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FTC Adds COPPA Violations to the Growing List of Privacy Concerns While TikTok is on the Clock
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August 13, 2024
FTC Adds COPPA Violations to the Growing List of Privacy Concerns While TikTok is on the Clock
By: Jordan Briggs
For years now, TikTok has seemed to be the center of attention. From viral baking content to true crime to dancing videos to family-influencer content, everyone seems to be on it or talking about it. And the FTC has said that’s part of the problem. On August 2, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) brought a suit on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) against TikTok, its parent company ByteDance, and affiliated companies for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) by collecting and using personal information from children under 13 years old without notifying and obtaining parental consent. Since 2000, COPPA has required websites directed to children or for which the “operator has actual knowledge that it is…
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Chevron Overruling Sparks Regulatory Uncertainty Across Industries
July 10, 2024
Chevron Overruling Sparks Regulatory Uncertainty Across Industries
By: Jake Gray
A landmark decision by the Supreme Court overruled 40-year precedent that provided the bedrock for modern federal agency rulemaking and administration. In Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (2024), alongside its companion case Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce, the Supreme Court overruled Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. (1984), holding that deference to an agency’s interpretation of the statute is inconsistent with…
Ready, Set, Go: More States Adopt Privacy Laws
July 8, 2024
Ready, Set, Go: More States Adopt Privacy Laws
By: Nicole Kardell
Note the below chart was updated on July 8, 2024 to reflect recent developments. The number of U.S. states that have adopted privacy laws grows regularly. Fortunately, there seems to be quite a bit of crossover, at least when it comes to thresholds that companies must meet in order to trigger compliance requirements. We provide below a chart that summarizes these thresholds by state, including…
Should FTC Protect Gamers Against Unhappy Endings?
May 22, 2012
Should FTC Protect Gamers Against Unhappy Endings?
By: Steven Eichorn
Whether you or not you are an avid gamer, you have probably realized that a significant segment of the general population takes gaming quite seriously. Probably a little too seriously sometimes. It seems that the ending to the popular game Mass Effect 3 (“ME3”), which is produced by BioWare, disappointed many devoted players so much that they filed a petition with the FTC for deceptive…
In Nutella Advertising Case, Whom Is the System Protecting?
May 13, 2012
In Nutella Advertising Case, Whom Is the System Protecting?
By: Nicole Kardell
The world is full of surprises, like the fact that Nutella chocolate spread is loaded with saturated fat and sugar and is not itself healthy. Ferrero USA, Inc., the company that makes Nutella, learned the hard way that many American parents could not survive (nor perhaps could their children) without the aid and intervention of Captain Obvious. And so, following a recent settlement agreement with…
FTC Obtains Injunction, Asset Freeze on Alleged Mortgage Scam
April 2, 2012
FTC Obtains Injunction, Asset Freeze on Alleged Mortgage Scam
By: Steven Eichorn
The Federal Trade Commission has obtained an order from the federal court for the Central District of California for a preliminary injunction and asset freeze against all the defendants in an alleged mortgage modification scam. The complaint was filed against California-based Sameer Lakhany and a number of related corporate entities for violating the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule, now…
Identity Theft Continues to Top FTC’s List of Consumer Complaints
March 26, 2012
Identity Theft Continues to Top FTC’s List of Consumer Complaints
By: Ifrah Law
For more than a decade, the Federal Trade Commission has been releasing its list of the top ten categories of consumer complaints received by the agency in the previous year. This list always serves as a good indication of the areas toward which the FTC may choose to direct its resources and increase its scrutiny. For the 12th year in a row, identity theft was…
How Zappos Defused a Potential Online Privacy Crisis
March 23, 2012
How Zappos Defused a Potential Online Privacy Crisis
By: Ifrah Law
When hackers breached the computer systems of online retailer Zappos.com in January, they gained access to the personal information of up to 24 million customers. The information included customer names, billing and shipping addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers. In a predictable response, customers immediately filed federal class action lawsuits against Zappos, and the attorneys general of nine states sent a joint letter to the…
