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In Yershov v. Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc., a user of the free USA Today app alleged that each time he viewed a video clip, the app transmitted his mobile Android ID, GPS coordinates and identification of the watched video to a third-party analytics company to create user profiles for the purposes of targeted advertising, in violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). When we last wrote about this case in May, the First Circuit reversed the dismissal by the district court and allowed the case to proceed, taking a more generous view as to who is a “consumer” under the VPPA.

On remand, Gannett moved to dismiss the complaint again for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, contending that the complaint merely alleges a “bare procedural violation” of the VPPA, insufficient to establish Article III standing to bring suit under the standard enunciated in the Supreme Court’s Spokeo decision. In essence, Gannett contended that the complaint does not allege a concrete injury in fact, and that even if it did, the complaint depends on the “implausible” assumption that the third-party analytics company receiving the data maintains a “profile” on the plaintiff.

On August 29th, a Ninth Circuit panel unanimously held that the FTC has no power to challenge “throttling” of unlimited data plan customers by mobile broadband providers as an “unfair or deceptive act.”  The panel found that a core source of FTC authority (Section 5 of the FTC Act) does not apply to any “common carriers” that are subject to regulation under the Communications Act of 1934.  (FTC v. AT&T Mobility LLC, No. 14-04785 (9th Cir. Aug. 29, 2016)).

UPDATE: Prior to the close of the legislative session, the amended AB 83 failed to make it out committee.

With the session ending on August 31st, the California legislature is debating a bill (AB 83) that would expand data security requirements for businesses that maintain personal information of California residents to include, among other things, protection for geolocation and biometric data. Under existing law (Cal. Civ. Code §1798.81.5(b)), a person or business that owns, licenses, or maintains a California resident’s “personal information,” must implement and maintain “reasonable security procedures and practices appropriate to the nature of the information.”   The current law also lists multiple types of covered “personal information.”

In the wake of thousands of parental complaints about unauthorized in-app purchases made by their children, resulting in millions of dollars in disputed charges, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) brought suit against Amazon, Inc. (“Amazon”) in July 2014. The FTC sought a court order requiring refunds to consumers for unauthorized…

As we have previously written about, there are several ongoing biometric privacy-related lawsuits alleging that facial recognition-based systems of photo tagging violate the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).  Add one more to the list.  A Chicago resident brought a putative class action against Google for allegedly collecting, storing…

An Important Issue for Text-Message Marketers

There has been an uptick in litigation under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. § 227 – likely due to the increased use of mobile marketing (not to mention the availability of statutory damages between $500 and $1,500 per violation).  And…