California has passed an unprecedented privacy law that protects consumers’ rights by providing them with a greater degree of transparency and choice with respect to their personal information online. On June 28, 2018, Assembly Bill 375 was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown as the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) just hours … Continue Reading
On Thursday, June 22, 2018, a previously dead California Assembly bill, AB 375, was revised as a proposed alternative to the ballot initiative known as the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA),[1] which is expected to be on the November ballot. It was read a third time and amended on June 25 and re-referred to … Continue Reading
We have previously reported a ballot initiative known as the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”), that is expected to be on the November ballot. If passed, it would make sweeping changes to consumer privacy protection rights for Californians, likely creating a new national standard. On June 21st, the California Assembly amended AB- 375, … Continue Reading
The Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), passed by Congress in 1988, is intended to prevent a “video tape service provider” from “knowingly” disclosing an individual’s “personally identifiable information” (PII) to third parties where that individual “requested or obtained … video materials,” such as “prerecorded video cassette tapes or similar audio visual materials.” At the time … Continue Reading
On April 4, 2017, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office announced that it had settled with a digital advertiser following allegations the company was using geolocation technology to target ads to women visiting reproductive health facilities. Although the company denied that it geofenced clinics in Massachusetts, the AG indicated that such targeting would violate the Massachusetts … Continue Reading
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Privacy and Data Security Rule for broadband internet access service (BIAS) providers (the Privacy Rule) is dead. As we discussed here, the new rule that was set to start phased implementation was recently put on hold. We detailed what the Privacy Rule would have required in prior blog posts available … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been turning its attention to consumer data collection and use that consumers may not expect, such as tracking of TV viewing by smart TVs, and use of cross-device technologies and techniques to try to associate users and households to multiple devices (e.g., TVs, mobile phones, tablets, computers, and other … Continue Reading
On February 6, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it had settled charges against VIZIO, Inc., a consumer electronics manufacturer of Internet-connected televisions. The FTC alleged that VIZIO unfairly tracked sensitive TV viewing data of millions of American consumers, and deceptively failed to disclose how the collected data was being used. This action was … Continue Reading
On December 20, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that Turn Inc. agreed to settle charges that it misled consumers about its online tracking activities and failed to honor consumer opt-outs as described in its privacy policy. Background Turn is a digital advertising company that facilitates targeted marketing by commercial brands and ad agencies … Continue Reading
By Alan L. Friel, Daniel Goldberg and Maryanne Stanganelli on Posted in Behavioral Advertising
The Online Interest-Based Advertising Accountability Program (Accountability Program), which enforces the advertising industry’s self-regulatory system administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus, has published the resolution of two formal inquiries into the privacy practices of The Hollywood Reporter (Hollywood) and Varick Media Management (Varick). According to the Accountability Program, both Hollywood and Varick violated … Continue Reading
Gone are the days of single-browser tracking. Accordingly, cross-device tracking – the process of tracking a single consumer across all of the consumer’s devices – is the new Holy Grail for marketers. Both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA), a U.S. advertising industry self-regulatory program, have taken notice. On November … Continue Reading
In two decisions issued last week, major native advertising players Gravity and Outbrain were found to have failed to comply with the online advertising industry’s self-regulatory principles for interest-based ads. The decisions, issued by the Better Business Bureau’s Online Interest-Based Advertising Accountability Program (OIBAAP), are the first to address whether native advertising targeted toward consumers’ … Continue Reading
In a September post, we announced that the DAA had begun enforcing its Guidelines for Mobile Advertising. Publishers, advertisers and ad networks need to know what they should be doing to comply with the DAA’s self-regulatory program for mobile app and cross-app data collection, including regarding interest-based ads, precise location data and device data access. … Continue Reading
Effective September 1, 2015, the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) is now enforcing its Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising and Multi-Site Data (collectively, the “Principles”) in the mobile ecosystem. The DAA, a cross-industry, self-regulatory group of advertising and media companies, has until now focused its enforcement of the Principles exclusively on the desktop browser environment. … Continue Reading
In this five part series, originally published in the Summer 2014 edition of the Media Law Resource Center Bulletin,[1] we take an in-depth look at the native advertising phenomenon and the legal issues surrounding the practice. After canvassing the many faces of native advertising and the applicable law, the series ultimately examines the pervasive assumption … Continue Reading
In this five part series, originally published in the Summer 2014 edition of the Media Law Resource Center Bulletin,[1] we take an in-depth look at the native advertising phenomenon and the legal issues surrounding the practice. After canvassing the many faces of native advertising and the applicable law, the series ultimately examines the pervasive assumption … Continue Reading
In this five part series, originally published in the Summer 2014 edition of the Media Law Resource Center Bulletin,[1] we take an in-depth look at the native advertising phenomenon and the legal issues surrounding the practice. After canvassing the many faces of native advertising and the applicable law, the series ultimately examines the pervasive assumption … Continue Reading
Editor’s Note: This blog post was originally published on September 8, 2014, courtesy of iMedia Connection’s Blog. It is repurposed with permission. In this five part series, originally published in the Summer 2014 edition of the Media Law Resource Center Bulletin,[1] we take an in-depth look at the native advertising phenomenon and the legal issues surrounding the … Continue Reading
Editor’s Note: This blog post was originally published on September 2, 2014, courtesy of iMedia Connection’s Blog. It is repurposed with permission. In this five part series, originally published in the Summer 2014 edition of the Media Law Resource Center Bulletin,[1] we take an in-depth look at the native advertising phenomenon and the legal issues surrounding the … Continue Reading
BakerHostetler is proud to announce that Alan Friel has joined the firm, resident in the Los Angeles office and practicing in the Intellectual Property Group, as a key member of the Privacy and Data Protection and the Information Technology and Transaction teams. Friel’s practice focuses on intellectual property transactions, regulatory schemes, and privacy and consumer … Continue Reading
Editor’s Note: This blog post was originally published on February 6, 2014 courtesy of iMedia Connection’s Blog. It is repurposed with permission. Remember that scene from Minority Report? The one where John Anderton (Tom Cruise) takes a trip to GAP, virtual billboards call out his name and bombard him with offers as he walks through … Continue Reading
Native advertising has by all accounts been the darling of the digital marketing world in 2013. Although it comes in all shapes and sizes, the general consensus defines “native advertising” as the practice of designing ads to look like the natural editorial content of the website on which they appear. Native’s proponents hail it as … Continue Reading
As reported here, the FTC earlier this month released a staff report on mobile privacy. The report, Mobile Privacy Disclosures: Building Trust Through Transparency, provides privacy practice recommendations to firms operating in the mobile app development “ecosystem.” The report’s recommendations are geared mainly toward developers and app store operators, such as Apple, Google, or Microsoft. … Continue Reading
This week Gerald Ferguson, National Co-Leader of the Baker Hostetler Privacy Security and Social Media Team had the opportunity to speak with Colin O’Keefe of LXBN TV on the subject of a post from last week: “FTC’s “Do Not Track” Initiative Could Create New Market for “Paid For” Internet Content.” In the post, Mr. Ferguson discussed the … Continue Reading