On September 22, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the settlement of an enforcement action against a St. Louis-based registered investment adviser (Adviser) brought under Rule 30(a) of Regulation S-P (Safeguards Rule). The SEC Order charged the Adviser with violating the Safeguards Rule by failing to adopt written
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California Enacts New “Do Not Track” Disclosure Requirement Law for Websites
By Jeremy M. Mittman on
On September 27, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a new privacy law that has significant repercussions for nearly every business in the United States that operates a commercial website or online service and collects “personally identifiable information” (which means, under the law, “individually identifiable information about an individual consumer collected…
Massachusetts Federal Judge Says ZIP Code is Definitely Maybe “Personal Identification Information” . . . Implores Parties to Seek State Court Certification.
By Proskauer Rose on
In an extension of the spate of litigation surrounding California’s Song-Beverly Credit Card Act and other laws like it, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in Tyler v. Michaels Stores, Inc., Civ. No. 11-10920-WGY (D. Mass. Jan. 6, 2012), followed the California Supreme Court’s lead in ruling that ZIP codes are “personal identification information” within the meaning of Mass. Gen. Laws, ch. 93, § 105(a). The court nonetheless dismissed the plaintiff’s putative class action because she failed to allege any legally cognizable harm as a result of Michaels’ collection of her ZIP code in connection with a credit card transaction. Retailers who were unhappy with the California Supreme Court’s opinion in Pineda probably will not be any more pleased with the court’s ZIP code reasoning here. But the result? You bet!
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Judge Finds Injury-in-Fact Adequately Alleged in RockYou Data Breach Action
By Scott Carpenter on
Where others have failed, Alan Claridge did not. Recently, a Federal judge in the Northern District of California declined to dismiss Plaintiff Claridge’s claims arising from a data breach involving the social entertainment site RockYou. Arguing that the data breach harmed the value of his personal information, Plaintiff convinced the court not to dismiss his action for lack of standing.
FTC Provides Last Clear Chance for Industry to Self-Police in a Target-Rich Environment
By Proskauer Rose on
On February 12, 2009, the FTC issued its long-anticipated Staff Report on Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising. The revised Self-Regulatory Principles are the result of a year of study of the more than 60 comments provided by industry, advocacy organizations, academics, and individual consumers in response to the FTC’s proposed self-regulatory principles issued in late 2007.
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California Court of Appeal Reaffirms Adequacy of Opt-Out Notice to Protect Privacy of Individual Identity and Contact Information in Litigation
By Proskauer Rose on
On April 9, 2007, the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, affirmed a ruling of the Los Angeles Superior Court permitting the disclosure to counsel for a putative class of the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the defendant’s current and former employees unless, following proper opt-out notice, they objected in writing to the disclosure.
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