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Date Article Title Publication Author Synopsis
1/23/2012 Supreme Court: Warrants needed in GPS tracking Washington Post Robert Barnes The Supreme Court has ruled that police must obtain a search warrant before using GPS technology to track criminal suspects.
1/23/2012 Why Supreme Court's GPS ruling will improve your privacy rights Cnet News Declan McCullagh The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to require police to obtain a warrant before placing GPS on automobiles will "broadly enhance Americans' electronic privacy rights." 
1/19/2012 Lawsuit: Debt collector broke patient privacy laws CBS News Tempus Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson has sued a debt collection agency for allegedly violating state and federal health privacy laws, state debt collection laws and consumer protection laws. 
1/19/2012 Apple Argues Consumers Not Harmed By Alleged Privacy Violations Online Media Daily Wendy Davis Apple wants a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by iPhone and iPad users who allege that their privacy was violated when the devices' unique identifiers were shared with app developers and their affiliates.
1/18/2012 Customer data breach draws federal lawsuit against Nevada-based Zappos, parent company Amazon Washington Post Associated Press A Texas woman is suing two online retailers alleging harm from the release of millions of users' personal information following a server hack.
1/17/2012 Mass. Court: ZIP Code is personal identification info under credit card statute but plaintiff must still allege harm—Tyler v. Michaels Stores IAPP Venkat Balasubramani A Massachusetts court
recently ruled that a ZIP code should be considered personal identification information under a state statute on security. 
1/16/2012 Obama Says So Long SOPA, Killing Controversial Internet Piracy Legislation Forbes.com John Gaudiosi A report on the Obama administration's opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). 
1/16/2012 E-Filing Privacy Lawsuit Heads to Supreme Court Courthouse News Service Barbara Leonard The Supreme Court of the United States will decide whether the government is liable for an e-filing glitch that reportedly exposed an attorney's credit card expiration date.
1/14/2012 GOP lawmakers seek to postpone PIPA vote Computerworld Jaikumar Vijayan In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), six senators asked that the Protect IP Act (PIPA) vote be postponed until the bill is more thoroughly analyzed and debated.
1/13/2012 Privacy group seeks to lift veil on domestic drones Washington Post Jason Ukman A privacy advocacy group has filed a suit to force the Department of Transportation to release its records on the use of drones in U.S. airspace in recent years.
1/12/2012 EPIC to FTC: Google Search Plus may violate privacy, antitrust rules Cnet News Elinor Mills The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is asking the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate whether Google's new Search Plus function violates antitrust rules.
1/12/2012 Lawmakers seek hearing on Carrier IQ privacy issues Computerworld Jaikumar Vijayan Three U.S. lawmakers are seeking a Congressional hearing on the implications of the use of CarrierIQ software by wireless carriers.
1/10/2012 Class-action lawsuit against UCLA Health System for data breach fails to move foward The Daily Bruin Daniel Riesenbach A class-action lawsuit filed after a breach involving the personal information of 16,000 UCLA Health System patients has failed to move forward.
1/9/2012 With A Focus On Fraud, California Federal Court Finds Song-Beverly Act Does Not Apply to Online Transactions Morrison & Foerster Purvi G. Patel and Megan T. Low A report on a U.S. District Court's dismissal of two cases that raised the question of whether the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act applies to online transactions.
1/5/2012 Upromise Settles Privacy Charges By FTC Online Media Daily Wendy Davis A rebate company has agreed to settle privacy charges with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). 
1/3/2012 USPS memo highlights privacy violations Washington Times Jim McElhatton United States Post Office (USPS) memos are drawing attention to privacy concerns with a long-standing USPS program offering credit, marketing and data-service providers updated names and addresses. 
12/29/2011 Judge "Likes" Plaintiffs' Arguments, Online Privacy Class Action Proceeds Forbes.com Glenn G. Lammi A lawsuit against Facebook has survived a motion to dismiss, despite the fact that judges have generally dimissed similar class-action cases recently.
12/21/2011 Interview with Cameron Kerry vieuws.eu   Cameron Kerry, general counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce, discusses net neutrality, the efficacy of safe harbor regimes and whether self-regulation is feasible when it comes to protecting consumer data.
12/21/2011 FTC Accepts Final Settlement with Online Advertiser Scan Scout, Which Allegedly Used Flash Cookies to Track Consumers Federal Trade Commission Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has accepted a final settlement with online advertiser ScanScout, which allegedly used deceptive methods to track customers. 
12/16/2011 Telemarketer to Pay $500,000 Civil Penalty for Thwarting Consumers' Requests to be Placed On Its Clients' Do Not Call Lists Federal Trade Commission Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has fined telemarketing firm Americall $500,000 for breaching the Telemarketing Sales Rule, claiming it did not honor customers' requests to be taken off call lists and did not identify itself as the caller. 
12/15/2011 Regulators, Stakeholders Discuss How Best To Protect Children IAPP Angelique Carson Lawmakers, regulators and experts agree that the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is imperative and effective when it comes to keeping kids safe, but more must be done. 
12/13/2011 Progressive Insurance Settles Charges Of Violating Customer’s Privacy CBS Boston Anthony Silva Progressive Direct Insurance has agreed to a $125,000 cash settlement following allegations the company broke Massachusetts state law by "using customers' private credit information." 
12/10/2011 Put It on My Marquee: I Just Watched ‘Creepshow 2’ New York Times Natasha Singer Privacy advocates are voicing concerns about potential changes to the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). 
12/6/2011 House Approves VPPA Amendment Inside Privacy Libbie Canter The House of Representatives has approved an amendment to the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) in light of new technologies.
12/6/2011 House Democrats Skeptical of Data Sharing in Cybersecurity Bill Bloomberg.com Chris Strohm Proposed legislation aimed at improving security in government and private-sector companies that operate financial networks, power plants and telecommunications networks calls for more sharing of cybersecurity threats and the creation of an information-sharing organization.
12/2/2011 Privacy Lawsuit Against Amazon Dismissed Online Media Daily Wendy Davis A U.S. District Court judge has dismissed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Amazon related to users' privacy.
11/30/2011 Interpreting The Constitution In The Digital Era National Public Radio Jeffrey Rosen and Benjamin Wittes Jeffrey Rosen discusses current and future technologies and how they do or could challenge constitutional law--particularly the Fourth Amendment. 
11/30/2011 Cybersecurity bill promotes exchange of data; critics say measure could harm privacy rights Washington Post Ellen Nakashima A bill introduced by the House Intelligence Committee that has strong support from the telecommunications industry is being met with concerns from the Obama Administration and privacy advocates.
11/30/2011 Justices debate what damages are due for privacy violation CNN.com Bill Mears A report on the Supreme Court case involving a pilot who filed a lawsuit against federal agencies for disclosing his medical records during a fraud investigation. 
11/30/2011 EU-US data privacy storm blows cloud off course EurActiv   A report on the current discussions between the European Union and the U.S. about cloud service providers and the role of the USA PATRIOT Act. 
11/29/2011 Americans willing to forfeit privacy in favor of technology? KDAF TV Dawn Tongish While the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case on whether GPS technology can be used to track suspects without a warrant, people across the country volunteer their location information through GPS-enabled applications on mobile devices.
11/29/2011 Facebook Settles FTC Charges That It Deceived Consumers By Failing To Keep Privacy Promises Federal Trade Commission Federal Trade Commission Facebook has agreed to settle charges levied by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that it deceived users about keeping their personal information private. 
11/29/2011 Cayman Islands working toward data protection framework IAPP Jedidiah Bracy The government of the Cayman Islands is currently reviewing draft legislation for a robust data protection framework.
11/28/2011 Take the prudent and responsible path Modern Healthcare Joseph Conn A report on the class-action lawsuit filed by a patient of Sutter Medical Foundation claiming that the company failed to properly protect patient data. 
11/28/2011 Facebook, Zynga Prevail In Privacy Lawsuit Online Media Daily Wendy Davis A federal judge has dismissed a class-action lawsuit against Facebook and Zynga alleging the companies leaked users' personal data to advertisers.
11/24/2011 Supreme Court Docket: After Break, Justices to Hear Key Business, Privacy Cases International Business Times Dan Rivoli A report on several key Supreme Court cases that are currently on the docket, including one that could affect "how privacy violations by the government can be redressed." 
11/22/2011 Best Buy Served with Class Action Lawsuit for Violating Drivers’ Privacy Protection Act PR Web   A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Best Buy Corporation on allegations that it violates the Drivers' Privacy Protection Act (DPPA). 
11/17/2011 Minnesota Supreme Court backs families over newborns' blood storage St. Paul Pioneer Press Christopher Snowbeck The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled yesterday on a genetic privacy lawsuit that could have national implications. 
11/16/2011 Judge Declares Law Governing Warrantless Cellphone Tracking Unconstitutional Wall Street Journal Julia Angwin U.S. District Court Judge Lynn N. Hughes has declared it unconstitutional for the government to obtain cellphone records without a warrant. 
11/14/2011 APEC Leaders Endorse Cross-Border Privacy Rules Privacy and Information Security Law Blog Hunton & Williams LLP At a meeting in Hawaii, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders endorsed the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CPBRs).
11/14/2011 OVERNIGHT TECH: Senate Commerce Committee to consider FTC nominees The Hill Brendan Sasso The Senate Commerce Committee will consider the reappointment of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Jon Leibowitz and the nomination of Maureen Ohlhausen to fill an open commissioner's seat.
11/14/2011 Privacy Lawsuit Against LinkedIn Dismissed Online Media Daily Wendy Davis U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh has dismissed a lawsuit against LinkedIn alleging that the company violated a user's privacy by exposing his browsing history along with his LinkedIn unique ID.
11/14/2011 Amazon: Actress lawsuit over age revelation bogus Associated Press Gene Johnson A report on a lawsuit by an actress upset at the revelation of her age on Amazon's Internet Movie Database (IMDb) that alleges the company used credit card information to gather her birthdate after she signed up for a subscription service. 
11/11/2011 Facebook Retreats on Privacy Wall Street Journal Julia Angwin, Shayndi Raice and Spencer E. Ante The Federal Trade Commission and Facebook are finalizing a proposed settlement related to changes the company made to its privacy settings in 2009.
11/10/2011 Twitter Ordered to Yield Data in WikiLeaks Case New York Times Somini Sengupta A federal judge ruled that Twitter must disclose to the Department of Justice (DoJ) information on three users believed to be associated with WikiLeaks.
11/8/2011 California Legislature Enacts Limited Exemption to Song-Beverly Credit Card Act Privacy & Security Source Tim Crisp The California Legislature has created a limited exemption to the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act of 1971.
11/8/2011 FTC settles two Internet privacy complaints Washington Post Cecilia Kang The Federal Trade Commission has reached two settlements over online privacy complaints.
11/8/2011 Supreme Court Hears Arguments In GPS Case National Public Radio   During arguments in United States v. Jones, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer said if the government wins this case, "there is nothing to prevent the police or government from monitoring 24-hours-a-day the public movements of every citizen in the United States." 
11/8/2011 Sens. Kerry and McCain press agencies for final privacy reports The Hill Gautham Nagesh  Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and John McCain (R-AZ) have written to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Commerce (DoC), pressing for the release of both agencies' final reports on consumer privacy.
11/7/2011 Justices Weigh Privacy vs. GPS Bugs Wall Street Journal Jess Bravin A report on a case before the Supreme Court to determine whether law enforcement officials need warrants to attach GPS devices to suspects' vehicles.
11/4/2011 Court rules on revealing pensioners’ salaries Nashua Telegraph Kevin Landrigan New Hampshire's Supreme Court has ruled that the public has a right to know the names and payment amounts of the state's top 500 pension earners. 
11/3/2011 Social media, parental consent and changing COPPA: A Q & A with danah boyd IAPP Jedidiah Bracy Researchers have released a report concluding that the efficacy of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is in question because parents may be unknowingly complicit in circumventing the law when helping children lie about their age for the purposes of opening Facebook profiles. 
11/2/2011 Bill to plug data breaches still stalled POLITICO Tony Romm The Senate Commerce Committee is "still at the drawing board" on data breach legislation efforts.
11/2/2011 EPIC Challenges Verizon Wireless's New Privacy Policy Verizon Online Media Daily Wendy Davis The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) says that Verizon Wireless' recent inclusion of increasing amounts of consumer data in marketing reports is unfair and deceptive.
11/1/2011 Global Conflicts Magnified in the Cloud Bank Info Security Jeffrey Roman Internet security expert Alastair MacWillson says that inconsistent data protection laws in various markets are proving to be a difficult challenge for large organizations using cloud-based services.
11/1/2011 Delay sought in lawsuit over Facebook privacy Kansas City Star Associated Press Both sides of a lawsuit over Facebook's alleged tracking of users' online activities are asking for a delay while the Panel on Multidistrict Litigation decides whether the suit should be consolidated with a similar California case.
10/31/2011 Facebook Friend Finder class action lawsuit dismissed ZDNet Emil Protalinski A California court has dismissed a complaint claiming that Facebook used members' names and profile pictures to promote its "Friend Finder" feature without consent.
10/26/2011 New California Privacy Bill Raises Questions About Bloggers Online Media Daily Wendy Davis A law professor says California's recently enacted Reader Privacy Act might impose unexpected obligations on bloggers.
10/25/2011 Senators call for investigation into 'stalking apps' Alexandria Echo Press   A report on a bipartisan call led by Sens. Al Franken (D-MN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) for an investigation into mobile phone apps. 
10/24/2011 FTC, Google Settle Buzz Privacy Case Online Media Daily Wendy Davis The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has finalized a settlement with Google over the launch of its Buzz social network.
10/23/2011 Questioning Privacy Protections in Research New York Times Patricia Cohen A report on concerns submitted by scholars about proposed changes to privacy protections for human research subjects. 
10/19/2011 Akaka Introduces Bill To Update Privacy Act IAPP   Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) has introduced a bill to amend the Privacy Act of 1974. 
10/19/2011 Boucher Looks Into His Crystal Ball On Privacy Legislation National Journal Juliana Gruenwald A report on recent comments made by former Rep. Rick Boucher on the possibility of Congress passing comprehensive privacy legislation during the current term.
10/18/2011 What's next for the Electronic Communications Privacy Act? American Public Media John Moe Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) are meeting with advocacy groups in Washington, DC to discuss the need for reform of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA).
10/18/2011 New Jersey Courts Issue Conflicting Rulings in ZIP Code Collection Cases Privacy and Information Security Law Blog Hunton & Williams LLP Two New Jersey courts made opposite rulings on whether retailers can collect ZIP codes as a condition of using a credit card.
10/16/2011 Arkansas Judge Sides With Defendants In Privacy Lawsuit 4029tv.com   An Arkansas judge has sided with a hospital in a privacy lawsuit that alleges three of the institution's employees illegally accessed a slain television anchor's medical files.
10/13/2011 Understanding Consumer Attitudes About Privacy House Energy & Commerce Committee   The House Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade convened for the hearing "Understanding Consumer Attitudes About Privacy." 
10/12/2011 Kids' Medical Privacy Is Suited for State Court Courthouse News Service Reuben Kramer A report on a federal judge's ruling in a case involving the loss of confidential medical information on more than 280,000 children.
10/11/2011 Peer-to-Peer File-Sharing Software Developer Settles FTC Charges Federal Trade Commission Federal Trade Commission A peer-to-peer file-sharing application developer has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charges. 
10/6/2011 Subcommittee Hosts Proposed COPPA Changes Debate IAPP Angelique Carson Lawmakers at a subcommittee hearing on proposed changes to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) rule weren't shy about identifying their stake in the outcome: their children and grandchildren are growing up online. 
10/5/2011 Protecting Children's Privacy in an Electronic World Energy & Commerce Committee Energy & Commerce Committee The Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade held a hearing on the FTC's proposed amendments to its Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) rule.
10/4/2011 Facebook sued over tracking users after log-out Cnet News Elinor Mills A man has filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status following an Australian technologist's assertion last week that the world's largest social networking site has been using cookies to track users even after they've logged out.
10/4/2011 Barnes & Noble Email to Borders Customers Rattles Privacy Watchdog Wall Street Journal Katy Stech A report on accusations by consumer privacy advocate Michael St. Patrick Baxter that an e-mail from Barnes & Noble to former Borders customers regarding their personal information "read more like a generous corporate gesture than a court-ordered disclosure." 
10/3/2011 U.S. Privacy Laws Also Extend to Noncitizens Courthouse News Service Tim Hull A federal court has ruled that individuals who are not citizens of the U.S. are covered under the protections provided by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA).
10/3/2011 Calif. Extends Library Privacy Laws to E-Books PC Magazine Chloe Albanesuis California's Reader Privacy Act of 2011 was signed into law this week.
10/3/2011 Privacy cases slated for U.S. Supreme Court's new term Cnet News Declan McCullagh The U.S. Supreme Court has no shortage of privacy-related cases on its docket as it starts its fall term. 
9/29/2011 FTC Settlement Bans Alleged Spammer from Sending Unsolicited Text Messages Federal Trade Commission Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has settled with an operator who allegedly sent millions of illegal text messages to consumers. 
9/27/2011 Lawmakers call for probe into supercookies Washington Post Hayley Tsukayama Reps. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Joe Barton (R-TX) have called for an investigation into the use of "supercookies" by websites.
9/27/2011 New Deal Lets B&N Get Borders Customer List PaidContent.org Jeff Roberts A New York bankruptcy judge has approved a deal that will make way for Barnes & Noble to purchase a defunct bookseller's customer list.
9/23/2011 U.S. Internet rules to take effect November 20 Reuters Jasmin Melvin The Federal Communications Commission published its "open Internet" order in The Federal Register.
9/22/2011 Borders' IP sale to Barnes & Noble on hold Reuters Nick Brown A bankruptcy judge said at a hearing yesterday that he needs more time to deliberate on whether Barnes & Noble needs consent from certain longtime customers whose information was purchased from Borders Group, Inc.
9/22/2011 Panel Approves Data-Breach Bills Despite Partisan Rancor National Journal Juliana Gruenwald The Senate Judiciary Committee has narrowly approved three bills that would require organizations to secure personal data and notify customers if their data is compromised.
9/22/2011 Pa. Senate OKs bill requiring heads up on data breaches WHTM ABC 27 Myles Snyder A report on the Pennsylvania Senate's approval of legislation that would require state and local government agencies to provide breach notification to the public within one week of an incident involving personal information. 
9/22/2011 Privacy Lawsuit Dismissed Against Apple, Mobile Ad Networks Online Media Daily Wendy Davis U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh has dismissed a group of consolidated class-action suits alleging that Apple and eight mobile-application makers shared users' personal information without their consent. 
9/21/2011 Privacy terms throw snag in B&N-Borders IP deal Reuters Nick Brown After purchasing a bankrupt competitor's customer information at auction, Barnes & Noble has said it does not have to comply with privacy recommendations suggested by a third-party expert.
9/21/2011 California bill would ban warrantless cell phone searches CNN Amy Gahran A California law took effect this week that requires law enforcement officers to obtain a search warrant before seizing and searching a suspect's cell phone. 
9/20/2011 US Attorney General defends EU data sharing agreement BBC News   U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder defended data sharing agreements between the EU and U.S., saying there was "not one single example of privacy being breached." 
9/19/2011 Dutch government to ban U.S. providers over Patriot Act concerns ZDNet Zack Whittaker The Dutch government has announced it will ban U.S. cloud service providers from government contracts due to compliance concerns surrounding the U.S. Patriot Act.
9/17/2011 Sands accuses Jacobs of stealing company data Asia One News Grace Leong A former Las Vegas Sands (LVS) Macau CEO who is involved in a wrongful termination suit has been accused of refusing to return "massive amounts of confidential company data." 
9/16/2011 FTC's Proposed Changes to Web Privacy Rules Give Parents More Control Wall Street Journal Emily Steel A report on the Federal Trade Commission's proposed changes to the COPPA rule.
9/16/2011 KISSmetrics, Hulu Hit With Privacy Suit Online Media Daily Wendy Davis Another lawsuit has been filed against analytics company KISSmetrics and one of its partners for their alleged use of Etags.
9/15/2011 Privacy Law Would Help U.S. Compete, Official Says National Journal Juliana Gruenwald Witnesses at a House subcommittee hearing offered differing perspectives on the need for a broad-based privacy law in the U.S. 
9/15/2011 AWOL Republicans Delay Data Breach Markup National Journal Josh Smith The departure of all but one Republican member from a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting resulted in the lack of a quorum and the inability to move forward with amendments.
9/13/2011 Damages From Data Breach Dominate 1st Circuit Debate law.com Sheri Qualters Lawyers on both sides of the class-action lawsuit stemming from a 2007-2008 Hannaford Bros. data breach debated whether the victims were entitled to damages during a hearing.
9/13/2011 Hearing on Internet Privacy: The Impact and Burden of EU Regulation Committee on Energy and Commerce Committee on Energy and Commerce Two privacy-related hearings are taking place on Capitol Hill.
9/12/2011 Protect Our Right to Anonymity New York Times Jeffrey Rosen The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case to decide whether warrantless GPS tracking by authorities over a month's time violated a suspect's Fourth Amendment rights. 
9/9/2011 An Unexpected Sept. 11 Legacy: Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board Remains Dormant IAPP Jennifer Saunders In anticipation of the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, privacy experts have been weighing in on the balancing act of anti-terrorism efforts and privacy rights. 
9/8/2011 New Blumenthal bill would require firms to beef up security and privacy practices The Hill Gautham Nagesh  Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) on Thursday introduced the Personal Data Protection and Breach Accountability Act, which would place data handling and protection requirements on organizations processing the personal information of more than 10,000 people. 
9/8/2011 Next Jump Agrees to Stop Using Borders Customer List and Trademarks Privacy and Information Security Law Blog Hunton & Williams LLP A bankruptcy court has approved an agreement between bankrupt bookseller Borders and Next Jump over the use of customer data.
9/7/2011 Obama, like Bush, ignores rule of law Chicago Sun-Times Jacob Sullum If it ever comes into being, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board will have plenty to discuss.
9/6/2011 Spectrum, FCC Reform, Privacy Top Energy And Commerce Fall Agenda National Journal Juliana Gruenwald A report that the House Energy and Commerce Committee will make privacy and cybersecurity legislation a priority in the coming months. 
9/6/2011 US must reveal some cellphone tracking cases-court Reuters Jeremy Pelofsky and James Vicini The American Civil Liberties Union won an appeal on Tuesday requiring the government to hand over details on some cases where prosecutors tracked suspects through cell phones without obtaining a judge's approval.
9/1/2011
California blazes trail again with enhanced breach alert law
SC Magazine Dan Kaplan After two vetoes by the previous administration, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law SB-24, which updates the state's data breach notification law to specify what information should be included in notification letters and to mandate that notices be written in plain language. 
9/1/2011 Microsoft sued for tracking mobile users' location without permission The Guardian Josh Halliday A proposed class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of Windows Phone 7 users in a Seattle, WA, court alleges that Microsoft designed the phone to track customers regardless of their preferences.
8/30/2011 9/11 privacy board fails to meet Washington Times Jim McElhatton A report on the status of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, which has remained dormant for years.
8/26/2011 Wolf Says Right To Erase Privacy Data Would Be Unwieldy Washington Post   Christopher Wolf of Hogan Lovells and the Future of Privacy Forum appeared on Bloomberg Law recently to discuss privacy law in its current and future states. 
8/26/2011 The guessing game Field Fisher Waterhouse Eduardo Ustaran Eduardo Ustaran discusses the European Commission's yet-to-be-released revision of the EU Data Protection Directive. 
8/24/2011 Lawsuit accuses comScore of extensive privacy violations Computerworld Jaikumar Vijayan A class-action lawsuit filed in federal court claims that online tracking and analytics company comScore collects personal information from users without their knowledge.
8/24/2011 Child Pornography Bill Makes Privacy Experts Skittish National Public Radio Martin Kaste A bill aimed at protecting children from Internet exploitation that was approved by the House Judiciary Committee is expected to soon head to the floor of the House, and privacy advocates are warning it goes beyond the scope of what it "claims to be aiming for." 
8/24/2011 Judge Calls Location-Tracking Orwellian, While Congress Moves to Legalize It Wired David Kravets A judge ruled that law enforcement authorities need a warrant to access location data on a suspect's cell phone. 
8/24/2011 Guest claims Va. Beach hotel violated a privacy law Virginian-Pilot Tom Shean A hotel guest has filed a lawsuit alleging that a Virginia Beach hotel breached privacy law by printing sensitive data on his checkout receipt.
8/23/2011 Judge says warrant required for cell phone location data ars Technica Timothy B. Lee A New York state judge has decided that law enforcement authorities need to have a warrant to access location data transmitted by a suspect's cell phone.
8/23/2011 Calif. Assembly passes cell-phone privacy bill San Francisco Chronicle Marisa Lagos The California State Assembly has approved a bill requiring law enforcement to procure a search warrant prior to searching the contents of a cell phone.
8/23/2011 Another webcam claim settled in Lower Merion philly.com John P. Martin Pennsylvania's Lower Merion School District will pay $10,000 to a teenager who was recorded by his school-issued laptop.
8/22/2011 Embarq Wins Privacy Suit Stemming From NebuAd Tests  Online Media Daily Wendy Davis A judge has dismissed a class-action privacy lawsuit against one of six companies that partnered with a now-defunct behavioral targeting company.
8/22/2011 White House pledges new Net privacy approach cnet News Declan McCullagh The White House says its approach to Internet consumer protection will be "privacy law without regulation," a White House aide has said. 
8/22/2011 Investigation, privacy at odds in Vermont search case Burlington Free Press Sam Hemingway Sam Hemingway examines the history of a Vermont Supreme Court case on searches and seizures of electronic devices. 
8/18/2011 Judge Dismisses 'History-Sniffing' Lawsuit Against Advertisers, But Not Ad Network Online Media Daily Wendy Davis A federal judge has dismissed a potential class-action lawsuit against four advertisers that allegedly acted "in concert with the ad network Interclick to use controversial 'history-sniffing' techniques for online tracking." 
8/18/2011 Amazon Says Privacy Lawsuit Should Be Dismissed Online Media Daily Wendy Davis Consumers who filed a class-action lawsuit against Amazon haven't sufficiently alleged that they were harmed, the company says. 
8/16/2011 NebuAd Settles Lawsuit Over Behavioral Targeting Tests Online Media Daily Wendy Davis Defunct ad company NebuAd has agreed to a $2.4 million settlement in a class-action privacy lawsuit based on its behavioral targeting practices.
8/16/2011 Boxford woman sues Google over privacy issues Boston Globe Johnny Diaz A Massachusetts woman has filed a class-action lawsuit claiming that Google violated state privacy laws by scanning e-mail messages.
8/12/2011 Blumenthal Announces Legislation on Data Privacy  Political News   Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) held a roundtable to discuss legislation he will introduce in the coming weeks aimed at combating data breaches.
8/11/2011 If you can't trust your ISP, who can you trust? Gigaom Stacey Higginbotham A report on researchers' discovery that some Internet service providers (ISPs) have been rerouting users' online traffic to provide Web search results "that can generate money for firms selected by the ISP as well as the ISP itself."
8/9/2011 Collecting DNA From Arrestees Is Unconstitutional, California Court Says Wired David Kravets The First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco has overturned a voter-approved proposition that requires adults charged with a felony to provide a DNA sample. 
8/8/2011 Court Mulls Non-U.S. Citizens' Email Privacy Courthouse News Service June Williams The Ninth Circuit Court has ruled that under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), Microsoft does not have to turn over an Indian citizen's e-mails. 
8/8/2011 VA worker sentenced for stealing vets' identities WRAL Matthew Burns A North Carolina Veterans Affairs (VA) employee has been sentenced to serve 11 years in jail and pay $464,000 in restitution for stealing veterans' identities and filing fraudulent tax returns.
8/8/2011 Facebook Claims It Can Use Kids' 'Likes' As it Likes, Wants Class Action Tossed Courthouse News Service Joe Harris The world's largest social networking site is seeking the dismissal of a class-action lawsuit filed in June by two parents on behalf of their children, claiming that minors are unable "to consent to the use of their name and photographs for marketing, advertising and selling of goods and services." 
8/4/2011 Data Breach Bills Exclude Health Information Center for Democracy & Technology Harley Geiger The data breach notification bills currently in congress would not protect health data processed by certain commercial services. 
8/2/2011 Posing as a different Facebook user can constitute identity theft, US court rules Paid Content Out-law News A California court of appeals has upheld an earlier decision that a student committed identity theft when he used a fellow student's e-mail address to gain access to her social networking account and--while impersonating her--post defaming messages. 
8/1/2011 ISP data-retention bill rankles privacy advocates InfoWorld Christina DesMarais A bill aimed at curbing child pornography has drawn criticism from privacy advocates for requiring Internet service providers (ISPs) to retain personal data on temporarily assigned network addresses for 12 months.
7/29/2011 Two new data-breach bills introduced in the Senate Tech Journal South   Two bills focusing on data breach response have been introduced into the U.S. Senate.
7/29/2011 Microsoft supports breach notification standard The Hill Brendan Sasso On the heels of the introduction of another federal data breach notification bill, Microsoft voiced its support for a federal standard, saying the current varying state requirements are challenging for businesses.
7/28/2011 House Judiciary Approves Child Porn Bill With ISP Data-Retention Mandates Broadcasting & Cable John Eggerton The House Judiciary Committee has passed HR 1981 after defeating an amendment that would have placed limits on Internet service providers' (ISPs) requirement in the proposed law to retain IP addresses for one year and make them available to law enforcement by an administrative subpoena. 
7/28/2011 NSA Wrestles With Phone Location Data Tracking InformationWeek Elizabeth Montalbano The National Security Agency (NSA) is considering surveilling U.S. citizens by intercepting mobile device location data.
7/27/2011 House Judiciary Debates Data Retention Bill Broadcasting & Cable John Eggerton The House Judiciary Committee has been debating whether the government should require Internet service providers to retain customer IP addresses and associated data for at least a year to help law enforcement investigate and locate child pornographers.
7/27/2011 Netflix Backs Amendment to Video Privacy Protection Act Hunton & Williams Hunton & Williams LLP Video rental provider Netflix announced this week that it will delay the launch of its Facebook integration in the U.S. due to legal issues. 
7/26/2011 Zurich lawsuit against Sony highlights cyber insurance shortcomings Computerworld Jaikumar Vijayan A Sony Corp. insurer's assertion that it is not responsible for defending the company from increasing legal claims from recent data breaches highlights the challenges companies can face after cybersecurity incidents.
7/26/2011 Tech companies support national data-breach law The Hill Brendan Sasso Two technology associations released recommendations recently with opposing advice for lawmakers on how to best promote the use of cloud computing. 
7/21/2011 Commerce Department Will Push Privacy Codes of Conduct PC World Grant Gross Privacy codes of conduct drafted by a team of businesses, consumers and privacy advocates will work better than government regulation or legislation.
7/21/2011 UPDATE 1-Sony insurer sues to deny data breach coverage Reuters Ben Berkowitz A Sony Corp. insurer has asked a court to rule it does not have to defend the company from increasing legal claims after recent data breaches.
7/20/2011 House Panel Approves Data Breach Notification Bill PC World Grant Gross The House Energy and Commerce Committee's Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee passed a bill aimed at creating a universal standard for notifying consumers and authorities after a data breach. 
7/19/2011 Obama nominates Internet policy expert Ohlhausen to FTC Washington Post Cecilia Kang President Barack Obama has said he plans to nominate Internet policy expert Maureen Ohlhausen to replace Commissioner William Kovacic at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). 
7/19/2011 Panel To Take UP New Version of Data Breach Bill National Journal Juliana Gruenwald Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) has released a new version of the SAFE Data Act, which would create a universal standard for notifying consumers and authorities after a data breach. 
7/18/2011 Judge Grants Google ‘Street View’ Wiretap Appeal Wired David Kravets A federal judge has announced that Google has the right to appeal last month's ruling, which stated that the company's Street View information-gathering practices constituted illegal wiretapping.
7/15/2011 Online storage provider Dropbox sued over data breach Thomson Reuters Joe Hylkema A class-action lawsuit filed in a U.S. District Court in California claims that a cloud storage provider failed to secure data or notify users of a data breach.
7/15/2011 UPDATE: US Court Rejects Constitutional Challenge To Airport Body Scans Wall Street Journal   A federal appeals court has rejected the Electronic Privacy Information Center's constitutional challenge to the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) use of full body scanners at U.S. airports.
7/14/2011 Class Slams Michaels for Data Breach Courthouse News Service Chris Fry A class-action lawsuit claims that Michaels Stores took almost three months to warn customers that their debit cards' PIN numbers may have been stolen in a breach spanning 20 states.
7/12/2011 Privacy advocate knocks child-porn bill The Hill Gautham Nagesh  A leading privacy advocate and a congressman have criticized the proposed federal law that would require Internet service providers to retain customer information for 18 months in order to assist in investigations. 
7/11/2011 Police: Internet providers must keep user logs CNET News Declan McCullagh In nations on both sides of the Atlantic, Internet service providers (ISPs) may be required to record customer information to assist in investigations. 
7/8/2011 Judge rules use of GPS to track a cheating spouse is not an invasion of privacy nj.com MaryAnn Spoto A New Jersey appellate court ruled that a wife's use of a GPS to track her husband's location was not an invasion of privacy.
7/7/2011 California hospital system pays $865,000 to settle medical privacy cases of 2 celebrities Washington Post Associated Press UCLA Health System has agreed to pay an $865,000 settlement for potential violations of federal privacy laws after hospital employees allegedly looked at certain celebrities' medical records.
7/5/2011 Juror privacy issue sparks debate Charlotte Observer Anne Blythe A North Carolina judge has issued a blanket administrative order that seals court records containing personal information of jurors.
7/5/2011 EU upset by Microsoft warning on U.S. access to EU cloud Computerworld Jennifer Baker Members of the European Parliament are expressing concern about the conflict between the European Union's Data Protection Directive and the U.S. Patriot Act. 
6/30/2011 Fla. justices issue privacy rules for court system WINK News Associated Press The Florida Supreme Court has issued new privacy rules for the state court system in order to protect personal information filed in court cases. 
6/30/2011 Judge: Google Can Be Sued for Wiretapping in Street View Debacle Wired David Kravets A federal judge has found that Google can be sued for collecting private data from open wireless routers, saying that "plaintiffs plead facts sufficient to state a claim for violation of the Wiretap Act." 
6/29/2011 Senate lawmakers call for data security law, less certain over privacy Washington Post Cecilia Kang Participants at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing voiced differing views on how to legislate online privacy, if at all
6/28/2011 FTC Intensifies Mobile Privacy Focus ClickZ.com Kate Kaye The FTC published tips for consumers to protect their privacy when using mobile apps. 
6/28/2011 Texas Enacts Health Privacy Law Gov Info Security Howard Anderson Texas Governor Rick Perry has signed a healthcare privacy law that goes beyond HIPAA's requirements.
6/28/2011 Judge: Comptroller must undergo deposition in data breach lawsuit Houston Chronicle Patricia Kilday Hart A Travis County, TX, judge ruled that State Comptroller Susan Combs must submit to a three-hour deposition, and a representative from her office may be deposed for up to six hours, in response to a breach-related petition brought by two Austin attorneys.
6/27/2011 Consumer Reporting Agency to Pay $1.8 Million for Fair Credit Reporting Act Violations Federal Trade Commission Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has fined Teletrack Inc. $1.8 million dollars for Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) violations. 
6/27/2011 Supreme Court to Decide Constitutionality of Warrantless GPS Monitoring Wired David Kravets The Supreme Court will review whether the government can track suspects by attaching GPS devices to their vehicles without a court warrant.
6/27/2011 Senate Commerce Lines Up Witnesses For Privacy/Security Hearing Broadcasting & Cable John Eggerton The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on data security and privacy and has lined up two panels with witnesses from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Commerce Department, Hewlett-Packard, Sony and other industry representatives. 
6/24/2011 Reactions Vary on the Supreme Court’s Sorrell v. IMS Health Decision and What it Means for Privacy IAPP Jennifer Saunders In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Sorrell v. IMS Health, experts have been weighing in on the implications for privacy protection. 
6/23/2011 US court strikes down state drug data mining law Reuters James Vicini The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Vermont state law that had prohibited the use of patients' prescription drug records for marketing purposes. 
6/23/2011 Suffolk doctor faces federal privacy law charges The Virginian-Pilot Elizabeth Simpson A report on a federal grand jury's indictment of a psychiatrist for allegedly disclosing personal health information (PHI). 
6/23/2011 Why privacy legislation is hot now The Hill Peter Swire Ohio State University law professor and Center for American Progress fellow Peter Swire, CIPP, discusses the hot topic of privacy legislation, saying that three "mega-trends" are driving the current action. 
6/22/2011 Vt. Supreme Court hears police e-privacy case Forbes.com Dave Gram A report on a case before Vermont's Supreme Court on how the Fourth Amendment right to protect citizens from unwarranted searches and seizures should apply to electronic devices such as computers, iPads and smartphones.
6/22/2011 Ruling limits access to porn actor's HIV records Sacramento Bee Shaya Tayefe Mohajer A report on a California Superior Court's ruling that state workplace safety officials don't have the right to access certain medical records to track disease outbreaks because it violates healthcare privacy rights. 
6/21/2011 Supreme Court to review pilot's privacy suit San Francisco Chronicle Bob Egelko The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a ruling that said an individual could sue a federal agency for emotional distress because of the release of personal information.
6/17/2011 FTC Approves Final Order Settling Charges that Company Deceptively Tracked Consumers’ Online Activities Federal Trade Commission Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has finalized its order settling charges that online ad network Chitika tracked consumers online after they'd opted out. 
6/16/2011 State High Court Allows Medical Privacy Lawsuit Against Debt Collector sfappeal.com Julia Cheever The California Supreme Court has ruled in a case involving the state's Confidentiality of Medical Information Act. 
6/16/2011 Senator renews pledge to update digital-privacy law Cnet News Declan McCullagh During a speech at an event in Washington, DC, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) reaffirmed his commitment to updating the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) to make it relevant in the digital age. 
6/13/2011 House Bill Would Require Companies to Report Privacy Breaches National Journal Josh Smith Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) has proposed draft legislation that would require businesses to provide baseline consumer data protection.
6/13/2011 Appeals court says Ohio agencies didn't violate federal privacy laws by disclosing driver info The Republic Lisa Cornwell A federal appeals court has overturned a lower court decision, dismissing a 2009 lawsuit against the state of Ohio that alleged privacy violations stemming from the state's practice of selling driver's license data. 
6/9/2011 Twitter and AmEx Lawsuits Highlight Gap Between Text Message Law and Industry Standards Hunton & Williams Hunton & Williams LLP Lawsuits have been filed in a California federal court that claim Twitter and American Express Centurion Bank violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act when they sent opt-out confirmation texts to the plaintiffs.
6/7/2011 Concealing a Data Breach Would Be a Crime Under Leahy Bill Bloomberg.com Eric Engelman Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has introduced the Personal Data Privacy and Security Act, which would set a national standard for breach notification requirements and provide criminal penalties for offenders.
6/6/2011 Michigan law trumps HIPAA in patient privacy case American Medical News Alicia Gallegos A Michigan court case ruling could restrict the information physicians can release during legal proceedings.
6/5/2011 Cellphone privacy violations alleged: Local attorney among first to bring class-action lawsuit Post and Courier Allyson Byrd A lawsuit filed in Florida alleges that Google's Android smartphones collect data about users and then transmit the information back to databases.
6/3/2011 Will FTC get the funds it needs to police Internet? Politico.com Tony Romm A report on the ongoing consideration by the U.S. Congress to expand the role of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) when it comes to enforcing online privacy and the question of whether the funding will be in place to assist such efforts. 
6/2/2011 Lawmakers Question Sony, Epsilon on Data Breaches PC World Grant Gross Representatives from Sony and Epsilon appeared before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, saying they would support a national breach notification law
6/2/2011 Calif. lawmakers defeat bill on Internet privacy Mercury News Judy Lin For the second time in two weeks, a California bill that would have required social networking sites to set privacy defaults to "private" and allow users to customize privacy settings upon registering was voted down. 
6/2/2011 Reacting to Disclosures Rule Proposal Gov Info Security Howard Anderson Experts are reacting to the Health and Humans Services' Office for Civil Rights proposal to allow healthcare consumers to request reports detailing who has accessed their health records. 
6/1/2011 Google's $8.5M Buzz Settlement Approved Online Media Daily Wendy Davis Fourteen privacy organizations and nonprofits will split $6 million of the $8.5 million settlement approved by a federal judge in the Google Buzz case.
5/31/2011 Boucher: Privacy Legislation Necessary, Possible IAPP Angelique Carson The man who introduced one of the earliest Internet privacy measures in the U.S. Congress says legislative action on privacy is inevitable due to mounting public concern and resulting corporate interest. 
5/31/2011 HHS Proposes Changes To HIPAA Privacy Rule Information Week Marianne Kolbasuk McGee The Health and Humans Services' Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has proposed changes to HIPAA in accordance with the new HITECH provisions that would allow healthcare consumers to request reports detailing who has accessed their health records. 
5/28/2011 Sony and Epsilon Agree to Testify Before Congress New York Times Nick Bilton A spokesman for Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) has announced that Sony and Epsilon have agreed to testify before the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade. 
5/28/2011 Social-networking bill fails to win Senate support San Francisco Chronicle Wyatt Buchanan A California bill aimed at protecting the privacy of online social network users was voted down in the state senate. 
5/27/2011 'Black boxes' in all cars proposed Detroit News David Shepardson While many major car manufacturers already include the devices in their vehicles, the transportation department regulatory reform proposal includes a plan to make mandatory the inclusion of event data recorders (EDRs) in all new cars and light trucks.
5/26/2011 Michaels could face class action suit over data breach InfoSecurity   A report on a federal lawsuit alleging a lack of security resulted in a recent data breach at Michaels Stores.
5/25/2011 Senator wants privacy policies for mobile apps Computerworld Grant Gross In a letter sent to Apple and Google, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) called for privacy policy requirements in "location-aware" apps. 
5/25/2011 Uncle Sam scrambles signals on smartphone privacy International Business Times Reynolds Holding A report on the ongoing debate in U.S. courts about "how much privacy a phone deserves," as laws protecting phone data are fledgling. 
5/25/2011 Republican pushes FCC for details on Google 'Wi-Spy' The Hill Sara Jerome A U.S. lawmaker is urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to release findings of its investigation into Google's collection of WiFi data with its Street View cars.
5/24/2011 California Privacy Politics Makes Bedfellows of Facebook, Google Wall Street Journal Jennifer Valentino-DeVries Dozens of companies--including Facebook and Google--are teaming up to curtail two privacy bills that have been introduced in California's state legislature. 
5/24/2011 FTC May be Backing off Do Not Track The Magill Report Ken Magill An article about Direct Marketing Association Vice President Linda Wooley's comments that the Federal Trade Commission is pleased with the online ad industry's efforts at self-regulation--especially the creation of its Advertising Option icon. 
5/24/2011 RI Senate votes to protect Social Security numbers boston.com Associated Press A bill passed unanimously in the Rhode Island Senate would make it illegal for businesses to ask for any part of a customer's Social Security number (SSN).
5/23/2011 EU e-Privacy Cookie Rules Will Impact Non-European Web Companies eweek.com Fahmida Y. Rashid New EU privacy rules requiring companies to give users "clear, comprehensive and understandable information about how, why and for how long their data is processed" will affect any Web company with EU customers.
5/23/2011 A fair privacy Bill of Rights for online users The Hill Sen. John McCain and Sen. John Kerry  Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and John Kerry (D-MA) write about their proposed privacy bill of rights in light of recent data breaches affecting the personal information of more than 250 million people in the U.S. 
5/22/2011 Bill Theobald: Companies need to deal with online privacy, Blackburn says The Tennessean Bill Theobald Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) says companies need to empower consumers when it comes to protecting the data they track and retain about them online. 
5/21/2011 India data privacy rules may be too strict for some U.S. companies Washington Post Rama Lakshmi U.S. companies are reacting to India's new privacy rules, suggesting they may be "too restrictive." 
5/20/2011 Tech Giants Defend Privacy Practices Wall Street Journal Amy Schatz At a senate hearing on mobile privacy, the Federal Trade Commission's David Vladeck said the agency is "looking for good enforcement targets" as it conducts several investigations into mobile phone privacy, including possible violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.
5/18/2011 Proposed California Privacy Bill Raises First Amendment Issues  Daily Online Examiner Wendy Davis Wendy Davis discusses California's proposed legislation, SB 242, which would prohibit social networking sites from publicizing users' personal information without explicit consent.
5/17/2011 FCC steps into privacy debate over location-based data, announcing forum Los Angeles Times Jim Puzzanghera The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced a forum next month on the use of smartphone location data.
5/17/2011 New Bill Would Update Digital Privacy Law Wall Street Journal Jennifer Valentino-DeVries Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has introduced legislation that would require law enforcement to obtain search warrants before accessing geolocation information and e-mails stored on servers.
5/17/2011 Facebook Spearheads Resistance to Tough California Privacy Bill TechNews World Rob Spiegel A coalition of Web companies, including Facebook, Google, Skype, Twitter and Yahoo, has voiced opposition to a California bill aimed at protecting user privacy.
5/17/2011 Apple, Google to attend hearing on mobile privacy Google Associated Press The Senate Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Insurance Subcommittee will hold a hearing on mobile devices and online data collection. 
5/17/2011 Groups worry DHS pushing EU to weaken privacy protections The Hill Sara Jerome Privacy groups are concerned about data sharing talks between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the European Commission.
5/16/2011 Dropbox Accused Of Misleading Customers On Security InformationWeek Matthew J. Schwartz A complaint was filed with the Federal Trade Commission alleging that a file-sharing service has been misleading customers about their privacy.
5/15/2011 Social-networking sites face new privacy battle San Francisco Chronicle Wyatt Buchanan A California proposal could require social networking sites to allow users to establish privacy settings before enrolling.
5/13/2011 Judge Junks Most of Privacy Suit Against Facebook The Recorder Amy Miller A California federal judge has thrown out most of the claims against Facebook in a privacy suit alleging the social network shared users' personal data with advertisers without obtaining consent.
5/12/2011 Obama Offers Breach Notification Bill Gov Info Security Howard Anderson The Obama Administration has sent legislative guidance to Capitol Hill that includes a proposal for mandatory security breach notifications.
5/12/2011 Operators of Online "Virtual Worlds" to Pay $3 Million to Settle FTC Charges That They Illegally Collected and Disclosed Children's Personal Information Federal Trade Commission Federal Trade Commission The operator of 20 online gaming sites has agreed to a $3 million settlement with the FTC for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). 
5/11/2011 Apple, others sued over privacy (again) Cnet News Josh Lowensohn A lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Puerto Rico alleges that Apple, Pandora Media and The Weather Channel failed to disclose that they were sharing personal and location data with advertising networks.
5/10/2011 Google and Apple on Capitol Hill for high-tech privacy hearing CNN CNN Wire Staff A report on a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law amid concerns raised about the "privacy quicksand" of incidents such as mobile device tracking and sharing users' location information. 
5/10/2011 Lawmakers Press Apple, Google on Smartphone Users’ Privacy Bloomberg.com Eric Engleman and Adam Satariano The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law heard testimony from government, advocacy and industry representatives in order to shed light on location-based data collection practices. 
5/9/2011 ICO:  browser settings not enough for cookies law PC Pro Nicole Kobie Following on the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) publication of advice to help businesses comply with a new EU law governing the use of Web cookies, many experts and business owners are voicing confusion over what to do next.
5/9/2011 Do-Not-Track Bill Introduced In Senate Online Media Daily Wendy Davis Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) yesterday introduced the Do Not Track Online Act, which tasks the FTC with crafting rules and setting standards for a universal do-not-track mechanism. 
5/9/2011 ICO advice on new EU cookies law published Information Commissioners Office Information Commissioners Office The UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has published advice on how organizations can comply with a new EU law on the use of cookies, which goes into effect on May 26. 
5/9/2011 Cell phone privacy bill set to become law Legal Newsline Jessica M. Karmasek A new bill that will bar telemarketers from calling the cell phones of do-not-call registrants has unanimously passed the Indiana General Assembly. 
5/6/2011 Markey, Barton Propose Ad Limits On Targeting Minors Online Media Daily Wendy Davis Reps. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Joe Barton (R-TX) have presented a draft of their Do Not Track Kids Online Bill that proposes to ban behavioral targeting to minors--users under 18--and limit the collection of teens' information to those companies that adhere to Fair Information Practice Principles.
5/6/2011 Are Your Gadgets Spying On You? National Public Radio Ira Flatow Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) joined privacy experts to discuss consumer privacy and electronic devices on National Public Radio. 
5/6/2011 Sen. Rockefeller to introduce ‘Do Not Track’ bill Washington Post Cecilia Kang Sen. John "Jay" Rockefeller (D-WV) will introduce a do-not-track bill.
5/5/2011 IP addresses alone cannot be used to identify individuals, US judge says Out-law.com   A U.S. judge has ruled that a copyright holder may not force Internet service providers to hand over subscribers' personal details.
5/4/2011 Do-Not-Track Bill Gets State Senate Hearing IAPP Jedidiah Bracey California Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) gave testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on his proposed do-not-track bill, SB 761. 
5/4/2011 Lawmakers target Sony, Epsilon at hearing Politico.com Tony Romm Two hearings on Capitol Hill focused on recent data breaches and location-based data privacy concerns. 
5/4/2011 Laptop Spying: Rental Company Sued Over Alleged Webcam Spying ABC News Ki Mae Heussner A report on a lawsuit filed this week by a Wyoming couple alleging that a national furniture and electronics rental company equipped its laptops with software to spy on customers.
5/3/2011 FTC Settles Charges Against Two Companies That Allegedly Failed to Protect Sensitive Employee Data Federal Trade Commission Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has settled charges against two companies that allegedly failed to protect sensitive data about their business customers--despite claims to the contrary--in violation of federal law. 
5/3/2011 House Gives Early Endorsement to Patient Privacy Bill Texas Tribune Lois Kolkhorst Privacy advocates say that State Rep. Lois Kolkhorst's (R-District 13) bill aiming to protect Texans' healthcare privacy is a vast improvement over federal law.
4/30/2011 Privacy issues prompt lawsuit The Coloradoan Rebecca Powell An H&R Block franchise in Colorado and seven of its clients have filed a complaint in district court alleging H&R Block is requiring them to use software that enables customer file sharing across the company.
4/29/2011 Flash Cookie Lawsuit Against Specific Media Dismissed Online Media Daily Wendy Davis A judge has dismissed a lawsuit alleging an ad network used Flash cookies to track users online.
4/27/2011 Bono Mack to introduce data protection bill The Hill Sara Jerome In the wake of Sony PlayStation Network's recent hacking incident, Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) has announced her plan to introduce legislation to protect consumer information online. 
4/27/2011 NY man pleads guilty in ATM 'skimming' scheme Wall Street Journal Associated Press A New York man pleaded guilty yesterday to stealing accountholder information from a New Jersey bank.
4/26/2011 Supreme Court Weighs Whether To Limit Data Mining National Public Radio Nina Totenberg The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case on whether the government may put limits on data mining.
4/26/2011 Justices’ Debate Turns to Privacy for Doctors New York Times Adam Liptak U.S. Supreme Court justices thus far sound skeptical about upholding a Vermont law that bans the commercial buying and selling of doctors' prescription records. 
4/25/2011 Florida, N.Y. consumers sue Apple over location tracking Computerworld Gregg Keizer A report on a proposed class-action lawsuit against Apple following researchers' findings that iPhone and iPad devices have been tracking users' locations.
4/21/2011 State debates privacy permissions for health data FierceEMR Janice Simmons A report on the patient advocate, medical provider and Maine Civil Liberties Union (MCLU) concerns about Maine's statewide HealthInfoNet. 
4/21/2011 Maker of Rascal Scooters to Pay $100,000 for Violating FTC’s Do Not Call Rules Federal Trade Commission Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges a manufacturer of electric scooters marketed to consumers registered on the national Do Not Call Registry. 
4/20/2011 US, EU at Odds Over Air Passenger Data Protection, FTD Reports Bloomberg.com Ragnhild Kjetland  A report on the differing views between the EU and U.S. on the collection of air passenger data. 
4/20/2011 Colo. bill to redefine ID theft shelved Washington Examiner Associated Press Due to a lack of consensus, Colorado senators have shelved a bill that sought to give prosecutors more latitude in charging people with identity theft.
4/19/2011 Supreme Court Case on Rx Data Mining Requires Nuanced Understanding of Privacy iHealthBeat Deven McGraw The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in a case that Deven McGraw of the Center for Democracy and Technology describes as one "that could have significant implications for patient privacy." 
4/18/2011 Lawsuit targeting RockYou data breach gets green light The Register Dan Goodin A federal judge has allowed a lawsuit filed against a social media application developer for exposing 32 million users' personally identifiable information (PII).
4/17/2011 Order concludes fight over Social Security numbers Richmond Times Dispatch Associated Press U.S. District Judge Robert Payne signed a consent order broadening the scope of information that privacy advocate Betty "BJ" Ostergren is allowed to post on her Web site.
4/15/2011 What’s next for privacy on the Hill? Washington Post Hayley Tsukayama The Washington Post looks at four privacy proposals that have come forward in this congressional session, asking, "what's next for privacy on the hill?" 
4/15/2011 MySpace Sued Over Privacy Loophole Wall Street Journal Jennifer Valentino-DeVries A report on a lawsuit filed against the social network Myspace that alleges the company violated federal privacy law and its own privacy policy. 
4/14/2011 Inspiring consumer confidence through data privacy legislation The Hill David Hoffman Reaction to the privacy bill introduced this week by Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and John McCain (R-AZ) continues. 
4/13/2011 Experts Discuss Proposed “Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights” IAPP Emily Leach Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and John McCain (R-AZ) have introduced the "Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights Act of 2011" aimed at protecting consumers' personal information online. 
4/13/2011 Privacy Bill Introduced in House Wall Street Journal Jennifer Valentino-DeVries Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) has introduced online privacy legislation in the House of Representatives focused on giving Web users information and control over what data Internet companies collect about them and how they are tracked.
4/13/2011 Blumenthal, Franken asks DOJ about data privacy law StamfordPlus.com Senator Blumenthal's office Sens. Al Franken (D-MN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) have asked the Department of Justice to clarify its interpretation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) and to ensure that the department defines smartphones and other devices as "computers" under the law.
4/13/2011 Maine's Electronic Medical Network Prompts Privacy Debate MPBN Josie Huang Maine's electronic medical records system, HealthInfoNet, contains 900,000 citizens' medical records and requires citizens to opt out of being included in the database, a function that two legislators are trying to change. 
4/13/2011 New Internet privacy bill: How would it protect consumers? Christian Science Monitor Aaron Couch The proposed "Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights" is receiving criticism and accolades from both consumer rights groups and the advertising industry. 
4/13/2011 News Corp.’s Myspace Sued for Giving Away Data on Members Without Consent Bloomberg.com Thom Weidlich Myspace has been accused of improperly sharing members' data with aggregators.
4/13/2011 Maine's Electronic Medical Network Prompts Privacy Debate Maine Public Broadcasting Network Josie Huang A report on a new law in Maine that will give two-thirds of its citizens the choice to opt out of the state's electronic medical records program. 
4/12/2011 Reader Privacy Bill Passed Through California Senate Judiciary Committee Electronic Frontier Foundation Rebecca Jeschke California's State Senate Judiciary Committee has passed a bill to protect the privacy of Californians' reading habits.
4/11/2011 Online Privacy Bill To Be Introduced In Senate  Daily Online Examiner Wendy Davis Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) has announced that he and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will unveil their Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights Act of 2011. 
4/8/2011 Web firms face increased federal scrutiny over Internet privacy Washington Post Cecilia Kang As federal officials move closer to creating Internet privacy laws, companies that have enjoyed the freewheeling nature of the Internet find themselves under increased scrutiny.
4/6/2011 Justice Department opposes digital privacy reforms cnet News Declan McCullagh Department of Justice (DOJ) officials are speaking out against calls for federal legislation to better protect online privacy.
4/6/2011 Online 'do not track' bill introduced in California Senate Los Angeles Times Marc Lifsher and Jessica Guynn A report on California Sen. Alan Lowenthal's (D-Long Beach) do-not-track bill.
4/6/2011 When it comes to Facebook, EU defends the 'right to disappear' Christian Science Monitor Jason Walsh Exploring EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding's call for a right to be forgotten. 
4/6/2011 Lawmakers, MCLU: ID law invades privacy Portland Press Herald Susan M. Cover Maine lawmakers are urging a full repeal of a federal law requiring biometric data collection during the process of obtaining a state driver's license. 
4/5/2011 What the app privacy investigation means to you cnet News Marguerite Reardon and Josh Lowensohn A decision by federal prosecutors to investigate whether the transmittal of user data via mobile applications violates the law is raising questions for consumers.
4/4/2011 Amidst News of Massive Data Breach, Suit Says Condé Nast Sent $8M in Response to Scam Email ABA Journal Martha Neil Condé Nast was recently duped in a spear-phishing scheme and is suing to recover the funds that the scammers attempted to steal. 
4/4/2011 California Lawmaker Touts Do-not-track Bill PC World Grant Gross California Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) has introduced a do-not-track bill.
4/1/2011 CAN-SPAM Held to Apply Social Media Messaging Hogan Lovells Chronicle of Data Protection Timothy Tobin The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has determined that "messages sent by Facebook users to their Facebook friends' walls, news feeds or home pages are 'electronic mail messages' under the CAN-SPAM Act." 
4/1/2011 California court to examine juror's Facebook privacy www.rcfp.org Rachel Costello The California Supreme Court has ordered a state appeals court to revisit the case of a juror who was ordered to release social networking posts he made during a criminal trial. 
4/1/2011 States Attempt to Address Privacy Risks Associated with Digital Copiers and Electronic Waste Hunton & Williams Hunton & Williams LLP A New York law went into effect requiring manufacturers of devices capable of storing data to include instructions on how to wipe the data prior to recycling or disposing of the machines. 
4/1/2011 How to understand and comply with recent changes in privacy law Smart Business Kit Winter Atorney Kit Winter offers companies advice on how to navigate the "rapidly changing landscape of privacy regulation." 
3/31/2011 Reding outlines costs to business of EU privacy legislation v3.co.uk Iain Thomson The call for a do-not-track mechanism and a privacy bill of rights by U.S. officials "means very clearly that the U.S. is approaching the EU regulatory model." 
3/31/2011 Eshoo: Google-FTC settlement should apply to all firms The Hill Gautham Nagesh  At least one federal lawmaker believes the privacy requirements outlined in a proposed settlement between the FTC and Google over the company's Buzz social network should be adopted by all firms. 
3/31/2011 Google foe won't take "no" on Buzz cash Reuters Dan Levine The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has objected to a class-action settlement reached between Google and Gmail users.
3/31/2011 Push in Congress for Web users to control data Boston Globe Mark Arsenault Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) discusses his proposal for Internet privacy legislation, likening online tracking to being secretly monitored by a private detective.
3/30/2011 FTC Charges Deceptive Privacy Practices in Google's Rollout of Its Buzz Social Network Federal Trade Commission Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Google have reached an agreement on the commission's allegations the company "used deceptive tactics and violated its own privacy promises to consumers" with the launch of its Google Buzz social network last year. 
3/30/2011 LinkedIn Sued For Privacy Violations PogoWasRight.org Wendy Davis LinkedIn is being sued for alleged privacy violations.
3/30/2011 Reader Privacy Act Introduced to Upgrade Book Privacy for the Digital Era Electronic Frontier Foundation   A California lawmaker has introduced a law to protect Californians' reading habits. 
3/30/2011 OVERNIGHT TECH: Google learns from Buzz debacle The Hill Gautham Nagesh  Federal Communications Chairman Julius Genachowski faced tough questions about the ongoing investigation into Google's collection of unencrypted private WiFi data. 
3/29/2011 Do Not Track Momentum Mounts InformationWeek Mathew J. Schwartz Though the FTC's proposal for a do-not-track mechanism initially incited criticism from the advertising industry, reactions now seem to indicate widespread support.
3/29/2011 Appellate court rules in favor of saleswoman in privacy violation case Chicago Tribune Ameet Sachdev An employee's case against her former employer for invading her privacy by pretexting has again been settled in her favor. 
3/28/2011 Massachusetts Attorney General Reaches $110,000 Data Breach Settlement with Boston Restaurant Group Hunton & Williams Hunton & Williams LLP Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has reached a settlement with a restaurant company in a breach that compromised "tens of thousands of consumers' payment card information." 
3/25/2011 FTC Official: Cases Against Twitter, Chitika Provide Roadmap To Privacy Enforcement  Daily Online Examiner Wendy Davis The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) recent enforcement actions against two companies should serve as an indication of the kind of privacy intrusions likely to catch its attention, says Maneesha Mithal, director of the division of privacy and identity protection at the FTC. 
3/24/2011 Commissioner Says Do-Not-Track Is Not FTC-Endorsed ClickZ.com Jack Marshall The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has not endorsed plans for an online do-not-track mechanism.
3/24/2011 Senate Passes Medical Privacy Bill Star Local News Staff Writer The Texas Senate has passed Bill 622, which seeks to strengthen personal health information protection beyond the provisions of federal law.
3/23/2011 Kerry Privacy Bill Could Impose 'Major' Obligations On Ad Networks Online Media Daily Wendy Davis Following up on his announcement that he would soon submit the "Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights Act of 2011" during a hearing on the call for federal privacy legislation, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and the bill's cosponsor, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), have published a draft of the legislation. 
3/23/2011 Google, Internet Companies Face Too Many Privacy Rules, U.S. Official Says Bloomberg.com Aoife White A U.S. official has said that the multiplicity of international data protection laws are problematic for U.S. companies. 
3/22/2011 Senator pushes for mobile privacy reform CNET News Declan McCullagh A report on Sen. Ron Wyden's (D-OR) bill that would provide privacy protections for geolocation information. 
3/22/2011 Parenting versus privacy: Maine debates access to teen medical treatment Bangor Daily News Kevin Miller Maine lawmakers heard testimony Tuesday on two proposals  that would prevent teenagers from receiving certain health services without their parents' permission. 
3/21/2011 You've Been Tagged Stanford Center for Internet and Society Omer Tene Omer Tene examines the implications of a Kentucky Court of Appeals case that determined permission is not necessary to post or "tag" photos of people online. 
3/21/2011 Privacy lawsuits rain down on Netflix CNET News Greg Sandoval Netflix "has been accused of violating U.S. privacy laws in five separate lawsuits filed during the past two months," with each case alleging the company "hangs onto customer information, such as credit card numbers and rental histories, long after subscribers cancel their membership." 
3/21/2011 Privacy Bill of Rights: Could Be a Long Slog e Commerce Times Rob Spiegel A report on the reaction to calls for a "Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights" as baseline legislation to protect Internet users' privacy. 
3/18/2011 A New Internet Privacy Law? New York Times   An editorial examines recent calls for federal privacy legislation to protect consumers with a "privacy bill of rights." 
3/17/2011 Close-Up: Netflix Hit With Privacy Suit Online Media Daily Wendy Davis A Virginia resident has filed suit in federal court against video rental company Netflix alleging a violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act. 
3/17/2011 House Republicans jockey for the reins: Regulating online ad companies The Hill Sara Jerome Like their counterparts in the senate, legislators in the house are calling for control of plans to regulate Internet privacy.
3/17/2011 Internet privacy and the "right to be forgotten" Reuters Eva Dou Reuters reports on efforts by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to tighten the reins on the "Wild Wild West" of the Internet. 
3/16/2011 From the Top Down: Administration Calls for Privacy Bill of Rights IAPP Jennifer Saunders The Obama Administration is weighing in on the dialogue surrounding online privacy, and the consensus is that the time has come for baseline privacy legislation at the federal level. 
3/12/2011 Senate turf war brewing over web privacy The Hill Gautham Nagesh  Committee leaders are focused on who should be in charge of online privacy legislation in the U.S. Senate.
3/11/2011 Twitter Settles with FTC Over Privacy Breaches PC Magazine Chloe Albanesuis The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced its settlement with Twitter over allegations that the site failed to safeguard user information has been finalized. 
3/11/2011 Walgreen accused of selling patient data Reuters Terry Baynes Walgreen Co is the target of class-action lawsuit related to how the company profits from customers' prescription data. 
3/11/2011 Proposed laws on ID tech take privacy to the extreme Government Computer News William Jackson The REAL ID Act, which sets national requirements for state driver's licenses, "does not adequately provide for the security of sensitive data that it requires states to collect and share," and that issue should be addressed. 
3/10/2011 Proposed Bill Would Put Curbs on Data Gathering Wall Street Journal Julia Angwin Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and John Kerry (D-MA) are the most recent federal legislators moving forward with plans for online privacy legislation. 
3/10/2011 EU, US Officials Say They're Getting Closer On Privacy National Journal Juliana Gruenwald A report on comments by EU Data Protection Supervisor Peter Hustinx and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Jon Leibowitz at the IAPP Global Privacy Summit and whether common ground on privacy protection exists on both sides of the Atlantic. 
3/10/2011 Google Sued For Violating Wiretap Law Online Media Daily Wendy Davis A second lawsuit has been filed in U.S. District Court alleging privacy violations in Google's Gmail service. 
3/10/2011 Judge: debt agency can't contact woman on Facebook Sydney Morning Herald Tamara Lush A Florida debt collection agency has one less tool in its quiver for contacting debtors. 
3/9/2011 Man pleads guilty to looking at passport files San Francisco Chronicle Nedra Pickler A Maryland man faces prison time and monetary penalties for viewing confidential passport records of well-known individuals.
3/9/2011 Senate Commerce Committee schedules online privacy hearing on March 16 The Hill Gautham Nagesh  The Senate Commerce Committee will take up the topic of online privacy during an upcoming hearing. 
3/8/2011 Is it Really Illegal to Require an Applicant or Employee to Disclose her Password to a "Friends-Only" Facebook Page? Littler Mendelson Privacy Blog Privacy and Data Protection Practice Group Philip Gordon reviews a recent incident where the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland called the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services' practice of asking job applicants to disclose their social networking passwords to check for criminal activities illegal under federal and state law.
3/7/2011 Retroactive zip code ruling incites flurry of class-actions IAPP Angelique Carlson In the month's time since the California Supreme Court decided that zip codes are personal information, 106 class-action lawsuits have been filed.
3/7/2011 Stearns' Privacy Bill Calls For Self-Regulation, FTC Oversight Online Media Daily Wendy Davis Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) has announced his intention to introduce privacy legislation that would, among other things, give the FTC the power to oversee industry self-regulation. 
3/6/2011 Justice Samuel Alito, the Supreme Court's privacy cop Washington Post Jeffrey Rosen Jeffrey Rosen describes the emergence of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito "as a stalwart defender of privacy, particularly in cases with strong free speech interests on the other side. 
3/4/2011 Republican Lawmaker Promises New Online Privacy Legislation PC World Grant Gross Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) has announced that he will soon introduce online privacy legislation focused on giving Web users information and control over what data Internet companies collect about them. 
3/3/2011 Suit: Amazon fraudulently collects, shares users' personal info Seattle Post Intelligencer Nick Eaton A class-action lawsuit is alleging that Amazon.com "fraudulently circumvents users' Web-browser privacy settings to collect personal information without permission and share it with other companies." 
3/1/2011 US top court rejects AT&T corporate privacy rights Reuters James Vicini Corporations do not have personal privacy rights when it comes to the disclosure of federal records. 
3/1/2011 Supreme Court Rules Corporations Don’t Have Privacy Under FOIA Forbes.com Daniel Fisher The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the term "personal privacy" does not extend to corporations. 
3/1/2011 RI lawmakers look to shield Social Security digits Boston Globe Associated Press A report on a push by two Rhode Island lawmakers to keep businesses from asking for the last four digits of customers' Social Security numbers (SSNs). 
2/28/2011 Social Networks, Privacy, and Freedom of Association AmericanProgress.org Peter Swire In a report for the Center for American Progress, Ohio State University Prof. Peter Swire, CIPP, explores "the tension between information sharing, which can promote the freedom of association, and limits on information sharing, notably for privacy protection." 
2/28/2011 California Supreme Court rules that ZIP codes are personal identification information IAPP M. Scott Koller The California Supreme Court recently ruled that merchants may not collect ZIP Codes from credit card customers. 
2/28/2011 Privacy in the Legislative Branch:  A Quick Update Chronicle of Data Protection Christopher Wolf A report on the multitude of bills introduced on Capitol Hill that aim to protect online privacy. 
2/28/2011 Drug companies help S.C. track decongestants The Sun News Paul Alongi South Carolina has joined nine other states in passing a law to adopt a national database for tracking the sale of pseudoephedrine, which can be used to make methamphetamines.
2/25/2011 GameStop Accused of Recording Personal Information IGN   A California resident has filed a class-action lawsuit against a game retailer for allegedly "requesting and recording personal information from its customers without their knowledge or consent." 
2/25/2011 Nilekani seeks to allay privacy fears surrounding 'Aadhar' Economic Times   The project that will give each Indian citizen a unique identifier will not put people's security and privacy rights at risk, says the Unique Identification Authority of India's chairman. 
2/24/2011 A Novel Data Security Law Proposed in Colorado Information Law Group David Navetta This article explores the push at the state level for new privacy and data security legislation, including a Colorado bill seeking to give companies incentives to put security practices in place.
2/23/2011 'Do Not Track' for Kids Is Coming ClickZ.com Kate Kaye A U.S. representative who sponsored the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA) may soon introduce a comprehensive children's privacy bill that will include a do-not-track feature. 
2/23/2011 Bill Defines Responsibilities of Federal CISOs GovInfoSecurity   The E-Government Act, currently in front of congress, would require federal agencies to designate a senior officer as chief information security officer (CISO) and lays out the responsibilities of that position.
2/22/2011 FTC Internet Privacy Proposal Slammed By Ad Industry Information Week Matthew J. Schwartz The public comment period on the FTC's "Protecting consumer privacy in an era of rapid change: A proposed framework for businesses and policymakers" report has ended, and the reactions are varied. 
2/21/2011 Privacy Please: Q&A With FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz Multichannel news John Eggerton In Q&A with Multichannel News, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz notes that while he is encouraged by efforts to date from companies to provide better online privacy protection, industry needs to do more to ensure they are doing what is right for consumers. 
2/21/2011 States Weigh In On Federal Trade Commission Privacy Report The Gov Monitor Governor of Rhode Island Fifteen states have submitted comments on the FTC's December 2010 staff report, "Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change: A Proposed Framework for Businesses and Policymakers." 
2/18/2011 Data retention should last one year: AG ZDNet Darren Pauli Talks between the U.S. and Australia could result in Internet search providers (ISPs) retaining data on users for one year. 
2/17/2011 Spokeo Charged With Violating Fair Credit Reporting Act Online Media Daily Wendy Davis A Virginia resident is again trying to bring a class-action lawsuit against online data aggregator Spokeo after his first complaint was dismissed last month by a federal judge.
2/17/2011 Apple Sued For Violating iPhone, IPad Privacy Online Media Daily Wendy Davis A report on the most recent potential class-action suit against Apple and 11 outside companies for allegedly violating the privacy of iPhone and iPad users. 
2/16/2011 Lawmakers urge FCC to investigate Google The Hill Gautham Nagesh  Two legislators are asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to conduct a full investigation into Google's collection of Wi-Fi data.
2/15/2011 Juror's Facebook Postings During Gang Trial Lead to Legal Morass & Suit Against Judge Courthouse News Service Bridget Freeland A juror who posted comments on Facebook during an attempted murder trial has filed a lawsuit in the wake of a judge's order to release those postings to the defense. 
2/15/2011 New Senate Subcommittee Gives Online Privacy Higher Profile AdWeek Katy Bachman The new Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law is an indicator that online privacy will be a higher priority at the federal level. 
2/15/2011
Big Banks To FTC: New Online Privacy Rules Shouldn’t Apply To Us
Paid Content Joe Mullin With the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) deadline for public comment on its recent privacy rules recommendations just two days away, industry and individuals are weighing in on all sides of the issue. 
2/15/2011 Full-Body Scan Privacy Law Gets One Step Closer To Reality The Consumerist Chris Morran Sen. Charles Schumer's (D-NY) proposed legislation on airport body scanner images was unanimously accepted as an amendment to the FAA Reauthorization Bill being considered by the senate.
2/14/2011 Web Users Push For More Privacy National Public Radio Melissa Block An interview with The Wall Street Journal's Julia Angwin on federal legislation aimed at improving online privacy.
2/11/2011 California retailers can't ask patrons for ZIP Codes, court rules Los Angeles Times Maura Dolan The California Supreme Court has ruled that merchants may not collect ZIP Codes from credit card customers.
2/11/2011 Fla. justice frustrated over court records rules Miami Herald Bill Kaczor Eight years into the development of data protection rules for Florida's court documents, few decisions have been made about how best to secure personal information as courts move to electronic files.
2/11/2011 Lawmaker Introduces New Privacy Bill Wall Street Journal Julia Angwin, Scott Thurm and Michael Hickins The former California lawmaker who sponsored some of the nation's strongest financial privacy protections during her time as a state senator has dropped a new federal law. 
2/9/2011 ACLU, Amazon end fight with N. Carolina over privacy Seattle Times Amy Martinez The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the North Carolina Department of Revenue have settled their dispute over the state's efforts to collect personal information about e-commerce customers for tax purposes.
2/8/2011 Internet privacy talk to hit the Hill Washington Post Hayley Tsukayama A privacy bill is expected to come before the U.S. Congress "with a handful of lawmakers ready to introduce legislation on how best to protect consumer information on the Internet." 
2/8/2011 Sens. Schumer, Nelson propose bill to protect airport body scan images Computerworld Jaikumar Vijayan U.S. Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Ben Nelson (D-NE) proposed legislation that would make the misuse of airport body scan images a federal crime.
2/7/2011 Judge Hands Spokeo A Victory In Privacy Lawsuit Daily Online Examiner Wendy Davis A U.S. District Court judge has dismissed one of two lawsuits filed against an online data aggregator after determining the plaintiff did not "allege he had been injured by Spokeo." 
2/7/2011 Will U.S. Government Crack the Whip on Online Privacy? MediaShift Jonathan Peters A series about online privacy and the potential for new regulations to "crack the whip" on online sharing. 
2/6/2011 Mississippi Senate passes texting ban; some question enforcement, privacy Justice News Flash Nicole Howley A bill headed to the Mississippi House of Representatives that would ban texting while driving is raising privacy concerns.
2/6/2011 Personal Privacy and the Right to Know New York Times   An editorial on the Freedom of Information Act's exemption 7 to protect individuals' privacy and a current Supreme Court review of an appeals court's ruling that "personal privacy" extends to corporations.
2/6/2011 Hawaii Considers Amendments To Data Breach Notification Law Covington & Burlington Covington & Burlington Hawaii legislators have introduced several bills to amend the state's data breach notice law.
2/5/2011 Calif juror ordered to turn over Facebook postings Mercury News Associated Press A California judge has ordered a juror to turn over social networking posts he made during the trial of several gang members or face possible jail time.
2/4/2011
Get Ready For A Flurry Of New Online-Privacy Bills In Congress
Paid Content Joe Mullin Legislators are "practically falling over each other to introduce new online privacy legislation."
2/3/2011 IL Appellate Court: No Duty Exists to Safeguard SSNs for Purposes of a Negligence Claim Information Law Group David Navetta A report on an Illinois appellate court case--"the first that we are aware of in the United States"--focusing on the question of "whether common law duty exists to safeguard personal information." 
2/2/2011 Sen. Ron Wyden: Protecting mobile privacy (Q&A) Cnet News Declan McCullagh Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) discusses his forthcoming mobile privacy legislation. 
2/1/2011 Bills would halt credit checks for jobs in Neb Bloomberg.com Margery A. Beck Two bills under consideration by the Nebraska Legislature aim to prevent employers from using job applicants' credit histories as a determining factor in hiring decisions.
2/1/2011 Rush To Reintroduce Privacy Bill Next Week National Journal Juliana Gruenwald Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) will reintroduce his online privacy legislation.
1/31/2011 Apple Hit With Another Suit Alleging Privacy Violations PC World Nancy Gohring A lawsuit has been filed in federal court alleging privacy violations in the way Apple shares information collected from iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users with advertisers.
1/30/2011 Google reaches agreement with Connecticut AG over Wi-Spy The Hill Gautham Nagesh  Google has reached an agreement with Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen over the collection of personal information through unsecured wireless networks. 
1/28/2011 Industry Groups Argue Against Regs Based On Fair Information Practice Principles  Online Media Daily Wendy Davis A coalition of advertising, media and business organizations has submitted comments to the Department of Commerce arguing that while Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPPs) are a "useful tool" when analyzing online privacy, they should not be codified in new laws.
1/26/2011 Senator Calls for Privacy Protections for Device Location PC World Grant Gross A U.S. Senator says he'll soon introduce a bill that would require law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant before accessing location-based data from mobile devices.
1/25/2011 DOJ seeks mandatory data retention requirement for ISPs Computerworld Jaikumar Vijayan The U.S. Department of Justice law enforcement officials from around the country have renewed calls for legislation mandating that Internet service providers (ISPs) retain certain customer usage data for up to two years.
1/25/2011 DOJ pressed for details on Internet tracking plan CNET News Declan McCullagh The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking a new law to require ISPs to keep records of user activity, but legislators are calling for more information.
1/24/2011 GOP pushing for ISPs to record user data CNET News Declan McCullagh Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are expected to unveil their first technology initiative of the new term in the form of "a push to force Internet companies to keep track of what their users are doing."
1/21/2011 Consumer privacy litigation alert: a rash of behavioral advertising class actions have been filed implicating company websites and mobile applications Lexology Dominique R. Shelton and Clinton J. McCord  Dominique R. Shelton and Clinton J. McCord of Wildman Harrold Allen & Dixon LLP explore the recent wave of class-action lawsuits related to behavioral advertising. 
1/20/2011 Will Do-Not-Track Become Law This Year? Daily Online Examiner Wendy Davis While the online industry is opposing the Federal Trade Commission's call for a voluntary do-not-track mechanism, MediaPost reports that some privacy experts believe the initiative will move forward. 
1/20/2011 Rockefeller Eyes Online Privacy, Consumer Protection Issues AdWeek Katy Bachman The potential for partisan gridlock in the U.S. Congress may have implications for forthcoming privacy legislation.
1/20/2011 California Legislature to take up data breach notification proposal Central Valley Business Times   California State Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) has introduced a bill to strengthen data breach notification requirements.
1/19/2011 Privacy Rights of U.S. Workers Curbed by Supreme Court in Contractor Case Bloomberg.com Greg Stohr The U.S. Supreme Court overturned a lower court's ruling on worker privacy.
1/19/2011 Supreme Court hesitant to extend 'personal privacy' restrictions to corporations Washington Post Robert Barnes A review of a case asking whether corporations have personal privacy rights. 
1/18/2011 AT&T Case Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Assign Privacy Rights to Corporations Bloomberg.com Greg Stohr A report on a business privacy case coming before the U.S. Supreme Court that may rekindle debate over whether corporations can invoke a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provision protecting personal privacy.
1/18/2011 While We Were Shopping, the Privacy Legal Risk Environment Shifts Again Information Law Group David Navetta David Navetta, CIPP, reflects on privacy as one of the key issues of 2010 and predicts the privacy-related lawsuits filed last year "have the potential to change the privacy and security game in ways that are difficult to anticipate." 
1/14/2011 Stearns Plans to Introduce Privacy Bill National Journal Juliana Gruenwald Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) is reworking a draft online privacy bill he crafted with former Rep. Rick Boucher in the last congress.
1/13/2011 Is Your Online Presence Property or Person? Business Week Derrick Harris A report on fundamental issues for U.S. regulator and legislator efforts to address online data privacy concerns, suggesting, "Central among them is the question of whether online privacy is a matter of personal property or of human rights." 
1/12/2011 Supreme Court Health Data Case Could Sway Online Privacy Debate PaidContent.org Joe Mullin The Supreme Court announced that it will hear the case of Sorrell v. IMS Health, which is "likely to have some influence on the growing debate over online privacy." 
1/11/2011 US anti-Twitter subpoena fuels data privacy debate EU Observer Valentina Pop A report on the implications of a U.S. court order that may give law enforcement officials access to all 637,000 followers of the WikiLeaks account on Twitter
1/11/2011 Congress may be able to tackle tech issues in 2011 Computerworld Grant Gross Technology issues--including online privacy--will be a focus for the U.S. Congress in 2011.
1/11/2011 Leahy Sets Cyber Privacy Agenda nextgov Aliya Sternstein The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday outlined the work its members will undertake in the coming session.
1/11/2011 Department of Commerce Official Holds Briefing on EU Data Protection Forum Hunton & Williams Hunton & Williams LLP U.S. Department of Commerce Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade Michelle O'Neill held a briefing on her recent meetings in Brussels with European DPAs, discussing "the right to be forgotten" as a current key topic in Europe.
1/9/2011 1986 Privacy Law Is Outrun by the Web New York Times Miguel Helft and Claire Cain Miller Internet companies and consumer advocates are warning that the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) is outdated, "affording more protection to letters in a file cabinet than e-mail on a server." 
1/7/2011 Prescription Privacy Laws Get U.S. High Court Scrutiny Bloomberg.com Greg Stohr The Supreme Court will review a Vermont law to limit using prescription information for one-on-one marketing of pharmaceuticals.
1/7/2011 Courts make conflicting calls on whether police need warrant to search cellphone Dallas Morning News Jennifer Emily and Diane Jennings Though California's Supreme Court ruled that police can search arrestees' cell phones without a warrant, some Texas judges and a deputy chief at the Dallas Police Department (DPD) disagree.
1/7/2011 Juror will appeal order to turn over Facebook posts cnetnews.com Declan McCullagh The attorney representing a juror ordered to divulge Facebook posts he made while serving on the trial of several alleged gang members is filing an appeal.
1/5/2011 Massachusetts Attorney General Reviews 2010 Data Breach and Data Security Regulations Compliance Littler Mendelson Ellen Giblin Ellen Giblin of Littler Mendelson's Privacy & Data Protection Practice Group shares insight from a recent IAPP KnowledgeNet event at which officials from the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office and Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (OCABR) discussed their investigations into and enforcement of the almost one-year-old Massachusetts Data Security Regulations (201 CMR 17).
1/5/2011
Interview: Scott Kamber On His ‘Spate’ Of Lawsuits Over Internet Privacy
PaidContent.org Joe Mullin Scott Kamber of KamberLaw discusses recent class-action lawsuits alleging Internet companies' privacy violations. 
1/4/2011 Court OKs searches of cell phones without warrant San Francisco Chronicle Bob Egelko In a 5-2 decision, the California Supreme Court ruled that police can search arrestees' cell phones without a warrant.
1/3/2011 Interclick Says It Will Fight Privacy Lawsuit ABC News Associated Press Interclick, the company facing a class-action lawsuit for allegedly violating Internet users' privacy, said this week it will fight the charges.
1/3/2011 McDonald's, CBS, Mazda and Microsoft Sued For 'History Sniffing'  Online Media Daily Wendy Davis A woman who recently sued a marketing company for invading her privacy has now filed suit against McDonald's, CBS, Mazda and Microsoft.
12/28/2010 Apple, app makers hit with privacy lawsuits Washington Post Lyan Q. Mui A report on recent lawsuits filed against Apple, Backflip, Dictionary.com, Pandora and the Weather Channel, among others.
12/20/2010 Google Argues Street View Cars Did Not Violate Privacy Laws  Online Media Daily Wendy Davis Google says its collection of personal data off of WiFi networks earlier this year broke no laws, and the company is asking a district court judge for dismissal of a potential class-action lawsuit related to the activity.
12/20/2010 President Obama Signs Red Flag Program Clarification Act Hunton & Williams Hunton & Williams LLP President Barack Obama has signed the Red Flag Program Clarification Act of 2010 into law, amending the Fair Credit Reporting Act and limiting the Federal Trade Commission's Identity Theft Red Flags Rule. 
12/20/2010 Will a ‘Privacy Bill of Rights’ Include the Right to Class Action Lawsuits? Forbes.com Kashmir Hill Forbes examines recent reports from the Department of Commerce and the Federal Trade Commission on consumer privacy, questioning what a "Privacy Bill of Rights for Online Consumers" would actually look like. 
12/18/2010 Connecticut Jabs Google Over Data Wall Street Journal Amir Efrati Connecticut Attorney General and U.S. Senator-Elect Richard Blumenthal says his office may take legal action against Google, Inc., based on the company's refusal to turn over personal data it inadvertently collected from WiFi networks.
12/16/2010 Commerce Deptartment seeks Web privacy enforcement Reuters Diane Bartz Reuters reports on the U.S. Commerce Department report that calls for the creation of a Commerce Department privacy office, enforceable codes of conduct for industry and a federal breach notification law. 
12/16/2010 Commerce Privacy Report calls for Privacy Principles National Journal Juliana Gruenwald The Commerce Department has released its online privacy green paper.
12/14/2010 Breaking News on EFF Victory: Appeals Court Holds that Email Privacy Protected by Fourth Amendment Electronic Frontier Foundation Kevin Bankston A Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that e-mail is protected by the Fourth Amendment and that the government must have a search warrant to intercept and read e-mails.
12/14/2010 Vermont Urges Supreme Court to Overturn Second Circuit's Medical Privacy Decision EPIC.org   The State of Vermont has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision striking down the state's prescription confidentiality law.
12/14/2010 Starbucks May Be Liable for Workers' ID Theft Risk Courthouse News Service Tim Hull The 9th Circuit Court in Seattle, WA, ruled that Starbucks employees whose names, addresses and Social Security numbers were on an unencrypted laptop stolen in 2008 have grounds to sue the company for negligence.
12/14/2010 Illinois Woman Pleads Guilty to Illegally Accessing Confidential Student Loan Files U.S. Department of Justice Press Release An Illinois woman says it was curiosity that led her to view the student loan files of hundreds of individuals while working within the Federal Student Aid Division of the Department of Education. 
12/13/2010 Evolution of Privacy Breach Litigation? Concurring Opinions Sasha Romanosky Sasha Romanosky outlines a pattern that has emerged in privacy breach litigation over the past several years.
12/11/2010 Technology Outpaces Privacy (Yet Again) New York Times Natasha Singer With a nod to the year 1890, when Samuel D. Warren and Louis D. Brandeis wrote their seminal article, "The Right to Privacy," The New York Times explores how more than one hundred years later, technological developments continue to pressure personal privacy.
12/10/2010 Connecticut attorney general demands Google's Street View data San Jose Mercury News Mike Swift Connecticut Attorney General and U.S. Senator-Elect Richard Blumenthal has subpoenaed Google to force the company to turn over the data it collected from unsecured WiFi networks earlier this year while photographing cities for its Street View feature.
12/10/2010 Senator Kerry's Senior Advisor Probes Key Insight into Forthcoming Privacy Bill Hunton & Williams Hunton & Williams LLP Information about a privacy bill to be introduced in the next congress by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA). 
12/8/2010 Video: E.U. privacy chief Reding to meet with Holder Washington Post Cecilia Kang In an interview with The Washington Post, EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding discusses guarding personal information. 
12/8/2010 Feinstein Legislation to Protect the Privacy of Social Security Numbers Heads to the President’s Desk US Sentaor Diane Feinstein Press Release The U.S. House of Representatives this week approved legislation designed to reduce identity theft by better restricting the access to and use of Social Security numbers.
12/7/2010 Beltway Battle Could Have Implications for Do-Not-Track ClickZ.com Kate Kaye A vote is expected today on the new chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and its results are "bound to have implications for online advertisers." 
12/7/2010 U.S. Bank allegedly concealed data breach Minneapolis Star Tribune Dan Browning An Arizona online merchant is seeking class-action status in U.S. District Court for its lawsuit claiming U.S. Bank failed to protect it and others from thieves who had breached the bank's credit card database.
12/7/2010 U.S. Commerce Chief Wants Standards to Aid Consumer Web Privacy Bloomberg.com Todd Shields U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said that in its soon-to-be-released report on Internet privacy, his department may propose voluntary standards or "a scheme that Congress may want to look at." 
12/6/2010 Suit to Snuff Out 'History Sniffing' Takes Aim at Tracking Web Users Wall Street Journal Jessica E. Vascerello A lawsuit filed against an adult Web site for "history sniffing" is the latest to take aim at gathering Internet users' information.
12/6/2010 EU set to talk privacy, terror with U.S. upi.com United Press UPI has reported that European officials are moving ahead with plans to approach U.S. counterparts on data protection issues. 
12/5/2010 NY sen. seeks bill to deter body scan image misuse Wall Street Journal Associated Press Although the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) maintains that full-body airport security scanners do not store travelers' images, New York Sen. Charles Schumer proposed legislation on Sunday to make illegal the distribution or recording of images taken by the scanners.
12/3/2010 State workers' birth dates will be kept private chron.com Gary Scharrer Overturning past trial and appellate court decisions, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that state employees' birthdates are private information.
12/3/2010 Policing Privacy on Web Debated Wall Street Journal Julia Angwin At a hearing on Capitol Hill, the House Energy and Commerce Committee's subcommittee on consumer protection explored the potential of a do-not-track mechanism that would let consumers opt out of targeted advertising and data collection.
12/2/2010 Courts drawing line against warrantless phone data searches? CNN Amy Gahran A report on law enforcement agencies' push to track suspects via cell phones and GPS technologies without a warrant. 
12/1/2010 Senate Passes Red Flags Exemptions Bank Info Security   The senate has approved legislation to exempt certain businesses from the Identity Theft Red Flags Rule.
12/1/2010 Europeans concerned over ongoing privacy fraud in U.S. Computerworld Andreas Udo de Haes "Sensitive data concerning European citizens and companies is not safe in the U.S., legal experts warn." 
11/30/2010 GREENSTEIN, MORIARTY & CONAWAY BILL TARGETING IDENTITY THEFT THROUGH DIGITAL COPY MACHINES MOVES FORWARD Politicker, NJ Tom Hester Legislation requiring data held on digital copy machines be destroyed before machines are resold or thrown out will now move on to the Senate Commerce Committee.
11/30/2010 Could a Do Not Track list become a reality? Marketplace   American Public Media explores plans for a do-not-track list in a text report and radio program on online privacy. 
11/30/2010 FTC Settles with Company that Failed to Tell Parents that Children's Information Would be Disclosed to Marketers Federal Trade Commission Press Release The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reached a settlement with EchoMetrix on charges it violated federal law by failing "to adequately inform parents using its Web monitoring software that information collected about their children would be disclosed to third-party marketers." 
11/30/2010 Fla sued over sale of driver's license information Miami Herald Associated Press A federal judge has approved the filing of a class-action lawsuit against the state of Florida for selling the drivers' license data of about 30 million residents to an Internet marketing company.
11/30/2010 Facebook, Zynga And Data Broker Rapleaf Named In Privacy Lawsuit Online Media Daily Wendy Davis Three companies are being sued by a Virginia resident for alleged privacy violations.
11/28/2010 Driver cams: Safety tool or the road to loss of privacy Sacramento Bee Jim Sanders A report on a new law allowing video cameras to be mounted on vehicle windshields in the name of safety.
11/23/2010 House Panel to Hold Hearing On Do-Not-Track List National Journal Juliana Gruenwald The House Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee plans to hold a hearing on December 2 to discuss whether the time has come for a law mandating the creation of an online "do-not-track" list.
11/19/2010 House Bill to Limit Scope of Red Flags Rule with Amended "Creditor" Definition : Privacy & Information Security Law Blog Hunton & Williams Hunton & Williams LLP Rep. John Adler (D-NJ) has introduced a bill to limit the scope of the FTC's Identity Theft Red Flags Rule.
11/19/2010 Federal Trade Commission privacy report expected in November Venable Stu Ingis, et al Venable LLP discusses the forthcoming Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report recommending new privacy principles for the collection and use of data for marketing and advertising purposes. 
11/18/2010 Nearly One Million LifeLock Victims to Receive Refund Checks from FTC Federal Trade Commission Press Release The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that it has begun mailing refund checks to 957,928 people who were victims of allegedly false claims made by an ID theft protection company. 
11/16/2010 New Settlement Offered In TD Ameritrade Data Theft National Public Radio Associated Press 6.2 million TD Ameritrade customers whose contact information may have been stolen in a breach more than three years ago could be eligible to receive as much as $2,500 each under a proposed settlement agreement.
11/12/2010 Proposed privacy watchdog gets mixed reviews Computerworld Grant Gross Recent reports on the push for U.S. privacy laws and the Obama Administration's plans to appoint a new privacy coordinator are receiving mixed reactions. 
11/10/2010 Genetic Nondiscrimination Rule Unveiled GovInfoSecurity Howard Anderson The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a final rule to implement Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA).
11/8/2010 California Approves Amendments to Privacy Regulations Insurance Journal   The California Office of Administrative Law has approved Department of Insurance plans to repeal portions of its privacy regulations.
11/8/2010 Insurance commissioner fines Health Net of Connecticut for information security lapses StamfordPlus.com Connecticut Insurance Department Connecticut's insurance commissioner announced yesterday that HealthNet of Connecticut agreed to provide affected members two years of credit monitoring and pay $375,000 in penalties for failures to protect their personal information.
11/8/2010 Google User Sues Over Claim Toolbar Software Violates Privacy Bloomberg.com Joel Rosenblatt A complaint filed in federal court last week alleges the world's most popular search engine has violated users' privacy rights by allegedly transmitting their Internet activity to the company. 
11/8/2010 Company Accused of Firing Over Facebook Post New York Times Steven Greenhouse The National Labor Relations Board has accused a company of illegally firing an employee after she criticized her supervisor on her Facebook page.
11/5/2010 Potential Commerce panel chairman plans aggressive oversight of FCC nextgov Juliana Gruenwald Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), who is looking to become the Energy and Commerce chairman, restated his intention to work with colleagues on moving privacy legislation.
11/5/2010 Will New Congress Alter HITECH Plans? GovInfoSecurity Kirk Nahra A report exploring the potential impact of last Tuesday's election on the HITECH Act. 
11/4/2010 Internet privacy could be priority in next Congress Washington Post Cecilia Kang With data breaches making headlines and getting more and more attention from federal regulators, Internet privacy will be a legislative priority for the next U.S. Congress. 
11/3/2010 What the US Election Results Mean for Privacy Hogan Lovells Chronicle of Data Protection Christopher Wolf Privacy itself may not have been on the ballot for the national election, but "the results may affect the prospects for privacy legislation," Christopher Wolf writes in a piece for the Hogan Lovells Chronicle of Data Protection. 
11/3/2010 Keeping Uncle Sam Out of Your Amazon Account TIME Adam Cohen The ruling that Amazon.com would not be required to hand over detailed information about its customers to the North Carolina Department of Revenue was an important win for privacy rights, but more remains to be done.
11/2/2010 Google settles Buzz privacy suit, tells users by e-mail Washington Post Cecilia Kang Google has notified its Gmail users that it has reached a settlement in a class-action suit over its Buzz social networking feature.
11/2/2010 White House Internet privacy committee puts out charter Washington Post Cecilia Kang The inter-agency committee on Internet privacy, established last month by the White House, has released a charter statement saying it will come up with a whitepaper and policy and legislative guidelines during its two-year term.
11/1/2010 DNA collection challenges privacy Pittsburgh Post Gazette Shannon Duffy At issue in United States v. Mitchell is one of the most important privacy rights decisions facing the courts.
11/1/2010 Indiana Sues Wellpoint for $300,000 for delay in data breach notification  Hunton & Williams Hunton & Williams LLP The director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection of the Federal Trade Commission provided a high-level outline of the commission's forthcoming report on the future of privacy.
11/1/2010 Analysts: Privacy bills will survive election storm The Hill Sara Jerome No matter who controls congress after the midterm elections, online privacy legislation will likely survive due to bipartisan support. 
11/1/2010 Is it legal to use Firesheep at Starbucks? Computerworld Gregg Keizer Some legal experts believe using the browser add-on Firesheep to identify users on open networks visiting unsecured Web sites and access their accounts on popular social networks and other Web sites may be against the law. 
10/29/2010 Ind. AG sues WellPoint over data breach Chicago Tribune Associated Press The Indiana attorney general's office is suing health insurance giant Wellpoint, Inc., for $300,000 for waiting months to notify customers that their medical records, credit card numbers and other sensitive information may have been exposed online.
10/29/2010 Lawmakers mixed on Amazon ruling Denver Post Tim Hoover A North Carolina court ruling could have implications on a recently passed Colorado law.
10/28/2010 Facebook lobbies California on online privacy act (but shhh -- don't tell anyone) Los Angeles Times Craig Howie A report on Facebook's quiet lobbying of California lawmakers to fight a bill that would prevent social networking sites from displaying the addresses and phone numbers of minors. 
10/27/2010 Satisfied with Google's promise to restrain Street View, FTC drops privacy-breach probe Washington Post Cecilia Kang The FTC has ended its inquiry into Google's Street View, citing the company's pledge not to gather personal information from unsecured WiFi networks.
10/26/2010 Europe and US to bang heads over data privacy Computing.co.uk Andrew Charlesworth The EU and U.S. are set to renegotiate rules governing the privacy of personal data when it is transferred between the two.
10/21/2010 Momentum Grows for Internet Privacy Legislation  ecrmguide.com Paul Shread With multiple efforts to regulate online privacy in the works, a U.S. government Internet policy official believes some form of privacy regulation is likely.
10/19/2010 Greenstein Bill to Combat Identity Theft Connected to Digital Copy Machines Advances Financial Tech Spotlight   A New Jersey Assembly panel released legislation requiring data held on digital copy machines be destroyed before the machines are re-sold or thrown out.
10/7/2010 Technology Firms Support Privacy Bill Wall Street Journal Scott Thurm Three technology companies have signaled their support of the Best Practices Act in a letter to the bill's primary author, U.S. Rep Bobby Rush (D-IL).
10/7/2010 Internet Privacy Suits Filed Against Yahoo, Others National Law Journal Greg Land Three lawsuits seeking class-action status are raising questions about how law enforcement agencies get information about Internet users without their knowledge.
10/6/2010 Privacy law and the challenge of balancing employers’ management needs with employee privacy concerns IAPP Jennifer Saunders The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing privacy questions involving NASA and whether federal employers have too much leeway when it comes to examining the private lives of employees, just as Germany is poised to review changes to its Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG). 
10/4/2010 Upcoming Supreme Court cases Los Angeles Times David G. Savage The new Supreme Court term has begun, and among the cases on the docket are key decisions related to privacy. 
10/4/2010 Suit: CVS Violating HIPAA Privacy Health Data Management Joseph Goedert Six Texas pharmacies have filed suit against CVS Caremark for alleged violations of the HIPAA privacy rule.
10/4/2010 U.S. Supreme Court's Decision in NASA Case Could Have Significant Implications For Private Employers Littler Workplace Privacy Counsel Philip L. Gordon The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in a case involving NASA and background checks for low-risk employees could have significant implications for private-sector employees.
10/3/2010 Lawmaker Proposes Boosting Penalties on Privacy Laws After Clementi Death Wyckoff Patch James Kleimann State Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Milburn) is proposing legislation to increase current privacy invasion laws in light of a recent tragedy at a New Jersey university.
10/2/2010 Special Series Wraps-Up with Look at Pending Legislation C-Span.org   CSPAN's privacy series, "The Communicators," featured a special segment on pending privacy legislation by Reps. Rick Boucher (D-VA) and Cliff Stearns (R-FL), who head up the House Commerce Subcommittee on Communications. 
9/30/2010 Measure Would Give Consumers More Control Over Web Tracking Tech Daily Dose Juliana Gruenwald Senate Commerce Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Mark Pryor (D-AR) says he is working on legislation to give consumers control over whether they are tracked online.
9/29/2010 Boucher Moving Forward On Privacy Legislation Tech Daily Dose Eliza Krigman At an event on Capitol Hill, Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) said that his online privacy legislation will be introduced early in the next congress.