its release, the White House issued a Fact Sheet for the new Rule. The Rule permits the operation of small UAS (an unmanned aircraft weighing less than 55 pounds) in the National
Supreme Court Requires Plaintiffs to Show Harm or Risk of Harm, Not Bare Procedural Violation, to Get Statutory Damages
Last year, we noted that the Supreme Court had granted certiorari in a case that could limit the ability of plaintiffs to sue defendants over bare statutory violations without the showing of actual injury. The case implicates a wide variety of statutes that grant monetary awards to successful plaintiffs on
GDPR Publication Starts Countdown to May 2018 Compliance Date for New Privacy Rules
The new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Regulation 2016/69, Apr. 27, 2016), approved by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, was formally published in the Official Journal of the European Union on May 4, 2016, and will replace the Data Protection Directive (Directive 95/46/EC) effective May 28, 2018. This
NTIA Steps into IoT Debate
Continuing its tradition of active involvement in digital economy questions, the Department of Commerce’s (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) issued a request for public comment on questions posed by the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT). The explosive growth of connected products, anticipated to reach 25 billion by 2020, is one reason
FCC Adopts Broadband Privacy NPRM
At its Open Meeting yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would apply the privacy protections in Section 222 of the Communications Act to broadband Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The text of the NPRM, which reportedly seeks public comment on more than 500 questions relating to privacy and
The FCC Continues Privacy Push with Draft Proposal Regulating ISP Customers’ Data
On the heels of the Open Internet Order adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last year, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has circulated a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to fellow Commissioners that would apply the privacy protections of the Communications Act to
FCC Settles Probe into Verizon’s Use of “Supercookies”
On March 7, 2016, the Enforcement Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) entered into a Consent Decree with Verizon Wireless relating to the company’s use of Unique Identifier Headers (UIDH) for targeted advertising purposes. UIDH are commonly referred to as “supercookies” because they cannot be deleted. This concludes the FCC’s investigation into whether Verizon
European Commission Releases Draft Text of Adequacy Decision on EU-U.S. Privacy Shield
On February 29, 2016, the European Commission’s (EC) released a much anticipated draft adequacy decision on the EU–U.S. Privacy Shield. With this and enactment of the Judicial Redress Act last week (see our post here), the European Union came yet another step closer to finalizing the agreement between the EU and the U.S. to enable