California’s Attorney General Kamala Harris announced last week the creation of a new Privacy Enforcement and Protection Unit, including six prosecutors, in the state’s Department of Justice. This new unit intends to protect consumer and individual privacy through prosecution of state and federal privacy laws.
FTC Fines First Mobile App Developer for COPPA Violation
On Monday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that mobile application developer W3 Innovations, LLC (d/b/a Broken Thumbs Apps), has agreed to pay a fine of $50,000 in order to settle charges that it collected and disclosed personal information from children under the age of 13 without first notifying parents of information-collection policies or obtaining verifiable parental consent, in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the FTC’s COPPA Rule (16 C.F.R. Part 312). This was the first FTC case involving mobile applications, commonly known as "Apps."
Seventh Circuit Affirms District Court Decision that “Electronically Printed” Receipts Under FACTA Does Not Include Receipts Emailed to Consumers
On August 10, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld an earlier ruling by the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division that email order confirmations are not “electronically printed” receipts under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (“FACTA”) amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Shlahtichman v.1-800 Contacts Inc., Case No. 09-4073 (7th Cir.; Aug. 10, 2010). The court affirmed the dismissal of Shlahtichman’s complaint against 1-800 Contacts Inc. that involved an electronic order confirmation containing Shlahtichman’s credit card expiration date.
FTC to Investigate Digital Copy Machine Privacy Risks
On May 11, 2010, the Federal Trade Commission responded to a letter previously submitted by Congressman Edward Markey which voiced concern over privacy risks relating to digital copiers.