Updates on Advertising Law and Privacy Law Trends, Issues, and Developments
Updates on Advertising Law and Privacy Law Trends, Issues, and Developments
This post was written by Sarah Roller
On March 26, 2010, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), issued a final rule titled, “Listing of Color Additives Exempt From Certification; Bismuth Citrate,” amending the color additive regulations to increase the permitted use level of bismuth citrate as a color additive in cosmetics intended for…
On March 17, 2010, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held its third and final discussion from its roundtable series-Exploring Privacy. Panel topics focused on Internet Architecture and Privacy, Health Information, Addressing Sensitive Information, and Lessons Learned and Looking Forward.
The FTC intends to use the information gathered from these roundtables to restructure and guide its privacy agenda. Next steps for the FTC may include extending the application of fair information practices, increasing enforcement of unfair and deceptive privacy practices, and developing privacy models and frameworks to address new technologies and business models. FTC officials have stressed, however, that the Commission will review and analyze the information received through the roundtables and other channels before adopting any specific policies or initiatives.
Last week, the Federal Reserve Board announced final rules that restrict the application of fees and expiration dates to store gift cards, gift certificates, and general-use prepaid cards. The rules are issued under Regulation E and become effective August 22, 2010.
The rules apply to gift certificates, store gift cards, and general-use prepaid cards, as…
This month, a Maine legislative committee voted to repeal a controversial online marketing law that was enacted just last year. Among other things, the law, entitled “An Act To Prevent Predatory Marketing Practices Against Minors,” prohibits companies from knowingly collecting personal information or health-related information from minors under 18 without parental consent.
Shortly…
This post was written by Sarah Roller
On March 25, 2010, FDA announced its new guidance for industry entitled, “Guidance for Industry on Submitting a Report for Multiple Facilities to the Reportable Food Electronic Portal as Established by the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007.” 75 Fed. Reg. 14445 (March 25,…
Washington has enacted a statute, which we first discussed in a prior blog post, to provide financial institutions with a cause of action against certain entities involved in payment card transactions that fail to take reasonable care to guard against unauthorized access to account information where that failure is found to be the proximate…
If you or your company collect zip codes in California as part of a loyalty program or otherwise, and reverse data mine for additional customer information, you should be aware that the California Supreme Court recently granted a petition to review the issue of whether a retailer violates California’s Song-Beverly Credit Card Act if, in…
A federal district court in Chicago recently held that SMS messages that are sent to a consumer without the consumer’s consent could violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (the “TCPA”). The decision echoes many of the conclusions in a previous Ninth Circuit opinion and underscores the importance of getting express consent from consumers before sending…
Earlier this month, the Senate and House of Representatives in Washington passed a new PCI bill, HB 1149. The bill now awaits the Governor’s signature but, if signed into law, will provide financial institutions with a cause of action against businesses or payment processors that fail to take reasonable care to guard against unauthorized access…
Today, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) released a revised financial regulatory reform bill, which would create the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. The Bureau would be housed in the Federal Reserve, however, it would have a separate budget and an autonomous governance structure.
Consumer protection has been a major sticking point since the reform debate kicked off last year. While the House passed a bill that would achieve the Obama administration’s original goal of setting up a stand alone Consumer Financial Protection Agency, the prospects for such an agency in the Senate bill were never quite as good. From the start Republican members of the Banking Committee strongly opposed creating a new agency. Despite agreement on several other key principles, some of which are included in the bill released today, the two sides could not settle on an agreement regarding the structure and scope of the consumer protection agency.
For weeks different stories were reported about how and where the consumer protection organization would be housed. However, the authorities and responsibilities granted to the Bureau received much less attention. With the bill now out, financial service providers can begin to understand how the Senate bill could impact them. For example, with regard to consumer protection, the bill grants the Bureau broad rulemaking and enforcement authority and transfers to it most of the existing consumer protection functions of existing regulators. It also preserves state rights to enact more stringent consumer protection laws. Finally, the bill proposes a rulemaking process to establish the definition of nondepository institutions covered by the Bureau’s authority.
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