Archives: Mobile Privacy

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FTC Final Orders with Fandango and Credit Karma Provide Guidance on Mobile App Security

By Charles Shih on Posted in Mobile Privacy
In August 2014, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) approved final orders resolving its actions against Fandango, LLC (“Fandango”) and Credit Karma, Inc. (“Credit Karma”) for allegedly misrepresenting the security of their mobile apps to customers because of alleged security flaws in both mobile applications. Companies can look to the complaints and settlement orders for guidance … Continue Reading

New CA Privacy Disclosure Requirements Clarified By AG

By Alan L. Friel on Posted in Mobile Privacy
California has a number of privacy notice requirements for businesses collecting data from California residents, including as of January 1 of this year a requirement that websites, mobile apps and online services make certain disclosures regarding how they respond to browser and other “do not track signals” and regarding the presence and functionality of tracking … Continue Reading

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

Photo of Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr.By Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr. and Alan M. Pate on 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

FTC Reaches $32.5 Million Settlement Agreement with Apple, Inc. Over Deceptive Billing Practices in Mobile Apps for Children

Photo of Pamela Jones HarbourBy Pamela Jones Harbour on Posted in Mobile Privacy
The Federal Trade Commission announced its sizeable settlement agreement with Apple, Inc. on Wednesday, over allegations that the company had violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act by billing consumers millions of dollars for in-app purchases made by children on Apple devices without parental consent.  Apple agreed to fully refund affected consumers, paying … Continue Reading

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

Photo of Gerald J. FergusonBy Gerald J. Ferguson on 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 I — Consumer privacy

Photo of Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr.By Fernando A. Bohorquez, Jr. on Posted in Children’s Privacy, Marketing, Mobile Privacy, Online Privacy, Social Media
Editor’s Note: This blog post was originally published on August 12, 2013, courtesy of iMedia Connection’s Blog. It is repurposed with permission. This post is co-authored by Alan M. Pate. There are three things a social media website operator or digital marketer probably hates to hear most before  launching an online ad campaign: 1. Can you make … Continue Reading

HHS Office of Civil Rights Hosts Webinar on Final Rule

By Michael Young on Posted in HIPAA/HITECH, Information Security, Medical Privacy, Mobile Privacy, Online Privacy
Today, the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Civil Rights (OCR), joined with the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange and hosted an online seminar discussing HITECH requirements in the new Final Rule. The presentations covered many points about the Final Rule previously outlined on this blog (see here, here, and here). Rachel Seeger, … Continue Reading

The FTC Mobile Privacy Staff Report

By Michael Young on Posted in Behavioral Advertising, Enforcement, Mobile Privacy, Online Privacy
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

FTC Announces New COPPA Enforcement Action & Mobile Privacy Staff Report

Photo of BakerHostetlerBy BakerHostetler on Posted in Children’s Privacy, Mobile Privacy
At a press conference this morning, outgoing FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz announced an $800,000 settlement of its recent enforcement action against Path, the operator of a social networking app. The Path mobile app allowed users, including children, to create and share journals across their social network. The FTC had alleged violations of the Children’s Online … Continue Reading

Lame Duck Congress Acts on Privacy Bills, Mostly With an Eye Toward 2013

By William Weber on Posted in Identity Theft, Mobile Privacy, Online Privacy
While continuing congressional inaction on the fiscal cliff is getting most of the ink/pixels in news headlines over the last couple weeks, several privacy bills have advanced in the House and Senate. Though only one is likely to become law before the 112th Congress ends in a few days, they embody what will be the … Continue Reading

Leveson on Data Protection in the UK: What Do Allegations of Phone Hacking Have to Do With Data Protection?

By Maryanne Stanganelli on Posted in Mobile Privacy
The much-anticipated Leveson Inquiry on the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press (“Leveson Report” or “Report”) was released on November 29, 2012.  The inquiry leading to the Report was initiated as a response to ongoing reports and allegations of systemic phone hacking by the English media. The 16-month inquiry by Lord Justice Brian Leveson … Continue Reading

FTC Launches Investigation of Children’s Mobile App Compliance with COPPA; Continues to Study “Comprehensive” Data Collection

By William Weber on Posted in Children’s Privacy, Mobile Privacy
Monday, on a call with reporters to discuss the findings of its second survey of kids mobile device applications, attorneys with the Federal Trade Commission (1) called on industry – app developers, app stores, and third party recipients of collected data – to improve privacy disclosures; (2) said it is developing consumer education material in … Continue Reading

Delta’s Mobile Application’s “Wings Clipped”

By briankarp on Posted in Mobile Privacy
A powerful reminder to the business community that it must take mobile application (“App”) privacy seriously was provided by California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris in the form a complaint filed against Delta Airlines, Inc. (“Delta”) last Thursday. Attorney General Harris announced first ever legal action taken under the California Online Privacy Protection Act (“CalOPPA”), … Continue Reading

California AG Puts Companies on Notice About App Privacy Non-compliance

By William Weber on Posted in Mobile Privacy
On October 30, California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced that her office is notifying up to 100 companies and mobile application developers that they are not in compliance with the state’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“CalOPPA”). According to Harris’ sample letter, the problem is that the offending apps downloadable through the Apple App Store and … Continue Reading

Rep. Markey Introduces Mobile Device Privacy Act Amid Hearing on App Industry Job Growth

By William Weber on Posted in Mobile Privacy
Last week, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), co-chair of the Congressional Privacy Caucus, introduced broad legislation to require multiple actors in the mobile communications ecosystem to disclose and obtain express prior consent for the installation of “monitoring software” and to adopt and disclose detailed information security requirements to be promulgated by the FTC. The bill grew … Continue Reading

Alaska DHSS Settles with HHS for $1.7 Million

By Kimberly M. Wong on Posted in HIPAA/HITECH, Mobile Privacy
Recently, the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (“DHSS”) reached a $1,700,000 settlement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) pertaining to the HHS Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) investigation into possible violations of the HIPAA Security Rule.  To date, this is the third settlement triggered by a covered entity’s report … Continue Reading

California Attorney General Settlement on App Privacy Practices

By briankarp on Posted in Mobile Privacy, Online Privacy
The Attorney General of California (“AG”) released a Joint Statement of Principles (“Joint Statement“) among itself and Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., Google Inc., Hewlett-Packard Company, Research In Motion Limited and other companies (collectively the “Mobile App Market Companies”) describing the terms of a settlement relating to the AG’s review of mobile application marketplace privacy protections. The … Continue Reading

Key Government and Industry Leaders Discuss Data Privacy at IAPP Summit

By William Weber on Posted in Behavioral Advertising, Children’s Privacy, Enforcement, Mobile Privacy, Online Privacy
Last week in Washington, DC, officials from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Commerce, major trade associations and key stakeholders from around the world gathered at a global privacy summit convened by the International Association of Privacy Professionals.  During the two day conference, panels covered a broad range of topics from mobile device … Continue Reading

White Collar Wiretaps: Will Your Own Words Come Back to Haunt You?

Photo of Gerald J. FergusonBy Gerald J. Ferguson on Posted in Enforcement, Mobile Privacy, Online Privacy, Privacy Litigation
Jonathan B. New, a partner in Baker Hostetler’s New York office and a member of the firm’s White Collar Defense and Corporate Investigations Team, along with associate attorney Sammi Malek recently authored the article, “White Collar Wiretaps: Will Your Own Words Come Back to Haunt You?” published in the July 21, 2011 issue of the New York … Continue Reading

HHS to Propose New Privacy Standards for Human Research Subjects

Photo of Lynn SessionsBy Lynn Sessions on Posted in HIPAA/HITECH, Mobile Privacy
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provided an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making (ANPRN) on July 22, 2011, to enhance protections for medical research subjects, including standards around privacy and data security. The ANPRN seeks comments on how better to protect human research subjects while facilitating valuable research. The current Common Rule … Continue Reading

Mobile App and Geolocation Data Roundup

Photo of Craig A. HoffmanBy Craig A. Hoffman on Posted in Behavioral Advertising, Children’s Privacy, Mobile Privacy
A recent national survey of smartphone users, not surprisingly, revealed that privacy, transparency, choice, and control are important considerations for users.  Indeed, many users indicated that they want more choices and easier access to controls regarding advertising tracking and geolocation data.  Legislators and consumer advocacy groups are taking heed. On May 10, 2011, the Senate … Continue Reading
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