privacy – Page 5 – Duane Morris TechLaw

August 15, 2012September 12, 2014 by Sandra A. Jeskie

FTC Imposes a Record $22.5 Million Civil Penalty on Google for Privacy Misrepresentations

On August 9, 2012, the FTC announced that Google agreed to pay a record $22.5 million civil penalty to settle charges that it made misrepresentations to users of the Safari Internet browser when Google represented that it would not place cookies or serve targeted ads to those users. In doing so, Google violated an earlier privacy settlement it had with the FTC.

FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said “[t]he record setting penalty in this matter sends a clear message to all companies under an FTC privacy order. . . “[n]o matter how big or small, all companies must abide by FTC orders against them and keep their privacy promises to consumers, or they will end up paying many times what it would have cost to comply in the first place.”

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March 26, 2012September 11, 2014 by Sandra A. Jeskie

FTC Released its Final Report Today on Best Practices for Businesses to Protect Consumer Privacy

Today, the Federal Trade Commission released its final report titled “Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change: Recommendations For Businesses and Policymakers.” http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/03/privacyframework.shtm

The report details best practices for businesses to protect the privacy of consumers. Recognizing the burden on small businesses, the FTC says that the framework should not apply to companies that collect and do not transfer only non-sensitive data from fewer than 5,000 consumers a year.

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February 1, 2012July 19, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

FBI’s Social Media Monitoring Plan Must Balance Privacy, Security

A few weeks ago this blog pointed out that the Department of Homeland Security’s command center regularly monitors social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, popular sites like Hulu, controversial sites including WikiLeaks, and news and commentary sites like The Huffington Post and Drudge Report, according to a government document.

Now, there is an indication that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is developing a web application that will have the ability to monitor social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Such an application supposedly will give the FBI intelligence about potential security threats.

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January 18, 2012July 19, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Is Homeland Security Watching You Online?

Are George Orwell’s fears of a governmental “Big Brother” from his novel 1984 coming true now? Well, let’s hope not, but read on.

Recent press has reported on a particular government document: a Privacy Compliance Review issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in late 2011. The document reveals that the DHS command center regularly monitors social-networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, popular sites like Hulu, controversial sites including WikiLeaks, and news and commentary sites like Drudge Report and The Huffington Post.

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October 6, 2011September 11, 2014 by Sandra A. Jeskie

The Ever Expanding Data Breach Notification Laws…

Just when you thought the state breach notification laws could not get more cumbersome, states continue to amend their breach notification laws in an effort to expand the content and reach of the notice.

Texas Amendment Requires Notification to Affected Residents in All 50 States

Texas recently amended its data breach notification law by expanding the notification requirements to cover affected non-residents. Prior to the amendment, Texas required that entities conducting business in Texas notify residents when sensitive personal information was believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized person. Continue reading “The Ever Expanding Data Breach Notification Laws…”

September 30, 2011July 18, 2016 by Eric J. Sinrod

Protecting Personal Information In Borders Bankruptcy Proceeding

Borders has long collected personal information from customers and promised that such information would not be disclosed without consent. In light of that and Borders’ current bankruptcy proceedings, the FTC has sent a letter to the consumer privacy ombudsman overseeing the Borders bankruptcy that seeks the protection of customer personal information.

The FTC’s letter appears prompted by its understanding that customer personal information held by Borders is scheduled to be auctioned and thereafter there will be a sale hearing.

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August 31, 2011September 11, 2014 by Joseph M. Burton

State Law News (August 2011)

As we head toward the Labor Day Weekend, it is a good time to point out a couple of noteworthy state level legislative developments in the Information Security and Privacy space.

California

On August 22nd the California State Assembly passed SB 914 which amends the California Penal Code to make clear that police must acquire a search warrant in order to search an individual’s cell phone or other portable electronic device incident to the arrest of that individual.

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August 17, 2011September 11, 2014 by Joseph M. Burton

Anonymous Educates Us About Security– Again

Another data breach carried out by the “hactivist” group known as “Anonymous” provides an opportunity for businesses to become reacquainted with several important data security concepts. First let’s briefly review the background of the incident.

This time Anonymous hacked the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, commonly known as BART. BART is the second largest public transportation system in Northern California and carries about 40,000 riders a day. Anonymous was able to access and steal personal information on about 2400 BART customers who utilize the myBART website to manage their accounts. The information taken was reported by Anonymous to include system user names and passwords, individual last names, addresses, and telephone numbers.

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July 21, 2011September 11, 2014 by Joseph M. Burton

Court To Decide Important Privacy Rights Case

In the flurry of activity immediately preceding the close of the United States Supreme Court’s term in June, the court accepted Cert on what could be a pivotal 4th Amendment privacy case: United States v. Jones. Jones presents the court with the opportunity to define the extent to which a person has an expectation of privacy with regard to their movements.

First the salient facts. Jones was the owner of a D.C. night club which was under federal investigation for suspected drug trafficking. At the conclusion of the investigation, Jones and the club’s Manager, Lawrence Maynard, were indicted for conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine. They were tried jointly and convicted.

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July 18, 2011September 11, 2014 by Sandra A. Jeskie

Geotagging and Other Electronic Tracking – Worth the Risk to Privacy?

Congress is currently considering a bill to prevent the abuse of location data collected by electronic devices. In the mean time, we all have to question how much privacy are we willing to give up to get the types of services and apps we have come to love?

For example, did you know that when you take a picture with your smartphone and post that picture to the web, that photo could be tagged with geolocation data (i.e. Latitude and Longitude). Automatic geotagging is generally enabled by default on smartphones. While it sounds desirable to know where and when you took a vacation photo, consider the adorable photo you took of your children playing in your backyard and posted on line or the expensive piece of jewelry you just posted on e-Bay. Do you really want to give your location to everyone online?

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