The Fine Print

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is showing no signs of backing off its aggressive enforcement of online negative option offers after filing a federal lawsuit against eight commonly-controlled companies that sell skin care products.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced that it has settled charges against a company called UrthBox, Inc., that allegedly promoted misleading consumer reviews and that failed to disclose key terms of its  “free trial” offers.

The Federal Trade Commission recently announced the launch of the Technology Task Force, which has been designed to monitor, investigate, and take enforcement actions against anti-competitive conduct and industry practices in US technology markets.

It’s been 10 months since the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) was signed into law, and the retail sector is grappling with ways to comply. The law goes into effect January 1, 2020, but the time to prepare is now.

The governor of Utah recently signed legislation requiring state and local law enforcement agencies to secure a search warrant from a judge before obtaining anyone’s electronic data.

As of April 10, 2019, businesses victimized by data breaches must comply with heightened requirements under the newly-amended Massachusetts data breach notification law, Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 93H, §§ 1, et seq. 

The US Federal Trade Commission announced recently that it will hold a public workshop on August 7, 2019, to examine consumer protection issues related to video game “loot boxes.”

“Level Up” with Arent Fox as we address the latest legal challenges at play in esports and innovative gaming and how businesses can remain competitive in an advancing industry.

Headlines that matter for privacy and data security.

After a two year transitional period, Section 500.11 of the New York State Department of Financial Services’ Cybersecurity Regulation, which addresses third-party security, is in force as of March 1, 2019.

New York-based company Cure Encapsulations, Inc. and its owner Naftula Jacobowitz, settled Federal Trade Commission charges that the company paid a third-party website to write and post fake reviews for a weight-loss supplement on an independent retail website and made false and unsubstantiated clai

The European Union has agreed to new rules that will require online platforms, such as Google and YouTube, to compensate creators for the online dissemination of their copyrighted works.

Headlines that matter for privacy and data security

As part of its initiative to ensure consumer protection rules are up-to-date with economic and technological advances, the Federal Trade Commission recently completed its first review of the CAN-SPAM Rule, and ultimately voted to keep the Rule in place without making any changes.

Guess was recently tagged by the European Commission for engaging in “geo-blocking,” a practice by which consumers are restricted from accessing certain Internet content based upon geographical location.

Headlines that matter for privacy and data security.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is a new landmark privacy law that formally went into effect on January 1, 2020, imposing additional requirements on covered entities, including data brokers.

Headlines that matter for privacy and data security.

This August, Ohio became the first state in the nation to pass a law incentivizing organizations to develop a strong data protection and cybersecurity program.

Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Frank Varela, a case with major implications for companies seeking to avoid class arbitration.

The Government of Australia is proposing a new bill that would grant additional powers to law enforcement and national security agencies.

Colorado’s new consumer data protection law, the Protections for Consumer Data Privacy Act, took effect September 1 and companies now have another set of requirements to comply with for their data privacy compliance.

The General Data Protection Regulation, commonly referred to as the “GDPR,” has been in force for only two months now, but it appears to have already claimed a casualty.

The Supreme Court of the United States recently tackled privacy in the mobile age and agreed that cell phone location is something that is protected.

Within hours of its unanimous passing in both the California State Senate and Assembly, Governor Jerry Brown signed the strongest online privacy law in the country, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018.