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A Sale or Not a Sale? The Digital Advertising Debate

by Austin Mooney and Amy C. Pimentel | Jan 17, 2020 | Advertising & Marketing, Consumer Protection, Data Privacy, Ecommerce, Email/Spam, Social Media

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) requires businesses who engage in sales of personal information, to offer consumers the right to opt out of such sales through a “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” link or button on their websites. These “Do Not Sell” obligations present a particularly thorny question for businesses that participate in a digital ad exchange or otherwise use advertising tracking technologies on their websites. Because data elements such as IP address, cookie ID, device identifier and browsing history are considered “personal information” for purposes of the CCPA, the question is: does sharing that information with third-party ad tech providers constitute a “sale” of data?

The answer, so far, is a resounding “maybe.” In what follows, we expand on the issue and survey different approaches to this hotly contested question.

Why the Debate?

The CCPA defines a “sale” as “selling, renting, releasing, disclosing, disseminating, making available, transferring, or otherwise communicating orally, in writing, or by electronic or other means, a consumer’s personal information by the business to another business or a third party for monetary or other valuable consideration.” The Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) broke this definition down into three main elements that, when satisfied, might make the case that digital advertising involves a “sale.”

- The digital advertising must involve “personal information.” We know that it does because serving digital ads requires, at the very least, access to IP address and browsing history.
- The digital advertising must involve the movement of personal information from a business to another business or third party. This is often true for digital advertising relationships, as ad tech intermediaries and other participants in the ad exchange often use the personal information they have received from businesses for their own purposes, thus taking many ad tech entities outside of CCPA’s “service provider” safe harbor.
- The digital advertising must involve the exchange of monetary or other valuable consideration for the personal information. This is a fact-specific inquiry that will vary across contractual arrangements. For that reason, the NAI analysis states it would be difficult to broadly categorize all digital advertising activities as “sales.” However, the NAI cautions that if the recipients of personal information can retain the information “for profiling or segmenting purposes” (e.g., the ability to monetize the data independently), that could be evidence of a “sale” of data.

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Appeals Court Strikes Down Key Portions of FCC’s Onerous TCPA Rulemaking

by Daniel F. Gottlieb and Matthew L. Knowles | Mar 23, 2018 | Consumer Protection, Data Privacy, Data Transfers/Safe Harbor/Privacy Shield, Email/Spam, General Interest, Text Messaging

Last week, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit issued a long-awaited decision on an omnibus challenge to the FCC’s interpretation of the TCPA. While the decision provides some relief for businesses, it does not eliminate the prospect of TCPA liability and leaves important TCPA interpretive questions unresolved. Businesses should continue to be vigilant regarding consent and opt-out procedures when sending automated text messages and automated or pre-recorded calls to consumers. Continue Reading

Guidance on Ransomware Attacks under HIPAA and State Data Breach Notification Laws

by Michael G. Morgan | Aug 8, 2016 | Consumer Protection, Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, Email/Spam, Telehealth

On July 28, 2016, US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued guidance (guidance) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) on what covered entities and business associates can do to prevent and recover from ransomware attacks. Ransomware attacks can also trigger concerns under state data breach notification laws.

The HIPAA Security Rule requires covered entities and business associates to implement security measures. It also requires covered entities and business associates to conduct an accurate and thorough risk analysis of the potential risks and vulnerabilities to the confidentiality, integrity and availability of electronic protected health information (ePHI) the entities create, receive, maintain or transmit and to implement security measures sufficient to reduce those identified risks and vulnerabilities to a reasonable and appropriate level. The HIPAA Security Rule establishes a floor for the security of ePHI, although additional and/or more stringent security measures are certainly permissible and may be required under state law. Compliance with HIPAA’s existing requirements provides covered entities and business associates with guidance on how to prevent and address breaches that compromise protected health information. The new HIPAA guidance specific to ransomware reinforces how the existing requirements can help an entity protect sensitive information.

Read the full article here.

The FTC Did Some Kid-ding Around in 2014

by McDermott Will & Emery | Feb 12, 2015 | Advertising & Marketing, Consumer Protection, Data Privacy, Email/Spam, Mobile Apps

2014 was a busy year for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The FTC announced something new under COPPA nearly every month, including:

In January, the FTC issued an updated version of the free consumer guide, “Net Cetera: Chatting with Kids About Being Online.” Updates to the guide include advice on mobile apps, using public WiFi securely, and how to recognize text message spam, as well as details about recent changes to COPPA.
In February, the FTC approved the kidSAFE Safe Harbor Program. The kidSAFE certification and seal of approval program helps children-friendly digital services comply with COPPA. To qualify for a kidSAFE seal, digital operators must build safety protections and controls into any interactive community features; post rules and educational information about online safety; have procedures for handling safety issues and complaints; give parents basic safety controls over their child’s activities; and ensure all content, advertising and marketing is age-appropriate.
In March, the FTC filed an amicus brief in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that the ruling of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Batman v. Facebook that COPPA preempts state law protections for the online activities of teenagers children outside of COPPA’ coverage is “patently wrong.”
In April, the FTC updated its “Complying with COPPA: Frequently Asked Questions” (aka the COPPA FAQs) to address how COPPA applies in the school setting. In FAQ M.2, the FTC discussed whether a school can provide the COPPA-required consent on behalf of parents, stating that “Where a school has contracted with an operator to collect personal information from students for the use and benefit of the school, and for no other commercial purpose, the operator is not required to obtain consent directly from parents, and can presume that the school’s authorization for the collection of students’ personal information is based upon the school having obtained the parents’ consent.” But, the FTC also recommends as “best practice” that schools provide parents with information about the operators to which it has consented on behalf of the parents. The FTC requires that the school investigate the collection, use, sharing, retention, security and disposal practices with respect to personal information collected from its students.
In July, COPPA FAQ H.5, FAQ H.10, and FAQ H.16 about parental consent verification also were updated. In FAQ H.5, the FTC indicates that “collecting a 16-digit credit or debit card number alone” is not sufficient as a parental consent mechanism, in some circumstances, “collection of the card number – in conjunction with implementing other safeguards – would suffice.” Revised FAQ H.10 indicates that a developer of a child-directed app may use a third party for parental verification “as long as [developers] ensure that COPPA requirements are being met,” including the requirement to “provide parents with a direct notice outlining [the developer’s] information collection practices before the parent provides his or her consent.” In revised FAQ H.16, the FTC [...]

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A Simplified Norm to Represent an Expanding Power: the Right to Listen in on Employees’ Phone Calls and the Standardization of French Privacy Law

by Myrtille Lapuelle | Jan 20, 2015 | Data Privacy, Email/Spam

Since 2001, the French Court of Cassation has made a continuous effort to refine and, in some circumstances, narrow the scope of the right to privacy in the workplace with a view to reaching a fair and balanced approach. The January 6, 2015 declaration of the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) further highlights this trend towards the standardization of information collection at work, and serves to clarify and expand the right of employers to listen in on employees’ phone calls at work.

Background

In the landmark 2001 “Nikon Case,” the Court of Cassation ruled that “an employee has the right to the respect of his private life – including the right to the secrecy of correspondence – on the work premises and during working hours.” This announcement was qualified, however, and the court further refined that unless marked by the employee as “private,” the documents and files created by an employee on a company-computer for work purposes are presumed to be professional, which means that the company can access those documents and files without the employee’s presence. This can lead to an employer using such emails against an employee in the case of employment termination. Nonetheless, employers have an obligation under privacy and labor laws to inform employees about the collection and use of their personal data.

Building off of this decision, in October 2014, the French Social Supreme Court held that evidence gathered against an employee from data that had not previously been declared to and registered with CNIL was de facto illegal.

The French Labor Code and the French Data Protection Act both stipulate rules for the use of monitoring software by employers in the event that an employer wishes to establish such mechanisms. In particular, the employer must submit information to and engage in consultation with the works council, provide information to employees impacted by the software and make a formal declaration of the proposed monitoring activities to CNIL.

CNIL Declaration: Movement Toward a Simplified Norm

Continuing this trend, the declaration issued by the CNIL on January 6, 2015, further demonstrates not only how important the CNIL is, but also how the area of data protection is evolving and become more standardized in France.
This recent declaration established that employers wishing to record their employee’s telephone communications must first declare such information by filling out a simplified declaration form in lieu of a normal declaration form. After effectuating this simplified declaration, an employer will have the ability to listen to and record employee conversations for the purpose of employee training, evaluation and betterment of the quality of service.

While this declaration serves to grant employers permission to monitor employees, it also imposes upon them a number of restrictions: (i) the employee must be notified and informed of his or her right to refuse such recordings and (ii) the employee may only keep recordings for a period of six months. The information gathered from such recordings, however, may be kept for a [...]

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Privacy and Data Protection: 2014 Year in Review

by Daniel F. Gottlieb | Dec 11, 2014 | Advertising & Marketing, Big Data, Cloud, Consumer Protection, Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, Data Transfers/Safe Harbor/Privacy Shield, Ecommerce, Electronic Contracting, Email/Spam, General Interest, Mobile Apps, Promotions, Sweepstakes & Contests, Social Media, Text Messaging, Workplace Privacy

In 2014, regulators around the globe issued guidelines, legislation and penalties in an effort to enhance security and control within the ever-shifting field of privacy and data protection. The Federal Trade Commission confirmed its expanded reach in the United States, and Canada’s far-reaching anti-spam legislation takes full effect imminently. As European authorities grappled with the draft data protection regulation and the “right to be forgotten,” the African Union adopted the Convention on Cybersecurity and Personal Data, and China improved the security of individuals’ information in several key areas. Meanwhile, Latin America’s patchwork of data privacy laws continues to evolve as foreign business increases.

This report furnishes in-house counsel and others responsible for privacy and data protection with an overview of key action points based on these and other 2014 developments, along with advance notice of potential trends in 2015. McDermott will continue to report on future updates, so check back with us regularly.

Read the full report here.

Wearable Technologies Are Here To Stay: Here’s How the Workplace Can Prepare

by McDermott Will & Emery | Sep 9, 2014 | Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, Email/Spam, General Interest, Social Media

More than a decade ago, “dual use” devices (i.e., one device used for both work and personal reasons) began creeping into workplaces around the globe. Some employees insisted on bringing fancy new smart phones from home to replace the company-issued clunker and, while many employers resisted at first, dual use devices quickly became so popular that allowing them became inevitable or necessary for employee recruitment and retention, not to mention the cost savings that could be achieved by having employees buy their own devices. Because of early resistance, however, many HR and IT professionals found themselves scrambling in a reactive fashion to address the issues that these devices can raise in the workplace after they were already prevalent. Today, most companies have robust policies and procedures to address the risks presented by dual use devices, setting clear rules for addressing privacy, security, protection of trade secrets, records retention and legal holds, as well as for preventing harassment, complying with the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), protecting the company’s relationships and reputation, and more.

In 2014, there is a new trend developing in the workplace: wearable technologies. The lesson to be learned from the dual use device experience of the past decade: Companies should consider taking proactive steps now to identify the risks presented by allowing wearables at work, and develop a strategy to integrate them into the workplace in a way that maximizes employee engagement, but minimizes corporate risk.

An effective integration strategy will depend on the particular industry, business needs, geographic location and corporate culture, of course. The basic rule of thumb from a legal standpoint, however, is that although wearables present a new technology frontier, the old rules still apply. This means that companies will need to consider issues of privacy, security, protection of trade secrets, records retention, legal holds and workplace laws like the NLRA, the Fair Labor Standards Act, laws prohibiting harassment and discrimination, and more.

Employers evaluating use of these technologies should consider two angles. First, some companies may want to introduce wearables into the workplace for their own legitimate business purposes, such as monitoring fatigue of workers in safety-sensitive positions, facilitating productivity or creating efficiencies that make business operations run more smoothly. Second, some companies may want to consider allowing “dual use” or even just “personal use” wearables in the workplace.

In either case, companies should consider the following as part of an integration plan:

Identify a specific business-use case;
Consider the potential for any related privacy and security risks;
Identify how to mitigate those risks;
Consider incidental impacts and compliance issues – for instance, how the technologies impact the existing policies on records retention, anti-harassment, labor relations and more;
Build policies that clearly define the rules of the road;
Train employees on the policies;
Deploy the technology; and
Review the program after six or 12 months to confirm the original purpose is being served and whether any issues have emerged that should be addressed.

In other words, employers will need to run through [...]

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Processing Personal Data in Russia? Consider These Changes to Russian Law and How They May Impact Your Business

by Maria Ostashenko, Of Counsel, ALRUD Law Firm (Moscow, Russia) | Sep 8, 2014 | Big Data, Cloud, Consumer Protection, Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, Data Transfers/Safe Harbor/Privacy Shield, Ecommerce, Email/Spam, General Interest, Social Media, Text Messaging

Changes Impacting Businesses that Process Personal Data in Russia

On July 21, 2014, a new law Federal Law № 242-FZ was adopted in Russia (Database Law) introducing amendments to the existing Federal Law “On personal data” and to the existing Federal Law “On information, information technologies and protection of information.” The new Database Law requires companies to store and process personal data of Russian nationals in databases located in Russia. At a minimum, the practical effect of this new Database Law is that companies operating in Russia that collect, receive, store or transmit (“process”) personal data of natural persons in Russia will be required to place servers in Russia if they plan to continue doing business in that market. This would include, for example, retailers, restaurants, cloud service providers, social networks and those companies operating in the transportation, banking and health care spheres. Importantly, while Database Law is not scheduled to come into force until September 1, 2016, a new bill was just introduced on September 1, 2014 to move up that date to January 1, 2015. The transition period is designed to give companies time to adjust to the new Database Law and decide whether to build up local infrastructure in Russia, find a partner having such infrastructure in Russia, or cease processing information of Russian nationals. If the bill filed on September 1 becomes law, however, that transition period will be substantially shortened and businesses operating in Russia will need to act fast to comply by January 1.

Some mass media in Russia have interpreted provisions of the Database Law as banning the processing of Russian nationals’ personal data abroad. However, this is not written explicitly into the law and until such opinion is confirmed by the competent Russian authorities, this will continue to be an open question. There is hope that the lawmakers’ intent was to give a much needed boost to the Russian IT and telecom industry, rather than to prohibit the processing of personal data abroad. If this hope is confirmed, then so long as companies operating in Russia ensure that they process personal data of Russian nationals in databases physically located in Russia, they also should be able to process this information abroad, subject to compliance with cross-border transfer requirements.

The other novelty of this new Database Law is that it grants the Russian data protection authority (DPA) the power to block access to information resources that are processing information in breach of Russian laws. Importantly, the Database Law provides that the blocking authority applies irrespective of the location of the offending company or whether they are registered in Russia. However, the DPA can initiate the procedure to block access only if there is a respective court judgment. Based on the court judgment the DPA then will be able to require a hosting provider to undertake steps to eliminate the infringements. For example, the hosting provider must inform the owner of the information resource that it must eliminate the infringement, or the hosting [...]

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In with the New, Part III: 2014 Privacy, Advertising and Digital Media Predictions

by David Quinn Gacioch | Jan 31, 2014 | Advertising & Marketing, Consumer Protection, Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, Email/Spam, Social Media, Text Messaging

Boston-based litigation partner Matt Turnell shares his predictions about class action litigation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) in 2014 and Boston-based white-collar criminal defense and government investigations partner David Gacioch shares his predictions about government responses to data breaches.

Class Action Litigation Predictions

2014 is already shaping up to be an explosive year for privacy- and data-security-related class actions. Last December’s data breach at Target has already led to more than 70 putative class actions being filed against the retailer. With recently disclosed data breaches at Neiman Marcus and Michaels Stores—and possibly more to come at other major retailers—court dockets will be flooded with these suits this year. And consumers are not the only ones filing class actions; banks that have incurred extra costs as a result of the data breaches are headed to court as well, with at least two putative class actions on behalf of banks filed so far against Target.

That volume of litigation related to the Target data breaches likely will be matched by a steady stream of class actions filed under the TCPA. 2013 was a busy year for the TCPA docket and I expect that the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) stricter rules requiring express prior written consent from the called party, which took effect in October 2013, means that 2014 will be just as busy since the majority of TCPA class actions seek statutory damages for companies’ failure to obtain consent before making autodialed or prerecorded voice calls or sending unsolicited text messages or faxes.

In 2014, I expect to see key decisions under the ECPA related to social media platforms and email providers capturing and using content from customers’ emails and other messages for targeted advertising or other purposes. One district court has already denied a motion to dismiss an ECPA claim challenging this conduct and I predict that other decisions are forthcoming this year. Needless to say, decisions in favor of class-action plaintiffs in this area could have major implications for how social media sites and email providers do business.

– Matt Turnell, Partner

Government Responses to Data Breaches

As significant data breaches continue to dominate the news, public awareness of data privacy and security issues will increase, as will their political appeal. I expect to see in 2014:

Record numbers of breach reports to state and federal regulators, as awareness of reporting obligations spreads further and further across data owner, licensee, broker and transmitter groups;
More states committing more enforcement resources to data privacy and security, including budget dollars and dedicated attorney general’s office units;
More state/federal and multi-state coordination of investigations, leading to increased settlement leverage by enforcement authorities vis-à-vis firms under investigation; and
Greater numbers and dollar values of settlements by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general than ever before.

Similarly, with the HIPAA Omnibus Final Rule going into effect on September 23, 2013, coupled with the late-2013 Department of Health and Human Services [...]

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Privacy and Data Protection: 2013 Year in Review

by Daniel F. Gottlieb | Dec 10, 2013 | Advertising & Marketing, Big Data, Cloud, Consumer Protection, Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, Data Transfers/Safe Harbor/Privacy Shield, Ecommerce, Email/Spam, General Interest, Mobile Apps, Social Media, Text Messaging

Privacy and data protection continue to be an exploding area of focus for regulators in the United States and beyond. This report gives in-house counsel and others responsible for privacy and data protection an overview of some of the major developments in this area in 2013 around the globe, as well as a prediction of what is to come in 2014.