Archives: Big Data

Increased Scrutiny on Notice and Choice for Use of AD Profiling, Especially Using Mobile Location Data

Are you an app publisher or do you advertise via mobile apps or obtain marketing data that originates from them? If so, you need to beware that regulators and consumer protection authorities are taking action against companies with regard to the notice and choice, or lack thereof, they are providing to consumers for the collection … Continue Reading

Deeper Dive: Security Is a Big Deal for Big Data

By Lavonne Hopkins on May 25, 2017 Posted in Big Data

In the rapidly expanding landscape of Internet-based data analytic services, companies across all industries with a significant online presence have faced or will face a data breach resulting from their collection and use of Big Data. As more consumer information is digitized and collected by companies for data analytics, the potential for cyberattacks also increases. … Continue Reading

IoT Device Maker Settles Class Claims for $3.75 Million

By David M. Brown on April 7, 2017 Posted in Big Data, Internet of Things, Mobile Privacy, Privacy Class Actions, Retail Industry

In one of the first Internet of Things (IoT) class action settlements, the maker of a Bluetooth-enabled personal vibrator agreed to settle privacy class claims for $3.75 million. The We-Vibe product allows a user to connect the product to a smartphone. The user can then control the device from the phone via Bluetooth connection. The … Continue Reading

FTC Nets $500,000 Settlement for Alleged Consent Order Violation Related to Online Data Collection Practices

By Melinda L. McLellan and Kathryn Mellinger on April 3, 2017 Posted in Big Data, Enforcement, Online Privacy

On March 17, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had reached a $500,000 settlement with Upromise, a membership reward service aimed at families saving for college. The FTC had alleged that Upromise violated a 2012 FTC consent order by failing to make required disclosures about its data collection and use practices and … Continue Reading

Unexpected Consumer Data Collection Concerns FTC

By Alan L. Friel and Benjamin Barnes on March 15, 2017 Posted in Behavioral Advertising, Big Data, Geolocation, Marketing, Mobile Privacy, Retail Industry

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

FTC’s $2.2m Smart TV Settlement Signals Continued IoT Enforcement Focus

By Alan L. Friel and Melinda L. McLellan on March 1, 2017 Posted in Behavioral Advertising, Big Data, Enforcement, Information Security, Internet of Things, Marketing, Online Privacy

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

Balancing Innovation With Privacy Concerns: The FTC Provides Comment on the Internet of Things

By Kathryn Mellinger on June 10, 2016 Posted in Big Data, Online Privacy

On June 3, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) responded to a Request for Comments issued by the Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) regarding the Internet of Things (IoT). The NTIA, which issued its Request for Comments on April 5, 2016, stated that it will use commentary to expand on its … Continue Reading

FTC Report on Big Data Outlines Usage Limitations Under Federal Law

By Alan L. Friel on January 15, 2016 Posted in Big Data

On January 6, 2016 the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued the report Big Data: A Tool for Inclusion or Exclusion? Understanding the Issues (“Report”), based on prior workshops and subsequent public comments on Big Data usage. The Report concentrates on data usage, not collection, and the application of current law to such usage, and not … Continue Reading

The FTC and DAA Set Their Sights on Cross-Device Tracking

By Alan L. Friel and Daniel Goldberg on December 9, 2015 Posted in Behavioral Advertising, Big Data

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

As FCC Flexes New Consumer Protection and Privacy Regulatory Enforcement Muscles Against ISPs, Some Call for Expanded Authority Over Online Services

By F. Paul Pittman on July 2, 2015 Posted in Big Data, Information Security, Mobile Privacy

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has imposed a record $100M forfeiture fine against a global telecommunications company for alleged deceptive data plan promotions. The FCC’s fine comes on the heels of revisions to its 2010 Open Internet rules that expanded its enforcement authority over “telecommunications service” providers to cover broadband Internet service providers (ISPs). Under … Continue Reading

Take Care in Using Consumer Data to Drive Dynamic Pricing of E-Commerce

By Alan L. Friel on May 5, 2015 Posted in Big Data, Marketing

Co-authored by: Hannah Bloink Dynamic pricing is the practice of offering different prices to consumers based on various factors designed to maximize sales and profits, which may include the retailer’s perception of the willingness of a particular consumer to pay at a given price point, often in connection with other factors such as a given … Continue Reading

“Like It” or Not, Big Data Decisions Affect Business Valuations

By Judy Selby and Melissa Kosack on March 23, 2015 Posted in Big Data

Over the past decade, we have witnessed the emergence of data-driven enterprises, with business models built on the acquisition, use and sale of data. Included in that group are some of the most highly valued companies in the world, such as Facebook and Google. We also have seen more traditional businesses become increasing data dependent, … Continue Reading

Legal Issues to Consider Before Starting Big Data Projects

By Judy Selby and Benjamin Barnes on February 23, 2015 Posted in Big Data

We read every day about the myriad of purposes for which enterprises are embarking on Big Data projects. Securing C-suite buy in and funding may be a significant endeavor, as is implementing an analytic approach to yield results that will achieve the project’s overall goals. In the face of those challenges, the legal and regulatory … Continue Reading

To Avoid Claims, Assess Privacy Impacts of Marketing and CRM

By Alan L. Friel on November 10, 2014 Posted in Big Data, Cybersecurity

Editor’s Note: We recently launched a graphic illustrating our Cyber Risk Mitigation Services. This week, our attorneys will be writing about specific examples of those services. Big data and the interactivity of digital marketing are powerful tools for marketers, but consumer data protection laws have evolved in recent years, resulting in new and heightened compliance and … Continue Reading

Big Data Changes the Deal: Information Governance Should Now Be Incorporated Into Due Diligence for Corporate Transactions

By Judy Selby and James A. Sherer on November 7, 2014 Posted in Big Data, Cybersecurity

Editor’s Note: We recently launched a graphic illustrating our Cyber Risk Mitigation Services. This week, our attorneys will be writing about specific examples of those services. The past few years have witnessed the unprecedented rise of Big Data. Fully 90 percent of today’s data was created over just the past two years. Businesses now double the … Continue Reading

FTC Report Seeks Congressional Review of Data Broker Industry

By Pamela Jones Harbour, Erik Raven-Hansen, William W. Hellmuth and Jenna N. Felz on June 12, 2014 Posted in Big Data

As the advent of “big data” increasingly takes center stage in the data and privacy sphere, data brokers—companies that compile and resell or share consumers’ personal data—have come under increased scrutiny. On May 27, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a report titled “Data Brokers: A Call for Transparency and Accountability,” as part of … Continue Reading

Big Data and Power Asymmetries: Recent White House Report Addresses Opportunities and Challenges Created by Increasingly Interconnected Technologies

By Pamela Jones Harbour, Erik Raven-Hansen and William W. Hellmuth on May 19, 2014 Posted in Big Data

In the latest round of reactions to the Edward Snowden leak, on May 1, 2014, the Obama Administration called for the United States to take a leading role in developing new standards for privacy protections in light of the ongoing “social, economic, and technological revolution.” In a report titled “Big Data: Seizing Opportunities, Preserving Values,” … Continue Reading