Archives: Marketing

OCR releases YouTube Video Addressing “Recognized Security Practices” in HIPAA Enforcement Context

By Kimberly Gordy, Adam Cohen and Craig Robinson on November 14, 2022 Posted in HIPAA/HITECH, Marketing

As a Halloween treat for HIPAA-covered entities and business associates, on October 31, the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a new video on its YouTube channel, in which senior OCR cybersecurity advisor Nick Heesters addresses recognized security practices, or RSPs. In this video, Heesters answers a handful of questions … Continue Reading

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

By Taylor A. Bloom, Alan L. Friel and Niloufar Massachi on March 20, 2019 Posted in Advertising, Big Data, Marketing, Mobile Privacy

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

California Passes Groundbreaking Data Privacy Law Granting Consumers Expansive Privacy Rights

By Alan L. Friel and Niloufar Massachi on July 3, 2018 Posted in Advertising, Behavioral Advertising, CCPA, Marketing

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

Court Limits 2015 Text Marketing Rules, Gives New FCC an Opportunity to Provide Clarity

By Alan L. Friel and Melinda L. McLellan on March 19, 2018 Posted in Advertising, Marketing

On March 16, the D.C. Circuit issued a long-awaited decision in a challenge to the Federal Communications Commission’s July 10, 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order regarding the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (the July 2015 Order). We have previously explained the challenges created by the July 2015 Order here and here. On the whole, the unanimous 3-0 Decision offers some good … Continue Reading

The Video Privacy Protection Act: Watching the Courts Through Crossed Eyes

By Carolina Alonso, Alan L. Friel and Niloufar Massachi on March 7, 2018 Posted in Advertising, Behavioral Advertising, Children’s Privacy, Geolocation, Information Governance, Information Security, Marketing, Online Privacy, Privacy Class Actions

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

Massachusetts AG Settlement Bars Geofencing Near Medical Facilities

By Melinda L. McLellan and Stephanie Lucas on April 10, 2017 Posted in Behavioral Advertising, Geolocation, Marketing, Medical Privacy, Mobile Privacy, State Legislation

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

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

FTC Settles with Ad Tech Company Over Deceptive Online Tracking Practices

By Melinda L. McLellan and Robyn M. Feldstein on December 27, 2016 Posted in Behavioral Advertising, Enforcement, Marketing, Mobile Privacy, Online Privacy

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

FCC’s New TCPA Order May Require Companies to Obtain Updated Consents for Marketing Calls and Texts

By Tanya Forsheit, Alan L. Friel and Melinda L. McLellan on July 22, 2015 Posted in Enforcement, Marketing, Mobile Privacy, Privacy Class Actions, Retail Industry

Last week we published an overview of key issues raised by the Federal Communications Commission’s July 10, 2015, Declaratory Ruling and Order regarding the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (the “July 2015 Order”). The July 2015 Order responded to 21 requests for clarification concerning previous rules and orders the FCC has issued pursuant to the TCPA, … Continue Reading

“Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You.” The FCC’s Latest TCPA Ruling Imposes Even More Restrictions on Telemarketing Calls and Texts

By Tanya Forsheit and Melinda L. McLellan on July 15, 2015 Posted in Enforcement, Marketing, Mobile Privacy, Privacy Class Actions, Retail Industry

On July 10, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission released the Omnibus Declaratory Ruling and Order (the Order) it adopted on June 18. The Order addresses requests for clarification regarding requirements under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and previous rules and orders issued by the Commission. The Order, which took effect immediately upon release, is … Continue Reading

FTC Clarifies Native and Online Ad Obligations

By Alan L. Friel and Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr. on June 17, 2015 Posted in Marketing, Retail Industry, Social Media

The FTC, in recent staff statements, has sought to clarify advertisers’ and publishers’ obligations regarding native advertising and social media promotions, particularly regarding when and how to clarify to readers that a message is promotional and that the speaker has a material connection to the brand mentioned in the content. Further, the FTC has announced … 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

What’s on the Horizon in the Golden State?

By Tanya Forsheit on December 16, 2014 Posted in Breach Notification, Cybersecurity, Data Breach Notification Laws, Marketing, Online Privacy

As we near the turn of the year into 2015, organizations should keep an eye on laws taking effect on the West Coast. This year, the crop of new privacy statutes includes a few without precedent anywhere in the country. The focus? Kids and security. Following are a few examples of new California laws taking … Continue Reading

Privacy Law in a Nutshell

By BakerHostetler on April 11, 2014 Posted in Cybersecurity, Federal Legislation, Information Security, International Privacy Law, Marketing

BakerHostetler Privacy and Data Protection Partner Erica Gann Kitaev is a co-author of the recently published Privacy Law in a Nutshell, Second Edition, through West Academic Publishing. Legal issues related to privacy are exploding in the U.S., and virtually all businesses face privacy considerations, particularly as technology and the law evolves. The Privacy Nutshell is … Continue Reading

iBeacons Usher in New Era of Mobile Advertising in 2014, Raise Old Privacy Concerns

By Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr. and Alan M. Pate on February 10, 2014 Posted in Behavioral Advertising, Marketing, Mobile Privacy, Online Privacy

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

Video Interview: Discussing the New TCPA Regulations with LXBN TV

By Gerald J. Ferguson on October 8, 2013 Posted in Marketing

In a follow-up to my recent post on the FCC’s new TCPA regulations governing telephone and text marketing, I spoke with Colin O’Keefe of LXBN on new rules. In the interview, I explain how the rules are a major departure from the previous iteration and really shift the odds in the favor of consumers.… Continue Reading

New Jersey Judge Certifies TCPA Junk Fax Class

By BakerHostetler on October 6, 2013 Posted in Data Breaches, Marketing

Authored by: Julian Perlman Editor’s Note: This post is a joint submission with BakerHostetler’s Class Action Lawsuit Defense blog. In a significant decision for companies that engage in electronic marketing, a New Jersey federal judge certified a 23(b)(3) class claiming violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”; 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(C)). In A&L Industries Inc. v. … Continue Reading

Are You Ready for the New Telephone and Text Marketing Rules?

By Gerald J. Ferguson on October 2, 2013 Posted in Marketing, Mobile Privacy

Effective October 16, 2013, the rules governing telephone and text marketing will significantly change. Under prior Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations issued under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) (47 U.S.C. 227), telephone and text marketers could telephone and text market to consumers’ residential phones using autodialing equipment that is standard in call center operations, … Continue Reading

Legal concepts every social media marketer should know: Part IV – User Generated Content (Content Treasure Trove v. Legal Pandora’s Box)

By Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr. on October 1, 2013 Posted in Marketing, Online Privacy, Social Media

Editor’s Note: This blog post was originally published on September 30, 2013, courtesy of iMedia Connection’s Blog. It is repurposed with permission. This post is co-authored by Alan M. Pate The most valuable resource in a marketing campaign can often be the very audience you are trying to reach. “User generated content,” or UGC, be … Continue Reading