A Blog About FTC regulations and happenings
New York
New York recently enacted a law to prohibit unsolicited telemarketing calls during a state of emergency. Since New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has declared a state of emergency (on March 7, and slated to be in force through September), the law’s restrictions are now in effect.- Restrictions under the new law: telemarketing calls to New York residents during a declared state of emergency.
As businesses that make telemarketing or automated/prerecorded phone calls and send text messages and telemarketing faxes are well aware, the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) imposes certain restrictions on communications sent without the recipient’s express consent or permission. Many courts view the “prior express consent” or permission requirement quite broadly. And just this week,… Read More
Work got a lot more personal when it moved in with my family. For people used to keeping a healthy divide between their business and personal lives, the new telework dynamic can be particularly stressful. That “healthy divide” can crumble under the weight of quarantine as tiny voices (kids and pets) infiltrate teleconference and video… Read More
COVID19 is not the only viral threat we face these days. Malware is a very real vulnerability for businesses large and small, among a host of other data security threats. We have rapidly transitioned to telework. For many (perhaps most) businesses, that transition took place without a clear inventory of hardware leaving the office and… Read More
Allowances Made for COVID-19 Don’t Mean Telehealth Providers and Employers Can Share Protected Information Without Consequences
COVID-19 has become a pervasive concern for everyone. Older Americans are particularly susceptible to contracting COVID-19. On March 17th, the Trump Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the expansion of Medicare beneficiaries’ access to telehealth services during the COVID-19 outbreak. Importantly, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced it… Read More
Cause Marketing Social causes are an important part of both community and business culture. Increasingly, businesses identify social causes to support as a part of their company mission. When they fold that mission into their marketing, it can trigger federal and state consumer protection laws (as well as federal tax laws). Why? To prevent fraud… Read More
While the world is uni-focused on the Corona virus, companies doing business in California and impacted by the California Consumer Privacy Act must face another dizzying round of revisions to the California Attorney General’s draft implementing regulations. The AG released its latest set of revisions on March 11, providing an additional notice and comment period… Read More
Can the free market weigh in on data privacy and further data privacy rights in way that the law cannot? Can the free market put control over people’s data back in individuals’ hands? Many of us have been waiting for a market solution to address the privacy of personal data. As attorneys, we know from… Read More
Putting the Brakes on Swift and Sweeping Adoption of Facial Recognition Technologies
When it is not clear which way to go, don’t. This is the upshot of an article by Wojciech Wiewiorowski: Facial recognition: A solution in search of a problem? Wiewiorowski is the Assistant Supervisor at the European Data Protection Supervisor (the E.U.’s independent data protection authority), which published his article on their site in late… Read More
SEC’s Lawsuit Against Telegram Raises Questions About Cryptocurrency “Presales” Under Regulation D
On October 11, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a lawsuit against Telegram Group, Inc. and TON Issuer, Inc. (“Telegram”), and simultaneously obtained a temporary restraining order preventing Telegram from issuing its “Gram” cryptocurrency, which had been scheduled for delivery on October 31, 2019. The SEC claimed that the sale of Grams amount… Read More
