Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On September 10, 2014, the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (“GPEN”) published the results of an enforcement sweep carried out in May of this year to assess mobile app compliance with data protection laws. Twenty-six data protection authorities worldwide evaluated 1,211 mobile apps and found that a large majority of the apps are accessing personal data without providing adequate information to users.

On September 10, 2014, Helen Dixon was announced as the new Data Protection Commissioner for Ireland. Dixon currently is registrar of the Companies Registration Office and has experience in both the private and public sectors, including senior management roles in the Department of Jobs. Dixon will take up her appointment over the coming weeks, succeeding Billy Hawkes in the role. Hawkes has served as Commissioner for two terms since 2005.

The Article 29 Working Party (the “Working Party”) recently released its August 1, 2014 statement providing recommendations on the actions that EU Member States should take in light of the European Court of Justice’s April 8, 2014 ruling invalidating the EU Data Retention Directive (the “Ruling”).

On September 3, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission announced that Verizon has agreed to pay $7.4 million to settle an FCC Enforcement Bureau investigation into Verizon’s use of personal information for marketing. The investigation revealed that Verizon had used customers’ personal information for marketing purposes over a multiyear period before notifying the customers of their right to opt out of such marketing.

On September 2, 2014, a federal district court in California granted final approval to a settlement ending a class action against Bank of America (“BofA”) and FIA Card Services stemming from allegations that the defendants “engaged in a systematic practice of calling or texting consumers’ cell phones through the use of automatic telephone dialing systems and/or an artificial or prerecorded voice without their prior express consent, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”).” The court granted preliminary approval to the settlement in December 2013.

On September 4, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission announced a proposed settlement with Google Inc. (“Google”) stemming from allegations that the company unfairly billed consumers for mobile app charges incurred by children. The FTC’s complaint alleges that since 2011, Google violated the FTC Act’s prohibition on unfair commercial practices by billing consumers for in-app charges made by children without the authorization of the account holder.

On September 15-16, 2014, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) will sponsor a workshop to further its Privacy Engineering initiative. The workshop will focus on developing draft privacy engineering definitions and concepts that will be explored in a forthcoming NIST report.

On August 19, 2014, California state legislators made final amendments to a bill updating the state’s breach notification law. The amended bill, which passed the State Senate on August 21 and the Assembly on August 25, is now headed to California Governor Jerry Brown for signature. If signed, the scope of the existing law would extend to apply to entities that “maintain” personal information about California residents. Currently, only entities that “own” or “license” such personal information are required to implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices to protect the personal information from unauthorized access, destruction, modification or disclosure.

On August 19, 2014, the German Federal Ministry of the Interior published a revised draft cybersecurity law (the “Draft Law”). An earlier version of the law was published in March 2013. The Draft Law is intended to serve as a cornerstone of Germany’s recently-announced digital agenda.

On August 14, 2014, the Centre for Information Policy Leadership at Hunton & Williams (the “Centre”) submitted its response to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (“NTIA’s”) request for public comment on big data and consumer privacy issues. The NTIA’s request, which follows the White House’s recent study of big data, the May 2014 Big Data Report, and the associated President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology Report, seeks further public input on how big data impacts the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, and whether the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights should be modified to contemplate big data.