Featured Articles

iPhone Application Litigation Complaint Amended; "Application" Defendants Dropped

April 22, 2011 14:40

Yesterday, Plaintiff’s counsel filed a consolidated, amended complaint [PDF] in In re iPhone Application Litigation, which includes as defendants only Apple and a group of "Tracking Defendants" (Admob, Flurry, MobClix, Pinch Media, Trafficmarketplace.com, Mellenial Media, AdMarval, and...

Judge Dismisses Misappropriation Suit Against "NCAA Football" Video Games

September 13, 2011 14:37

Last Friday, New Jersey federal District Judge Freda Wolfson dismissed a misappropriation suit against videogame maker Electronic Arts concerning the characteristics of virtual players in its college football series NCAA Football.  Ryan Hart, former quarterback for Rutgers University, claimed...

FTC Settles First COPPA Complaint Against Mobile App Developer

August 15, 2011 14:59

Resolving the FTC's first complaint against a mobile app developer under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA"), W3 Innovations, LLC, a developer of children's games for the iPhone and iPod touch, has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle allegations that it collected...

Recent Articles

Maryland and Illinois Introduce Bills to Limit Employer Access to Employees' Social Networking Accounts

March 21, 2012 21:40

Lawmakers in Maryland and Illinois have introduced bills that would prohibit employers from requiring job applicants or employees to grant access to their social networking accounts.  The bills arose from reports that employers have impliedly or explicitly required access to social networking...

Data Privacy Regulation for Websites in China Takes Effect, National Standards for All Industries Forthcoming

March 19, 2012 18:01

On March 15, 2012, new provisions governing the online collection, use, and storage of personal information went into effect in China.  Promulgated by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (“MIIT”), the Several Provisions on Regulating the Market Order of...

Making the Business Case for Privacy and Data Security

March 13, 2012 14:13

Companies often view privacy and data security as legal or compliance issues, but a number of recent surveys show that there is also a business case for building privacy and data security into products and services.  For example:  According to TRUSTe, 88% of U.S. adults report that they...

Do Not Track Kids Bill Gains Cosponsors

March 12, 2012 21:07

Over the last few weeks, a number of cosponsors have been added to the Do Not Track Kids Act of 2011 (H.R. 1895), bringing the total number of cosponsors to 29.  The bill was introduced by Rep. Markey and Rep. Barton on May 13, 2011.  Earlier this month, the two...

Six Months Until Texas Data Breach Amendment Takes Effect

March 07, 2012 19:16

As a reminder, unless it is repealed or delayed in the next six months, a far-reaching amendment to the Texas data security breach notice statute, Tex. Bus. & Comm. Code § 521.001 et seq., is scheduled to take effect on September 1, 2012.  The amendment would substantially impact the...

Seventh Circuit Strikes VPPA Claim for Retention Damages

March 07, 2012 14:29

The Seventh Circuit held yesterday, in a decision written by Judge Posner, that damages are not available under the Video Privacy Protection Act (“VPPA”) for violations of the statute’s data deletion requirement, only for unlawful disclosures of video-viewing...

HHS Publishes Standards for Health Care Electronic Funds Transfers and Remittance Advice

March 05, 2012 16:30

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently published an interim final rule with comment period entitled “Administrative Simplification: Adoption of Standards for Health Care Electronic Funds Transfers (EFTs) and Remittance Advice.”  The rule establishes streamlined...