Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On November 5, 2015, the Enforcement Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) entered into a Consent Decree with cable operator Cox Communications to settle allegations that the company failed to properly protect customer information when the company’s electronic data systems were breached in August 2014 by a hacker. The FCC alleged that Cox failed to properly protect the confidentiality of its customers’ proprietary network information (“CPNI”) and personally identifiable information, and failed to promptly notify law enforcement authorities of security breaches involving CPNI in violation of the Communications Act of 1934 and FCC’s rules.

On November 13, 2015, Chief Administrative Law Judge D. Michael Chappell dismissed the FTC’s complaint against LabMD Inc. (“LabMD”) for failing to show that LabMD’s allegedly unreasonable data security practices caused, or were likely to cause, substantial consumer injury. The law judge did not address LabMD’s claim that the FTC does not have jurisdiction to enforce data security standards under the unfairness prong of Section 5 of the FTC Act, and LabMD has reserved its jurisdictional challenge for an anticipated appeal to the federal court. The action is In the Matter of LabMD Inc., Docket No. 9357.

On November 13, 2015, the French Data Protection Authority (“CNIL”) announced its decision in a case against Optical Center, imposing a fine of €50,000 on the company for violations related to the security and confidentiality of its customers’ personal data.

As reported in the Hunton Employment & Labor Law Perspectives Blog:

On October 27, 2015, the Ninth Circuit held in EEOC v. McLane Co., Inc. that the EEOC has broad subpoena powers to obtain nationwide private personnel information, including Social Security numbers (“SSNs”), in connection with its investigation of a sex discrimination charge.

On October 27, 2015, David Smith, the UK Deputy Commissioner of the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”), published a blog post commenting on the ongoing Safe Harbor compliance debate in light of the Schrems v. Facebook decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union. His key message to organizations was, “Don’t panic.”

On October 23, 2015, the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, in large part, upheld Target’s assertion of the attorney-client privilege and work-product protections for information associated with a privileged, internal investigation of Target’s 2013 data breach.

On October 2, 2015, California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced that her office settled a lawsuit against home design website, Houzz Inc. (“Houzz”). Houzz was charged with secretly recording incoming and outgoing telephone calls for training and quality assurance purposes without notifying its customers, employees or call recipients, in violation of California eavesdropping and wiretapping laws. As part of the settlement, the Attorney General required Houzz to destroy the recordings, pay a fine of $175,000 and hire a Chief Privacy Officer to supervise its compliance with privacy laws and conduct privacy risk evaluations to assess Houzz’s privacy practices. This is the first time that the Attorney General has required the hiring of a Chief Privacy Officer as part of a settlement.

On September 25, 2015, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (the “ICO”) issued a fine of £200,000 (approximately $303,000) to Home Energy & Lifestyle Management Ltd. (“HELM”) for making a large number of automated marketing calls in violation of the UK’s direct marketing laws. This is the largest fine that the ICO has issued to date in connection with automated marketing calls.

On September 11, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) announced that Lyft Inc. (“Lyft”) and First National Bank Corporation (“FNB”) violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) by forcing their users to consent to receive automated text messages as a condition of using their services. The FCC warned that these violations could result in fines if they continue.

On September 22, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced a settlement order (the “Order”) with an investment adviser for failing to establish cybersecurity policies and procedures, and published an investor alert (the “Alert”) entitled Identity Theft, Data Breaches, and Your Investment Accounts.

On September 8, 2015, representatives from the U.S. Government and the European Commission initialed a draft agreement known as the Protection of Personal Information Relating to the Prevention, Investigation, Detection and Prosecution of Criminal Offenses (the “Umbrella Agreement”). The European Commission’s stated aim for the Umbrella Agreement is to put in place “a comprehensive high-level data protection framework for EU-U.S. law enforcement cooperation.” The Umbrella Agreement has been agreed upon amid the ongoing uncertainty over the future of the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor, and was drafted shortly before the release of the September 23 Advocate General’s Opinion in the Schrems v. Facebook litigation. The content of the Umbrella Agreement is in its final form, but its implementation is dependent upon revisions to U.S. law that are currently before Congress.

On September 15, 2015, the Office of Compliance, Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a Risk Alert outlining its latest cybersecurity examination priorities for SEC-registered broker-dealers and investment advisers.

On August 20, 2015, the Bavarian Data Protection Authority (“DPA”) issued a press release stating that it imposed a significant fine on a data controller for failing to adequately specify the security controls protecting personal data in a data processing agreement with a data processor.

On September 2, 2015, the French Data Protection Authority (“CNIL”) published the results of an Internet sweep of 54 websites visited by children and teenagers. The sweep was conducted in May 2015 to assess whether websites that are directed toward, frequently used by or popular among children comply with French data protection law. As we previously reported, the sweep was coordinated by the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (“GPEN”), a global network of approximately 50 data protection authorities (“DPAs”). The CNIL and 28 other DPAs that are members of the GPEN participated in the coordinated online audit. A total of 1,494 websites and apps were audited around the world.

On July 30, 2015, the Bavarian Data Protection Authority (“DPA”) issued a press release stating that it imposed a significant fine on both the seller and purchaser in an asset deal for unlawfully transferring customer personal data as part of the deal.

On August 24, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued its opinion in Federal Trade Commission v. Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (“Wyndham”), affirming a district court holding that the Federal Trade Commission has the authority to regulate companies’ data security practices.

On August 17, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission announced proposed settlements with 13 companies over allegations that they misled consumers by falsely claiming to be Safe Harbor certified when their certifications had lapsed or they had never been certified at all.

On July 1, 2015, Connecticut’s governor signed into law Public Act No. 15-142, An Act Improving Data Security and Agency Effectiveness (the “Act”), that (1) amends the state’s data breach notification law to require notice to affected individuals and the Connecticut Attorney General within 90 days of a security breach and expands the definition of personal information to include biometric data such as fingerprints, retina scans and voice prints; (2) affirmatively requires all businesses, including health insurers, who experience data breaches to offer one year of identity theft prevention services to affected individuals at no cost to them; and (3) requires health insurers and contractors who receive personal information from state agencies to implement and maintain minimum data security safeguards. With the passing of the Act, Connecticut becomes the first state to affirmatively require businesses to provide these security services to consumers.

On July 16, 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) addressing the critical infrastructure protection (“CIP”) reliability standards. The NOPR proposes to accept with limited modifications seven updated CIP cybersecurity standards. The NOPR also proposes that new requirements be added to the CIP standards to protect supply chain vendors against evolving malware threats and addresses risks to utility communications networks.

On July 10, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released a Declaratory Ruling and Order that provides guidance with respect to several sections of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). The Declaratory Ruling and Order responds to 21 separate requests from industry, government and others seeking clarifications regarding the TCPA and related FCC rules.

On June 30, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission announced its new “Start With Security” business education initiative, which will provide businesses with information on data security and how to protect consumer information.

Hunton & Williams LLP partners Lisa J. Sotto, Scott H. Kimpel and Matthew P. Bosher recently published an article in Westlaw Journal’s Securities Litigation & Regulation entitled SEC Cybersecurity Investigations: A How-to Guide. The article details the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC’s”) role in cybersecurity regulation and enforcement, and offers best practice tips for navigating the investigative process. In the article, the authors note that the threat of an SEC enforcement investigation must be considered an integral part of cybersecurity ...

On May 20, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released an Enforcement Advisory announcing that its previously-released Open Internet Order “applies the core customer privacy protections of Section 222 of the Communications Act to providers of broadband Internet access service” and that the statutory provisions of Section 222, which historically have been used to protect Consumer Proprietary Network Information on telephone networks, will apply to broadband providers when the Open Internet Order goes into effect on June 12, 2015. This approach will expand broadband providers’ requirements to protect consumer privacy and limit their use of consumer data.

On May 7, 2015, the Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”) announced that, as of September 1, 2015, the Council of Better Business Bureaus and the Direct Marketing Association will begin to enforce the DAA Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising and the Multi-Site Data Principles (collectively, the “Self-Regulatory Principles”) in the mobile environment.

On May 5, 2015, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Treasury Department (“FinCEN”), in coordination with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California (“USAO”), announced a civil monetary penalty of $700,000 against Ripple Labs, Inc. (“Ripple Labs”) and its subsidiary XRP II, LLC (“XRP II”) for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”). This assessment represents the first BSA enforcement action against a virtual currency exchanger by FinCEN. The fine coincides with a settlement agreement between Ripple Labs, XRP II and the USAO to resolve any criminal and civil liability arising out of these activities, the terms of which include a $450,000 forfeiture and full cooperation by Ripple Labs in the ongoing investigation.

The Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) recently announced a resolution agreement and $125,000 settlement with Cornell Prescription Pharmacy (“Cornell”) in connection with the disposal of prescription records in an unsecured dumpster on Cornell’s premises. After receiving a report from a Denver television station regarding Cornell’s disposal practices, the HHS’ Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) investigated Cornell and found several HIPAA Privacy Rule violations, including that Cornell had failed to:

On April 23, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that Nomi Technologies (“Nomi”) has agreed to settle charges stemming from allegations that the company misled consumers with respect to their ability to opt out of the company’s mobile device tracking service at retail locations. The settlement marks the FTC’s first Section 5 enforcement action against a company that provides tracking services at retailers.

The House of Representatives passed two complimentary bills related to cybersecurity, the “Protecting Cyber Networks Act” (H.R. 1560) and the “National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act of 2015” (H.R. 1731). These bills provide, among other things, liability protection for (1) the use of monitoring and defensive measures to protect information systems, and (2) the sharing of cybersecurity threat information amongst non-federal entities and with the federal government. With the Senate having just recently overcome disagreement on sex trafficking legislation and the Attorney General nomination, that body is now expected to consider similar information sharing legislation entitled the “Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act” (S. 754) in the coming weeks. Assuming S. 754 also is passed by the Senate, the two Chambers of Congress will convene a Conference Committee to draft a single piece of legislation which will be then voted on by the House and Senate, before heading to the President’s desk. The White House has not committed to signing any resulting legislation, but has signaled some positive support.

On April 15, 2015, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (“APEC”) Electronic Commerce Steering Group issued a press release announcing Canada’s participation in the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules (“CBPR”) System. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration also released an official press statement.

On April 13, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it has settled charges with two debt brokers who posted consumers’ unencrypted personal information on a public website. The settlements with Cornerstone and Company, LLC (“Cornerstone”), Bayview Solutions, LLC (“Bayview”), and the companies’ individual owners resulted from initial complaints about the debt brokers in 2014. Cornerstone and Bayview allegedly had posted the personal information of their debtors in unencrypted Excel spreadsheets on a publicly accessible website geared to buyers and sellers of consumer debt. The information included consumers’ names, addresses, credit card numbers, bank account numbers and debt amounts.

On April 7, 2015, the FTC announced proposed settlements with TES Franchising, LLC, an organization specializing in business coaching, and American International Mailing, Inc., an alternative mail transporting company, related to charges that the companies falsely claimed they were compliant with the U.S.-EU and U.S.-Swiss Safe Harbor Frameworks.

On April 8, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission announced a $25 million settlement with AT&T Services, Inc. (“AT&T”) stemming from allegations that AT&T failed to protect the confidentiality of consumers’ personal information, resulting in data breaches at AT&T call centers in Mexico, Colombia and the Philippines. The breaches, which took place over 168 days from November 2013 to April 2014, involved unauthorized access to customers’ names, full or partial Social Security numbers and certain protected account-related data, affecting almost 280,000 U.S. customers.

On March 9, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (the “Memorandum”) with the Dutch Data Protection Authority (the “Dutch DPA”).

On March 4, 2015, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (“NTIA”) announced a new multistakeholder process seeking comments on best practices concerning privacy, transparency and accountability issues related to the use of commercial and private unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS”), otherwise known as drones. The NTIA’s request was made in response to a Presidential Memorandum issued by the White House on February 15 which directed NTIA to facilitate discussion between private sector entities to develop standards for commercial UAS use.

On March 3, 2015, the Third Circuit heard oral arguments in FTC v. Wyndham Worldwide Corp. (“Wyndham”) on whether the FTC has the authority to regulate private companies’ data security under Section 5 of the FTC Act.

On February 27, 2015, the White House released a highly-anticipated draft of the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights Act of 2015 (the “Act”) that seeks to establish baseline protections for individual privacy in the commercial context and to facilitate the implementation of these protections through enforceable codes of conduct. The Federal Trade Commission is tasked with the primary responsibility for promulgating regulations and enforcing the rights and obligations set forth in the Act.

On February 15, 2015, the White House released a Presidential Memorandum entitled “Promoting Economic Competitiveness While Safeguarding Privacy, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties in Domestic Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems” (the “Memorandum”) to address the privacy, civil rights and civil liberties concerns associated with the federal government’s use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (“UAS”). The Memorandum provides privacy expectations for the federal government’s use of UAS by setting requirements for federal agencies to establish and maintain privacy and civil liberty safeguards, as well as by placing restrictions on certain information collection and use practices.

On February 4, 2015, the German government adopted a draft law to improve the enforcement of data protection provisions that are focused on consumer protection. As reported earlier, the new law would bring about a fundamental change in how German data protection law is enforced.

On January 27, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission announced the release of a report on the Internet of Things: Privacy and Security in a Connected World (the “Report”). The Report describes the current state of the Internet of Things, analyzes the benefits and risks of its development, applies privacy principles to the Internet of Things and discusses whether legislation is needed to address this burgeoning area. The Report follows a workshop by the FTC on this topic in November 2013.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller has prepared a new bill that, although styled a “security breach” bill, would impose substantial new privacy obligations on companies holding the personal data of Indiana residents. Introduced by Indiana Senator James Merritt (R-Indianapolis) on January 12, 2015, SB413 would make a number of changes to existing Indiana law. For example, it would amend the existing Indiana breach notification law to apply to all data users, rather than owners of data bases. The bill also would expand Indiana’s breach notification law to eliminate the requirement that the breached data be computerized for notices to be required.

On January 5, 2015, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce of the People’s Republic of China published its Measures for the Punishment of Conduct Infringing the Rights and Interests of Consumers (the “Measures”). The Measures contain a number of provisions defining circumstances or actions under which enterprise operators may be deemed to have infringed the rights or interests of consumers. These provisions are consistent with the basic rules in the currently effective P.R.C. Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests (“Consumer Protection Law”). The Measures will take effect on March 15, 2015.

On December 31, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed legislation to move the deadline for compliance to September 1, 2015, for Federal Law No. 242-FZ (the “Localization Law”), which requires companies to store the personal data of Russian citizens in databases located in Russia. The bill that became the Localization Law was adopted by the lower chamber of Russian Parliament in July 2014 with a compliance deadline of September 1, 2016. The compliance deadline was then moved to January 1, 2015, before being changed to September 1, 2015 in the legislation signed by President Putin.

On December 29, 2014, the Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of the German state Rhineland-Palatinate issued a press release stating that it imposed a fine of €1,300,000 on the insurance group Debeka. According to the Commissioner, Debeka was fined due to its lack of internal controls and its violations of data protection law. Debeka sales representatives allegedly bribed public sector employees during the eighties and nineties to obtain address data of employees who were on path to become civil servants. Debeka purportedly wanted this address data to market insurance contracts to these employees. The Commissioner asserted that the action against Debeka is intended to emphasize that companies must handle personal data in a compliant manner. The fine was accepted by Debeka to avoid lengthy court proceedings.

On December 22, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it notified China-based BabyBus (Fujian) Network Technology Co., Ltd., (“BabyBus”) that several of the company’s mobile applications (“apps”) appear to be in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (the “COPPA Rule”). In a letter dated December 17, 2014, the FTC warned BabyBus of potential COPPA violations stemming from allegations that the company has failed to obtain verifiable parental consent prior to its apps collecting and disclosing the precise geolocation information of users under the age of 13.

On December 18, 2014, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a $1 million civil penalty against Thomas E. Haider, the former Chief Compliance Officer of MoneyGram International, Inc. (“MoneyGram”). In a press release announcing the assessment, FinCEN alleged that during Haider’s oversight of compliance for MoneyGram, he failed to adequately respond to thousands of customer complaints regarding schemes that utilized MoneyGram to defraud consumers. In coordination with FinCEN, the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York filed a civil complaint on the same day, seeking a $1 million civil judgment against Haider to collect on the assessment and requesting injunctive relief barring him from participating in the affairs of any financial institution located or conducting business in the United States.

On December 19, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement of at least $90 million with mobile phone carrier T-Mobile USA, Inc. (“T-Mobile”) stemming from allegations related to mobile cramming. This settlement amount will primarily be used to provide refunds to affected customers who were charged by T-Mobile for unauthorized third party charges. As part of the settlement, T-Mobile also will pay $18 million in fines and penalties to the attorneys general of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and $4.5 million to the Federal Communications Commission.

The Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) recently announced a resolution agreement and $150,000 settlement with Anchorage Community Mental Health Services, Inc. (“ACHMS”) in connection with a data breach caused by malware. ACHMS, which provides nonprofit behavioral health care services in Alaska, experienced a breach in March 2012 that affected the electronic protected health information (“ePHI”) of 2,743 individuals. After ACHMS reported the breach to the HHS Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”), OCR investigated ACHMS and found several HIPAA Security Rule violations, including that ACHMS had failed to:

On December 9, 2014, a coalition of 23 global privacy authorities sent a letter to the operators of mobile application (“app”) marketplaces urging them to require privacy policies for all apps that collect personal information. Although the letter was addressed to seven specific app marketplaces, the letter notes that it is intended to apply to all companies that operate app marketplaces.

On November 21, 2014, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced that Boston hospital Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (“BIDMC”) has agreed to pay a total of $100,000 to settle charges related to a data breach that affected the personal and protected health information of nearly 4,000 patients and employees.

On November 18, 2014, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership at Hunton & Williams (the “Centre”) held the second workshop in its ongoing work on the risk-based approach to privacy and a Privacy Risk Framework. Approximately 70 Centre members, privacy regulators and other privacy experts met in Brussels to discuss the benefits and challenges of the risk-based approach, operationalizing risk assessments within organizations, and employing risk analysis in enforcement. In discussing these issues, the speakers emphasized that the risk-based approach does not change the obligation to comply with privacy laws but helps with the effective calibration of privacy compliance programs.

On November 12, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced that in response to FTC complaints, a federal court has ordered two debt brokerage companies to notify over 70,000 consumers whose sensitive personal information was posted on a public website by the debt brokerage companies.

On November 17, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced that data privacy certifier True Ultimate Standards Everywhere, Inc. (“TRUSTe”) has agreed to settle charges that the company deceived consumers about its recertification program and misrepresented that it was a non-profit entity in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act.

Hunton & Williams Labor & Employment partner Susan Wiltsie reports:

Fears of a worldwide Ebola pandemic appear to have abated, but the tension between workplace safety and employee privacy, thrown into relief by this health emergency, remains an issue relevant to all employers. Any potential health threat created by contagious illness requires employers to plan and put into effect a reasonable response, including policies governing the terms and conditions under which employees may be required to stay away from the workplace, and in which their health care information may be relevant to workplace decisions.

On November 1, 2014, the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (“GPEN”) posted a media release on their workshop held on October 12, 2014, in Mauritius on the use of publicity as a regulatory compliance technique. The workshop, attended by 44 commissioners and staff from around the world, focused on different issues concerning privacy enforcement, including the effectiveness of monetary penalties in enforcing data protection laws and the diverse approaches to enforcement publicity. In addition, there was a public demonstration of the recently expanded World Legal Information Institute’s International Privacy Law Library, which is said to be the largest freely accessible and searchable database of privacy law materials in the world.

On October 30, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada extended the deadline for the province of Alberta to amend its Personal Information Protection Act (“PIPA”). In November 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada declared PIPA invalid because it interfered with the right to freedom of expression in the labor context under Section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Supreme Court of Canada gave the Alberta legislature 12 months to determine how to make the legislation constitutionally compliant, which it apparently failed to do. The new deadline for amending PIPA is May 2015.

On October 24, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission announced that it intends to impose a $10 million fine on TerraCom, Inc. (“TerraCom”) and YourTel America, Inc. (“YourTel”) for violating privacy laws relating to their customers’ personal information. This announcement marks the FCC’s first enforcement action in the data security arena as well as its largest privacy action to date.

On October 22, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced that several interrelated online marketing and advertising companies (“Stipulating Defendants”) agreed to pay nearly $10 million to settle allegations that they engaged in a pattern of text message spamming, robocalling and mobile cramming practices in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act, the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, and the Telemarketing Sales Rule.

On October 10, 2014, TD Bank, N.A. entered into an assurance of voluntary compliance (“Assurance”) with a multistate group of nine attorneys general to settle allegations that the company violated state consumer protection and personal information safeguards laws in connection with a 2012 data breach. The breach involved the loss of two unencrypted backup tapes containing the personal information of approximately 260,000 customers. The Assurance requires TD Bank to pay $850,000 to the attorneys general.

On October 14, 2014, rent-to-own retailer Aaron’s, Inc. (“Aaron’s”) entered into a $28.4 million settlement with the California Office of the California Attorney General related to charges that the company permitted its franchised stores to unlawfully monitor their customers’ leased laptops.

On October 8, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced an $80 million settlement with mobile phone carrier AT&T Mobility, LLC (“AT&T”) stemming from allegations related to mobile cramming. The $80 million payment to the FTC is part of a larger $105 million settlement between AT&T and various federal and state regulators, including the Federal Communications Commission and the attorneys general of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. According to the FCC, “[t]he settlement is the largest enforcement action in FCC history.”

On October 6, 2014, the Irish Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (“ODPC”) announced its success in bringing prosecution proceedings against M.C.K Rentals Limited (“MCK”), a firm of private investigators, and its two directors, for breaches of the Irish Data Protection Acts 1998 and 2003. Specifically MCK and its directors were found to have (1) obtained personal data without the prior authority of the data controller who was responsible for the data and (2) disclosed the personal data obtained to various third parties.

On September 17, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced that the online review site Yelp, Inc., and mobile app developer TinyCo, Inc., have agreed to settle separate charges that they collected personal information from children without parental consent, in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (the “COPPA Rule”).

On September 8, Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell announced that SEI/Aaron’s, Inc. has entered into an assurance of discontinuance, which includes $51,000 in total fines, to settle charges over the company’s remote monitoring of its customers’ leased laptops. The settlement stems from charges accusing SEI/Aaron’s, an Atlanta-based franchise of the national rent-to-own retailer Aaron’s, Inc., of unlawfully using surveillance software on its leased laptops to assist the company in the collection of its customers’ overdue rental payments. The Vermont Office of the Attorney General claimed that such remote monitoring of the laptop users’ online activities in connection with debt collection constituted an unfair practice in violation of the Vermont Consumer Protection Act.

On September 10, 2014, the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (“GPEN”) published the results of an enforcement sweep carried out in May of this year to assess mobile app compliance with data protection laws. Twenty-six data protection authorities worldwide evaluated 1,211 mobile apps and found that a large majority of the apps are accessing personal data without providing adequate information to users.

On September 3, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission announced that Verizon has agreed to pay $7.4 million to settle an FCC Enforcement Bureau investigation into Verizon’s use of personal information for marketing. The investigation revealed that Verizon had used customers’ personal information for marketing purposes over a multiyear period before notifying the customers of their right to opt out of such marketing.

On September 2, 2014, a federal district court in California granted final approval to a settlement ending a class action against Bank of America (“BofA”) and FIA Card Services stemming from allegations that the defendants “engaged in a systematic practice of calling or texting consumers’ cell phones through the use of automatic telephone dialing systems and/or an artificial or prerecorded voice without their prior express consent, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”).” The court granted preliminary approval to the settlement in December 2013.

On September 4, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced a proposed settlement with Google Inc. (“Google”) stemming from allegations that the company unfairly billed consumers for mobile app charges incurred by children. The FTC’s complaint alleges that since 2011, Google violated the FTC Act’s prohibition on unfair commercial practices by billing consumers for in-app charges made by children without the authorization of the account holder.

On August 8, 2014, a court in Shanghai found a foreign couple guilty of illegal collection of personal information. British national Peter Humphrey was sentenced to two and a half years of imprisonment and a fine of RMB 200,000, and his wife was sentenced to two years of imprisonment and a fine of RMB 150,000. In addition, Humphrey will be deported after serving his term.

On August 6, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it had approved a safe harbor program submitted by the Internet Keep Safe Coalition (“iKeepSafe”), stating the program provides the “same or greater protections” for children under the age of 13 as those contained in the new Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (the “COPPA Rule”). An updated version of the COPPA Rule came into effect July 1, 2013.

On August 1, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission released a new staff report examining the consumer protection implications of popular mobile device applications that provide shopping and in-store purchase services. The report, What’s the Deal? An FTC Study on Mobile Shopping Apps, details the findings from a recent FTC staff survey that studied consumer rights and data protection issues associated with some of the most popular mobile shopping apps on the market.

On July 1, 2014, Delaware Governor Jack Markell signed into law a bill that creates new safe destruction requirements for the disposal of business records containing consumer personal information. The new law requires commercial entities conducting business in Delaware to take reasonable steps to destroy their consumers’ “personal identifying information” prior to the disposal of electronic or paper records. The law will take effect on January 1, 2015.

On July 15, 2014, Hunton & Williams’ Global Privacy and Cybersecurity practice group hosted the latest webcast in its Hunton Global Privacy Update series. The program covered a number of privacy and data protection topics, including the recent judgment in the Costeja case, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership’s work on a risk-based approach to privacy, the new Canadian anti-spam legislation that went into effect on July 1, and other developments in the U.S. and EU.

On July 16, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission posted revisions to its Frequently Asked Questions that provide guidance on complying with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (the “COPPA Rule”). The revisions, which are in Section H of the FAQs, address the COPPA Rule requirement that operators of certain websites and online services obtain a parent’s consent before collecting personal information online from a child under the age of 13.

On July 10, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it filed a complaint against Amazon.com, Inc. (“Amazon”) for failing to obtain the consent of parents or other account holders prior to billing them for in-app charges incurred by children. According to the complaint, Amazon, which offers children’s apps through its Appstore, bills Amazon account holders in real money for virtual items that children obtain within an app (i.e., “in-app” charges).

On June 20, 2014, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed a bill into law that repeals and replaces the state’s existing breach notification statute with a similar law entitled the Florida Information Protection Act (Section 501.171 of the Florida Statutes) (the “Act”).

Last week, the Russian Parliament adopted a bill amending portions of Russia’s existing legislation on privacy, information technology and data protection. Among other provisions, the law would create a “data localization” obligation for companies engaged in the transmission or recording of electronic communications over the Internet. Such companies would be required to store copies of the data for a minimum of six months in databases that must be located within the Russian Federation. The new bill also would empower the Russian data protection authority to block public Internet access to any service that does not comply with this requirement.

On June 23, 2014, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced a resolution agreement and $800,000 settlement with Parkview Health System, Inc. (“Parkview”) following a complaint involving patient medical records that were dumped by Parkview employees and left unattended on a physician’s driveway.

On June 2, 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a U.S.-led multinational effort to disrupt the “Gameover Zeus” botnet and the malware known as “Cryptolocker.” The DOJ also unsealed charges filed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Omaha, Nebraska against an administrator of Gameover Zeus.

On June 4, 2014, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law on GAO’s findings regarding (1) companies’ use and sharing of consumer location data, (2) privacy risks associated with the collection of location data, and (3) actions taken by certain companies and federal agencies to protect the privacy of location data. GAO’s testimony relates to its 2012 and 2013 reports that examined the collection of location data by certain mobile industry companies and in-car navigation providers.

On May 23, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced that the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection sent a letter to the court overseeing the bankruptcy proceedings for ConnectEDU Inc. (“ConnectEDU”), an education technology company, warning that the proposed sale of the company’s assets raises privacy concerns. ConnectEDU’s assets include personal information collected from students, high schools and community colleges in connection with the company’s website and affiliated services.

On May 19, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission announced that Sprint Corporation agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle an FCC Enforcement Bureau investigation stemming from allegations that the company failed to honor consumers’ requests to opt out of telemarketing calls and texts. Sprint also agreed to implement a two-year plan to help ensure future compliance with Do-Not-Call registry rules.

On May 12, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it has approved final consent orders with two companies that marketed genetically customized nutrition supplements. In addition to charges that the companies’ claims regarding the effectiveness of their products were not sufficiently substantiated, the settlements also allege that the companies misrepresented their privacy and security practices. The two companies, Gene Link, Inc. (“Gene Link”) and foru™ International Corp. (“foru” – a former subsidiary of Gene Link), represented in their privacy policy that they had “taken every precaution to create a process that allows individuals to maintain the highest level of privacy” and that the companies’ third party service providers are “contractually obligated to maintain the confidentiality and security of the Personal Customer Information and are restricted from using such information in any way not expressly authorized” by the companies.

On May 13, 2014, the French data protection authority (“CNIL”) decided to examine 100 mobile apps most commonly used in France.

On May 9, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement with clothing manufacturer American Apparel related to charges that the company falsely claimed to comply with the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Framework. According to the FTC’s complaint, the company violated Section 5 of the FTC Act by deceptively representing, through statements in its privacy policy, that it held a current Safe Harbor certification even though it had allowed the certification to expire.

On May 8, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced a proposed settlement with Snapchat, Inc. (“Snapchat”) stemming from allegations that the company’s privacy policy misrepresented its privacy and security practices, including how the Snapchat mobile app worked. Snapchat’s app supposedly allowed users to send and receive photo and video messages known as “snaps” that would “disappear forever” after a certain time period. The FTC alleged that, in fact, it was possible for recipients to save snaps indefinitely, regardless of the sender-designated expiration time.

On May 7, 2014, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced that NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (“NYP”) and Columbia University (“CU”) agreed to collectively pay $4.8 million in the largest HIPAA settlement to date, to settle charges that they potentially violated the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules.

On May 6, 2014, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada announced the Global Privacy Enforcement Network’s (“GPEN’s”) second annual enforcement sweep. The sweep will focus on mobile app privacy and how mobile apps collect and use personal data.

On April 30, 2014, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (“APEC”) released the Findings Report of the Joint Oversight Panel of the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules (“CPBR”) system, confirming that Japan has met the conditions for participation in the CBPRs. Accordingly, Japan has now joined the U.S. and Mexico as a participant in the APEC CBPRs. Canada recently expressed its intent to join the system soon, and other APEC economies are in the process determining how and when they may join.

On April 29, 2014, the French Data Protection Authority (“CNIL”) disclosed its annual inspections program, providing an overview of its inspections in 2013 and a list of the inspections it plans to conduct in 2014. Under French data protection law, the CNIL is authorized to collect any useful information in connection with its investigations and access data controllers’ electronic data and data processing programs. Since March 2014, the CNIL also is permitted to collect such information online through remote investigations.

On April 25, 2014, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that Microsoft must release user data to U.S. law enforcement when issued a search warrant, even if the data is stored outside of the U.S.

On April 23, 2014, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced settlements with two health care companies stemming from allegations of inadequate information security practices in the wake of investigations involving stolen laptop computers. Concentra Health Services (“Concentra”) and QCA Health Plan Inc. (“QCA”) will collectively pay nearly $2 million to settle the claims.

On April 9, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced settlements with two data brokers, Instant Checkmate, Inc. (“Instant Checkmate”) and InfoTrack Information Services, Inc. (“InfoTrack”), which sell public record information about consumers. The settlements stem from allegations that Instant Checkmate and InfoTrack violated various provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”). According to the press release, the FTC asserts that the companies violated the FCRA by “providing reports about consumers to users such as prospective employers and landlords without taking reasonable steps to make sure that they were accurate, or without making sure their users had a permissible reason to have them.”

On April 10, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced that the Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection had notified Facebook and WhatsApp Inc., reminding both companies of their obligation to honor privacy statements made to consumers in connection with Facebook’s proposed acquisition of WhatsApp.

On April 7, 2014, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey issued an opinion in Federal Trade Commission v. Wyndham Worldwide Corporation, allowing the FTC to proceed with its case against the company. Wyndham had argued that the FTC lacks the authority to regulate data security under Section 5 of the FTC Act. The judge rejected Wyndham’s challenge, ruling that the FTC can charge Wyndham with unfair data security practices. The case will continue to be litigated on the issue of whether Wyndham’s data security practices constituted a violation of Section 5.

On March 28, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced proposed settlements with Fandango and Credit Karma stemming from allegations that the companies misrepresented the security of their mobile apps and failed to secure consumers’ sensitive personal information transmitted using their mobile apps.

The Federal Trade Commission recently acted on three industry proposals in accordance with the new Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (the “COPPA Rule”) that came into effect July 1, 2013. Specifically, the FTC determined that it was unnecessary to rule on a proposed parental consent mechanism, approved a proposed “safe harbor” program and is seeking public comment on a separate proposed “safe harbor” program.

On March 7, 2014, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced a resolution agreement and $215,000 settlement with Skagit County, Washington, following a security breach that affected approximately 1,600 individuals.

On March 6, 2014, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) signed a memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) to promote increased cooperation and information sharing between the two enforcement agencies.

On February 21, 2014, Peter Hustinx, the European Data Protection Supervisor (“EDPS”), highlighted the need to enforce existing EU data protection law and swiftly adopt EU data protection law reforms as an essential part of rebuilding trust in EU-U.S. data flows.

Triple-S Management Corporation reported in the 8-K it recently filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that its health insurance subsidiary, Triple-S Salud, Inc. (“Triple S”), which is Puerto Rico’s largest health insurer, will be fined $6.8 million for a data breach that occurred in September 2013. The civil monetary penalty, which is being levied by the Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration, will be the largest fine ever imposed following a breach of protected health information.