A Moving Target: Meetings with State Attorney Generals Ongoing; Number of Civil Lawsuits Close to 20

Not much holiday cheer in the GC and CPO offices at Target this year. This is a major legal and public relations disaster for Target. Almost certainly, they will make it through this mess but not without a lot of pain along the way.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/target-meets-state-attorneys-lawsuits-063050278.html

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New Jersey AG Settles WIth Maker of "Dokobots" App RE Alleged COPPA Violations

http://nj.gov/oag/newsreleases13/pr20131122a.html

Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman, the Division of Law and the Division of Consumer Affairs announced today that Dokogeo, Inc., a California-based company that makes mobile device applications, has entered into a settlement agreement with the State that resolves allegations it violated the federal Children’s Online Privacy Act (COPPA) and the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act by collecting personal information about children who used its animation-based “Dokobots” mobile app.

Under terms of the settlement, Dokogeo must clearly and conspicuously disclose – in its apps and on the homepage of its Web sites – the types of personal information it collects, the manner in which it uses such information, and whether it discloses information to third parties. The company also is required to refrain from collecting the personal information of children age 13 and under until it makes the required disclosures, and otherwise complies with COPPA. Dokogeo already has removed all photographs and files containing children’s images from its Dokobots Web site, and has removed geolocation information of children since July 1, 2013.

Dokogeo also agrees to a suspended payout of $25,000. The payout will be due immediately if the company fails to comply with other restraints and conditions included in the settlement agreement. Dokogeo’s $25,000 payout obligation will be vacated after 10 years if it meets all settlement terms, and avoids violating consumer fraud and child online privacy laws.

Almost always , failure to have "clear and conspicuous" disclosure creates problems.

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Yahoo! Proposes Encryption Of All Consumer Data

Perhaps a differentiator in the marketplace for Yahoo!? This could be a good test of what importance consumers place on privacy.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_YAHOO_DATA_SECURITY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-11-18-17-45-08

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Law Firms Adding Cybersecurity Practice Groups

http://www.post-gazette.com/business/legal/2013/11/04/VENTURING-INTO-THE-DATA-BREACH-Law-firms-adding-cybersecurity-fields/stories/201311040006?goback=%2Egde_2083215_member_5806592802565419012#%21

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Google Must Wipe Out Compromising Photos of Max Mosley From Its Search Database, French Court says.

Consistent with EU's principle of the "right to be forgotten", can one require search giant Google to wipe out troubling photos or other information? This goes to the heart of the tension of free speech/free flows of information vs. rights to privacy. While Max Mosley does not cut a very sympathetic figure, this is a fascinating test case. We'll see if this decision holds in France (my guess is "yes"). How long will it be before these trends/impulses find their way across the pond?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2488600/Google-banned-linking-Max-Mosely-S-M-video.html

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AutoDialers and Prior Consents That May Apply to New Holders of Numbers

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act forbids advertisers, bill collectors and the like from calling your mobile phone, without your consent, using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice. The issue presented here is that if consent is provided a previous holder of the phone number does that "transfer" to any new holder of the number? If so, that surely leads to some silly results, as Judge Easterbrook pointed out his opinion.


http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/05/11/the-daily-writing-sample-predictive-dialers-and-enchanted-buckets/

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ACLU Files Lawsuit on Behalf of Young Teenagers Expelled from School Who Made Threatening Comments on Facebook

In light of Columbine and other school shootings, how can we second-guess the decision of a school to take disciplinary action against the students who make the threatening comments? A first Amendment right to threaten a life? I'd like to actually see the Facebook postings so as to get a clearer picture of the context, but it strains credulity to think there might be a protectable First Amendment right in making comments that purport to threaten the life of another.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-talk-facebook-aclu-lawsuit-0426-20120426,0,116048.story

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FTC Issues Final Report on Privacy Best Practices for Businesses

The Federal Trade Commission, the nation's chief privacy policy and enforcement agency, issued a final report setting forth best practices for businesses to protect the privacy of American consumers and give them greater control over the collection and use of their personal data. In the report, "Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change: Recommendations For Businesses and Policymakers," the FTC also recommends that Congress consider enacting general privacy legislation, data security and breach notification legislation, and data broker legislation.

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/03/privacyframework.shtm

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Google Alleged to Have Collected WIFI data

. Google is alleged to have been obtaining WIFI data from private residential areas while collecting data for its Google Maps (and taking photos of your abode to make available on the internet). The big Plaintiff's shop, San Francisco-based, Lieff Cabraser is bringing the suit.

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