On August 29, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had filed a complaint against Kochava, Inc. (“Kochava”), a digital marketing and analytics firm, seeking an order halting Kochava’s alleged acquisition and downstream sale of “massive amounts” of precise geolocation data collected from consumers’ mobile devices. The complaint alleges that the data is … Continue Reading
On August 11, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) and announced it was exploring a rulemaking process to “crack down on harmful commercial surveillance” and lax data security. The agency defines commercial surveillance as “the collection, aggregation, analysis, retention, transfer, or monetization of consumer data and the … Continue Reading
On July 11, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published “Location, health, and other sensitive information: FTC committed to fully enforcing the law against illegal use and sharing of highly sensitive data,” on its Business Blog. The blog post is likely related to an Executive Order (the “EO”) signed by President Biden in the wake … Continue Reading
On March 9, 2022, the President issued an Executive Order (the “E.O.”) that articulates a high-level, wide-ranging national strategy for regulating and fostering innovation in the burgeoning digital assets space. The strategy is intended to encourage innovation yet still provide adequate oversight to control systemic risks and the attendant investor, business, consumer and environmental concerns. The E.O. … Continue Reading
On September 14, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a settled securities fraud action against App Annie Inc., one of the largest sellers of market data on how apps on mobile devices are performing, and its co-founder and former CEO and Chairman Bertrand Schmitt. The settlement is the first enforcement action brought by the … Continue Reading
The currents around the Communications Decency Act just got a little more turbulent as the White House and executive branch try to reel in the big fish of CDA reform. On July 27, 2020, the Commerce Department submitted a petition requesting the FCC initiate a rulemaking to clarify the provisions of Section 230 of the … Continue Reading
President Trump signed an Executive Order today attempting to curtail legal protections under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (“Section 230” or the “CDA”). The Executive Order strives to clarify that Section 230 immunity “should not extend beyond its text and purpose to provide protection for those who purport to provide users a forum … Continue Reading
UPDATE: On the afternoon of May 28, 2020, the President signed the executive order concerning CDA Section 230. A copy/link to the order has not yet been posted on the White House’s website. According to news reports, the Trump Administration (the “Administration”) is drafting and the President is set to sign an executive order … Continue Reading
As 2019 came to a close, we looked ahead into 2020 and noted that data would continue to be a huge issue for the digital economy. We have not been disappointed. On February 19, 2020, the European Commission (the “Commission”) released its 35-page document entitled “A European strategy for data,” becoming just the latest of many … Continue Reading
In 2018, Congress passed the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) to modernize the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). CFIUS is chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury and is empowered to review certain transactions involving foreign investment in the U.S. that may affect national security. On January 23, 2020, … Continue Reading
On January 7, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) announced its 2020 examination priorities. In doing so, OCIE identified certain areas of technology-related concern, and in particular, on the issue of alternative data and cybersecurity. [For a more detailed review of OCIE’s exam priorities, see the Client Alert … Continue Reading
On January 7, 2019, the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a draft of a memorandum setting forth guidance to assist federal agencies in developing regulatory and non-regulatory approaches regarding artificial intelligence (AI). This draft guidance will be available for public comment for sixty days, after which it will be finalized and issued … Continue Reading
With the online shopping season in full swing, the FTC decided that online retailers might benefit from a reminder as to the dos and don’ts for social media influencers. Thus, the FTC released a new guide, “Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers,” that reiterates its position about the responsibility of “influencers” to disclose “material” connections … Continue Reading
This week, the FTC entered into a proposed settlement with Unrollme Inc. (“Unrollme”), a free personal email management service that offers to assist consumers in managing the flood of subscription emails in their inboxes. The FTC alleged that Unrollme made certain deceptive statements to consumers, who may have had privacy concerns, to persuade them to … Continue Reading
In an effort to modernize communications, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) decided to allow cable operators to deliver general subscriber notices required under so-called Subpart T rules (47 CFR §§ 76.1601 et seq.) to verified customer email addresses. This decision was announced through a Report and Order on November 15, 2018. This update is part … Continue Reading
Last week the WSJ published an article detailing how companies are monetizing smartphone location data by selling it to hedge fund clients. The data vendor featured in the WSJ article obtains geolocation data from about 1,000 apps that fund managers use to predict trends involving public companies. However, as we’ve noted, the use of alternative … Continue Reading
As we approach the end of 2017, it is a time to reflect on the dizzying pace of technology evolution this year, and the amazing array of legal issues it presented. Similarly, it is a time to look forward and anticipate what technology-related issues we will be thinking about in the coming year. For 2017, … Continue Reading
I am pleased to announce that Proskauer has recently launched a new blog focused exclusively on the use of blockchain in business. The blog will be wide ranging in nature, covering the legal issues associated with blockchain as applied to financial services, health care, real estate, supply chain management, media and entertainment, advertising, content delivery, … Continue Reading
A U.S. federal district court judge on Tuesday, November 29 ordered Coinbase Inc., the largest cryptocurrency exchange and storage platform in the world, to provide information about certain of its account holders to the U.S. Internal Revenue Services (IRS). Information pertaining to as many as 14,355 account holders and 8.9 million transactions could be covered … Continue Reading
In his remarks at a recent Practicing Law Institute program on securities regulation, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton once again addressed Initial Coin Offerings, or ICOs. Mr. Clayton highlighted several issues in particular, including that in his view there is a lack of information about many online platforms that list and trade virtual … Continue Reading
No blockchain phenomenon has garnered more attention lately than Initial Coin Offerings (“ICOs”), which have exploded in value and raised more than $1.2 billion thus far this year. In a typical ICO, a blockchain-based product or service provider offers proprietary digital assets (“tokens”) – rather than traditional forms of debt or equity – in exchange … Continue Reading
A service provider seeking to take advantage of certain of the safe harbors under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is required to designate an agent to receive takedown notices. The service provider is required to post the DMCA agent’s contact information on its website and to provide such information to the Copyright Office. On … Continue Reading
Negotiations between television channels/networks and pay TV operators are a breed apart. The stakes are high and the consequence of failure – a “dark” screen – is all too public. But the critical factor that sets these negotiations apart is the actual regulation of the negotiations under three main categories of rules. Broadcasters may invoke … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
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