Children’s and teen’s online privacy and safety – particularly their mental health – continues to be an area of intense scrutiny for lawmakers, regulators, and enforcers. Last May, the Biden administration announced the creation of a new task force focused on the safety, privacy, and wellbeing of children online, linked to an Advisory on Social
On September 18, 2023, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted a preliminary injunction to NetChoice, a tech umbrella group, against California Attorney General Rob Bonta from enforcing the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (CAADCA). The court found the CAADCA, which was slated to take effect on July 1, 2024
On July 13, 2023, a three-judge Ninth Circuit panel denied Google’s challenge of its earlier decision in Jones v. Google, which held that state privacy law claims in a putative class action are not preempted by the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The December decision reversed a lower court’s dismissal of the
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule (COPPA Rule) requires that online sites and services directed to children under 13 obtain parental consent before collecting or using children’s personal information and lists existing methods for such consent. Now the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is seeking comments on whether it should expand its parental consent methods
When the California legislature passed the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (CAADCA or Act) AB 2273 in September of this year, it generated considerable controversy. Companies, trade associations, and even some non-governmental organizations questioned whether the law’s broad reach was not just counterproductive and likely to invade consumer privacy, but preempted by federal law and
At a press conference on August 11, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) announced an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR), which was published, along with a fact sheet, to explore potential new rules governing what the FTC characterizes as prevalent “commercial surveillance” and “lax data security practices.” The FTC issued the
On August 24, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) submitted a report to the Congressional Committees on Appropriations detailing current resources and personnel dedicated to COPPA enforcement, the number of COPPA violation investigations over the past five years, and the types of relief obtained in completed investigations. The report was submitted in response
On May 12, 2022, the European Data Protection Board published guidelines with a methodology for calculating fines for violations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). These guidelines were subject to a public consultation until June 27, 2022.
Because these guidelines are likely to have an influence on future decisions by data protection authorities in
As we previously reported, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) seeks comments on proposed updates to its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (Endorsement Guides). The FTC’s notice was published in the Federal Register on July 26, 2022 (87 Fed. Reg. 44288), and comments must be received by September 26, 2022.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) has issued several new proposals or policy statements affecting advertisers recently, including resurrection of its Penalty Offense Authority and an Enforcement Policy Statement Regarding Negative Option Marketing (which we previously reported on here). The FTC is now seeking public feedback on a proposal to enhance and strengthen
