In their first congressional testimony together as a full commission, the Federal Trade Commissioners expressed support for comprehensive federal privacy legislation before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security on November 27. While the focus of the hearing was primarily on privacy and data security, the Commission’s written testimony provided updates regarding other consumer protection and competition matters.
Tag: FTC
FTC Settles Fair Credit Reporting Act Action with Tenant Background Screening Company
The FTC announced a settlement with RealPage, Inc., a tenant background screening company, settling allegations that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by failing to take reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of the tenant screening information it provided to landlords and property managers.
NTIA Seeks Comment on Federal Consumer Data Privacy Approach
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) issued a Notice seeking comments on a proposed federal consumer data privacy approach. In a parallel effort, the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology is developing a voluntary privacy framework to help organizations manage risk.
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FTC Opens Comment Period in Preparation for Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century Hearings
The Federal Trade Commission has opened up public comments for their upcoming Hearings on Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century.
The hearings will take place during the fall and winter 2018 and will examine “whether broad-based changes in the economy, evolving business practices, new technologies, or international developments might require adjustments to competition and consumer protection enforcement law, enforcement priorities, and policy,” according to the FTC website. FTC Chairman Joe Simons said in a statement that the hearings are modeled after former Chairman Bob Pitofsky’s 1995 Global Competition and Innovation Hearings, which at the time “re-energized one of the FTC’s most valuable functions – to gather leaders in business, economics, law, and related disciplines to discuss tough, emerging problems and prepare public reports on the facts, issues, governing law, and the need, as appropriate, for change.”
Is There a “Tech” Bureau in the FTC’s Future?
The Federal Trade Commission has focused some of its recent public statements on technology issues and related enforcement challenges. In this blog post, I provide a recap of those statements, including one before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection.
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EU-US Privacy Shield Updates: Parliament Criticizes US Actions, and FTC Settlement with ReadyTech
There were two recent noteworthy developments related to Privacy Shield from both sides of the Atlantic.