Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced the formation of a Privacy and Data Protection Task Force at the FCC during a recent speech at the Center for Democracy and Technology Forum on Data Privacy. The Task Force will coordinate rulemaking, enforcement, and public awareness efforts across the Commission that concern privacy and data protection
FCC Examines Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities Following Russian Invasion of Ukraine
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is seeking public comment on vulnerabilities that threaten the security and integrity of the Border Gateway Protocol, which is central to the internet’s global routing system. The BGP’s design is widely deployed and lacks security features to ensure trust in the information being exchanged.
The FCC seeks comment on how
Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Improper Sale of PII for Ad Bidding Purposes
On May 18, 2021, a consumer filed a putative class action lawsuit against a tech company in California federal court. The consumer alleges that the company violates users’ privacy by selling their personally identifiable information (PII) to third parties in connection with a real-time bidding system it uses for digital ad sales. In his complaint, the plaintiff alleges that the company represented in its privacy policy, terms of service, and elsewhere that a user’s PII would not be shared with third parties without the user’s consent. However, the complaint avers that the company purportedly sold users’ PII—including user location data, browsing history, and demographic and health information—to third parties that participate in the company’s ad bidding auction process, and that it did so without ever informing users that their data was being shared. The complaint alleges that this conduct violates the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) as well as a range of consumer privacy and contract rights under California constitutional, statutory, and common law.
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Court Rules that CCPA Does Not Apply Retroactively and Requires Specific Allegations Regarding Date of Violation
A federal court in California recently dismissed a lawsuit brought under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) against Walmart, concluding that the CCPA did not apply retroactively and that the plaintiff had failed to specify the date of the alleged violation giving rise to his claim. The case—Gardiner v. Walmart Inc.—represents a meaningful hurdle for potential CCPA plaintiffs whose claims are either undated or predate the CCPA’s effective date.
Continue Reading Court Rules that CCPA Does Not Apply Retroactively and Requires Specific Allegations Regarding Date of Violation