Privacy, Data Protection & Information Management

FTC Issues First Order Prohibiting Sale of Sensitive Location Data

Jan 19 2024

By Eric F. Vicente Flores and Whitney E. McCollum

On 9 January, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its first settlement prohibiting a data broker from sharing or selling sensitive location data, and required deletion of all location data collected deceptively. The FTC alleged that X-Mode Social (“X-Mode”), and Outlogic, LLC (“Outlogic”), X-Mode’s successor firm, failed to implement reasonable and appropriate safeguards on the use of such information by third parties. X-Mode/Outlogic collected personal information, including location data via its mobile applications, which it would then sell to third parties.

FTC Bans Rite Aid from Using AI Facial Recognition Without Reasonable Safeguards

Jan 02 2024

By Whitney E. McCollum and Eric F. Vicente Flores

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a first-of-its-kind proposed order prohibiting Rite Aid Corporation from using facial recognition technology for surveillance purposes for five years.

The FTC alleged that Rite Aid’s facial recognition technology generated thousands of false-positive matches that incorrectly indicated a consumer matched the identity of an individual who was suspected or accused of wrongdoing. The FTC alleged that false-positive matches were more likely to occur in Rite Aid stores located in “plurality-Black” “plurality-Asian” and “plurality-Latino” areas. Additionally, Rite Aid allegedly failed to take reasonable measures to prevent harm to consumers when deploying its facial recognition technology. Reasonable measures include: inquiring about the accuracy of its technology before using it; preventing the use of low-quality images; training or overseeing employees tasked with operating the facial recognition technology; and implementing procedures for tracking the rate of false positive matches.

UK’s top Websites Receive Cookie Warnings from the Information Commissioner

Dec 07 2023

By Claude-Étienne Armingaud and Sophie Verstraeten

The UK’s Information Commissioner (the “ICO”) has recently sent warnings to the UK’s most visited websites to inform them that they may face enforcement action if they do not make changes to their cookie banner to ensure compliance with UK data protection law. For example, some websites warned by the ICO do not provide their user with a fair choice on tracking for personalised advertising. This position aligns with the EU’s stance, noting France (see prior Alert here).

California Privacy Protection Agency Proposes Draft Rules for Automated Decision Making, Including Artificial Intelligence

Dec 07 2023

By Eric Vicente Flores and Michael Stortz

Executive Summary: The California Privacy Protection Agency has proposed a new set of draft regulations that aim to regulate the use of artificial intelligence and automated decision making technology. These regulations will be discussed alongside other draft regulations the agency has previously proposed regarding risk assessments and cybersecurity assessments. The three sets of draft regulations will be discussed at the agency’s meeting on 8 December.

Australia’s Privacy Framework set to be Revamped Following the Government’s Response to the Privacy Act Review Report

Oct 13 2023

By: Cameron Abbott, Rob Pulham, Stephanie Mayhew,and Maddy Bassal

Last week the federal Government released its response (the Response) to the recommendations proposed by the AGD’s Privacy Act Review Report released in February 2023 (the Report).

California Proposes Cybersecurity Requirements for Businesses

Oct 11 2023

By: Eric Vicente Flores, Avril Love, and Whitney McCollum

In recognition of Cybersecurity Awareness Month in the US, we will be bringing awareness to relevant 2023 cybersecurity updates each week.

On 28 August, the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) published draft regulations regarding risk assessments and cybersecurity audits for consideration at the Board’s September meeting. The draft regulations precede the formal rulemaking process, but provide insight into CPPA’s current priorities.

Beijing CAC Approved the First China SCC Filing

Jul 10 2023

By Amigo L. Xie, Lingjun Zhang, and Dan Wu

About four months after the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) released the Measures for the Standard Contract for the Export of Personal Data from China (China SCC Measures), and 15 working days after the China SCC Measures became effective, Beijing CAC published a notice announcing that a Beijing-based company passed the first-ever China SCC filing on 25 June 2023 (Notice).

Based on the Notice, the first China SCC filing relates to a cross-border personal data transfer from a Beijing-based data exporter, an online data service provider, to a Hong Kong-based data recipient. The type of data exported by the Beijing-based data exporter is personal data related to credit references as disclosed by the Notice.

The completion of the first-ever China SCC filing conveyed some positive messages to the market:

Australian Government contemplates Asimov’s Omnibus

Jun 22 2023

By Cameron Abbott, Daniel Knight, Rob Pulham, Stephanie Mayhew, and Dadar Ahmadi-Pirshahid

Amid the rapid acceleration of tools like ChatGPT and global calls for tailored regulation of artificial intelligence tools, the Australia Federal Government has released a discussion paper on the safe and responsible use of AI. The Government is consulting on what safeguards are needed to ensure Australia has an appropriate regulatory and governance framework to manage the potential risks, while continuing to encourage uptake of innovative technologies.

Category - Privacy, Data Protection & Information Management