IAPP Westin Research Center

(Jan 16, 2017) Since the spring of 2013, when Chairwoman Edith Ramirez began her tenure at the Federal Trade Commission, the FTC has brought numerous enforcement actions to enforce privacy promises and improve data security practices. With Chairwoman Ramirez at its helm, the FTC has described its activities as targeting its enforcement practices to ensure that new technological developments — including big data, mobile devices, and IoT — advance in a way that respects consumer privacy. Last week, Ramirez anno... Read More

(Dec 15, 2016) The United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Spokeo v. Robins last May aimed to clarify standing requirements for privacy-related class-action lawsuits under Article III of the U.S. Constitution. Specifically, Spokeo brought to the foreground two key points: that particularization and concreteness are distinct but necessary standing requirements, and that a concrete harm may be either tangible or intangible to meet Article III standing. Particularization and concreteness have featured in class-a... Read More

(Nov 14, 2016) With Washington still reeling from the implications of a Trump administration for privacy and antitrust regulation by the Federal Trade Commission, a U.S. federal appeals court has dealt a blow to the agency’s interpretation of the “unfairness” prong of the Federal Trade Commission Act. In a ruling issued last Thursday, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held in LabMD, Inc. v. FTC that in cases of a security breach, mere emotional harm and acts causing only a low likelihood of consumer harm ... Read More

(Aug 22, 2016) If a tree falls in the woods and there’s no one around to hear it, does it make a sound? According to the Federal Trade Commission, yes it does. In its recent LabMD ruling, the FTC found that the mere fact that sensitive medical records were publicly available, without any evidence that consumers suffered any adverse effects or were even aware of the breach, was enough to support a finding of substantial consumer injury. In so finding, the LabMD decision offers the most detailed portrait yet of ... Read More

(Apr 19, 2016) The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into effect in the spring of 2018, replacing the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC and imposing new obligations on organizations that process the personal data of European Union residents. While the Regulation aims to bolster privacy rights, it arrives as a centerpiece of the EU Digital Single Market, an initiative designed to boost digital innovation within the EU. By harmonizing privacy legislation across the EU member states and carvin... Read More