On October 19, 2010, speaking at the annual Proskauer on Privacy conference, the Federal Trade Commission’s newest Commissioner, Julie Brill, had a lot to say about self-regulation, teen privacy and other FTC privacy initiatives. You can read what she said, in her own words, on our privacy law blog.
October 2010
French Data Protection Agency Issues Guidelines to Help Companies Strengthen the Security of their Data Processing
To assist companies to comply with European data protection laws, in particular those implemented in France, the French Data Protection Agency (known as “CNIL”) recently issued a set of guidelines organized by topic which provide elementary precautions to be taken by data controllers in several subject areas, including what types of conduct are prohibited as well as the CNIL’s recommendations in these areas.
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Superiority Beats Enormity: 9th Circuit Rejects Denial of FACTA Class Certification Based on Disproportionality of Damages
In a decision filed September 27, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a California district court’s refusal to certify a class action alleging violations of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (“FACTA”). The Ninth Circuit ruled that none of the three grounds advanced below – the disproportionality between the potential liability and the actual harm suffered, the enormity of the potential damages, or the defendant’s good faith compliance with FACTA after being sued – justified denying class certification on superiority grounds. The Ninth Circuit’s decision narrows, if not eliminates, the potential for disagreement among district courts on an issue that has for some time been a fly in the ointment for class action plaintiffs (and their attorneys) hoping for big paydays on account of harmless technical violations of FACTA.
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Update: Internet Advertising Groups Launch Self-Regulation Program
Updating previous reports, a consortium of internet advertising trade groups recently launched a self-regulatory program which adopts a universal icon to inform consumers when advertisements are targeted as a result of data tracking: