USA

FTC Investigates Surveillance Pricing Practices

Enforcement, FTC |

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued orders to eight companies to gather detailed information on surveillance pricing practices. These companies, including Mastercard and JPMorgan Chase, use personal data such as browsing history and credit scores to set individualized prices for goods and services. The FTC aims to understand the impact of these practices on privacy, competition, and consumer protection. Chair Lina M. Khan emphasized the risks to consumer privacy and potential price exploitation. The investigation uses the FTC’s 6(b) authority to conduct comprehensive studies without specific law enforcement purposes.

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DOJ Accuses TikTok of Data Misuse on Sensitive Topics

Enforcement, TikTok |

The U.S. Department of Justice accused TikTok of gathering and sharing U.S. user data on contentious issues like abortion and gun control with its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. Court documents reveal that TikTok used an internal system called Lark to communicate and transfer sensitive data to ByteDance employees in China. The DOJ argues that TikTok’s data handling practices pose significant national security risks and could allow for covert content manipulation by the Chinese government. TikTok disputes these claims, asserting that the potential ban would violate the First Amendment. This case is part of a broader legal battle over TikTok’s future in the U.S.

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FCC and TracFone Settle $16 Million Fine Over Data Breaches

Enforcement |

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced a settlement with TracFone Wireless Inc., resolving investigations into three significant data breaches. The breaches, occurring between January 2021 and January 2023, exposed customers’ personal information due to vulnerabilities in application programming interfaces (APIs). The settlement includes a $16 million penalty and mandates comprehensive security measures, such as improved API security, SIM change and port-out protections, and regular security assessments.

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Texas $1.4 Bil­lion Set­tle­ment with Meta Over Its Unau­tho­rized Cap­ture of Per­son­al Bio­met­ric Data

Enforcement, Meta |

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has achieved a massive $1.4 billion settlement with Meta for unauthorized capture and use of biometric data from millions of Texans. This is the largest settlement obtained by a single US state, surpassing the $390 million Google settlement in 2022. The case was brought under Texas’s “Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier” Act (CUBI), marking its first successful lawsuit and settlement. Paxton’s office sued Meta in February 2022 for using facial recognition software without proper consent, violating CUBI and the Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The settlement will be paid over five years.

Texas $1.4 Bil­lion Set­tle­ment with Meta Over Its Unau­tho­rized Cap­ture of Per­son­al Bio­met­ric Data Read More »

Oracle’s $115 Million Settlement in Consumer Privacy Lawsuit

Enforcement |

Oracle has agreed to a $115 million settlement in a consumer privacy lawsuit dating back to 2018. The lawsuit alleged that Oracle generated $42.5 billion annually by secretly creating and selling detailed dossiers on millions of people, including non-users. These dossiers, created through direct tracking and data purchases, included personal and sensitive information. The settlement, applying to data collected from August 19, 2018, mandates Oracle to cease specific data collection practices. Approximately 220 million people are impacted, with the law firm involved seeking $28 million in fees.

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