The FTC gave final approval to the Venmo/PayPal settlement resolving alleged violations of Section 5 of the FTC Act and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act’s Privacy and Safeguards Rules. As described in a previous blog post, the FTC alleged that Venmo made a variety of misrepresentations to consumers with respect to the availability of funds, the ability of consumers to control the privacy of their transactions, and its data security practices. Continue reading “FTC Gives Final Approval to PayPal Settlement Related to Allegations Involving its Venmo Payment Service”
Author: Discerning Data Editorial Board
Eleventh Circuit Vacates FTC LabMD Order but Does Not Challenge FTC Authority
The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit vacated the LabMD Federal Trade Commission order but did not challenge the Commission’s ability to use its unfairness authority to challenge inadequate data security practices in a closely watched case that tested the commission’s enforcement powers.
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Vermont First State to Pass Data Broker Law
Vermont lawmakers recently passed a first-of-its-kind data broker law, which protects consumers from credit freeze fees, data fraud and clarifies data security requirements.
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Massive Data Breach Exposes 500,000 Patients’ Medical Records
LifeBridge Health in Maryland is the most recent health system to have its patient records impermissibly accessed through a malware cyberattack. Indication of an attack was first detected in March 2018, upon which the hospital hired a national forensic firm to investigate the attack and determined that an unauthorized person had accessed LifeBridge’s server in September 2016.
Continue reading “Massive Data Breach Exposes 500,000 Patients’ Medical Records”
FTC Warns Two Foreign-Based App Developers of Possible COPPA Violations
The FTC staff recently sent two warning letters to Gator Group Co., Ltd., and Tinitell, Inc., which marketed mobile apps directed to children and appear to be violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The FTC warning letters were also sent to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, which make the apps available to consumers.
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CMS Proposed Rule, Rebranding of Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records Incentives Program Shifts Focus to Interoperability and Patient Access
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released its Proposed Rule that, in major part, rebrands the previously known Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentives Program into the Promoting Interoperability Program. The rebrand shifts the focus of the program to ensure that providers facilitate patient access to their own health data, and limit the burden on health care providers when it comes to monitoring clinical care using health technology.