Articles Posted in Privacy

In a 33-1 vote, on May 13, the state Senate approved Senator Mark Leno’s bill that would require state law enforcement officials to obtain a search warrant before asking service providers to disclose the contents of their customers’ emails. This approval came after Senator Leno agreed to allow for an exemption to the warrant requirement if evidence is at risk of being destroyed or if the individual consents to law enforcement reading his or her emails. Senator Leno, at the hearing, argued that “What this bill will do is one consistent, clear, clean, reasonable policy, which says before any of our emails can be accessed by law enforcement, a warrant will be needed.” S.B. 467 will now head to the California Assembly for review.

California Senator Mark Leno recently introduced Senate Bill 467, a bill that would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation prohibiting a government entity from obtaining the contents of a  wire or electronic communication from a provider of electronic communication service or remote computing service. California Penal Code § 1524 authorizes a court or magistrate to issue a warrant for the search of a place and the seizure of property or things identified in the warrant where there is probable cause to believe that specified grounds exist, and also provides for a warrant procedure for the acquisition of stored communications in the possession of a provider of electronic communication service or remote computing service. Specifically, a search warrant may be issued pursuant to Subsection (a)(7) “[w]hen a provider of electronic communication service or remote computing service has records or evidence, as specified in Section 1524.3, showing that property was stolen or embezzled constituting a misdemeanor, or that property or things are in the possession of any person with the intent to use them as a means of committing a misdemeanor public offense, or in the possession of another to whom he or she may have delivered them for the purpose of concealing them or preventing their discovery.” If a search warrant is granted, Section 1524.3 requires the disclosure of the name, address, local and long distance telephone toll billing records, telephone number or other subscriber number or identity, and length of service of a subscriber to or customer of the services, and the types of services the subscriber or customer utilized. Under existing law, a governmental entity receiving subscriber records or information under this Section 1524.3 is not required to provide notice to a subscriber or customer.  S.B. 467 has been referred to the Committee on Rules for assignment.

Why do you need to act urgently even if you feel your data handling is compliant?

If you are a US headquartered company do you need to bother with these new EU laws and significant changes proposed?

2013 has already seen the frenetic pace of change from last year continue regarding new data laws and fines that will affect how all companies, regardless of business sector, use employee or customer data. The European Union, confirmed in the January 2013 Albrecht report, is indeed planning to dramatically amend its EU Data Protection Directive with a new Regulation.

This will tackle recent developments in social media, mobile apps and cloud computing as well as deal with a perceived serious lack of compliance thus far, particularly over use of customer data, lack of proper consents and more invasive marketing and advertising.

Some were hoping that after much discussion and lobbying some of the more serious proposals might be further watered down or deleted, such as the “nuclear” 2% of global turnover/revenue fine for serious breaches of EU data law. However, the recent report from the EU Parliament’s Jan Philipp Albrecht confirms the perceived need for even tougher fine levels and more aggressive enforcement. This is all on top of recent changes which saw fines dramatically increased in a number of EU countries, for example in the UK with new powers to issue fines of up to £500,000 (approx $800,000) per breach, and increased fine levels being pursued in France, Spain and so on. These major fines are not theoretical or proposals. They have already come into force and are being used. The “nuclear” option will be in addition.

Other hopes from some in industry that new proposed rights such as that “to be forgotten” might fade away were also dashed. Businesses will have to consider seriously what the impact will be of such changes and also note that such proposals have also highlighted existing requirements, such as not holding onto data for longer than necessary, which are already law and which enforcers are looking to more closely. This, along with the new Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs) for data processors that took effect on 1 January 2013, are just some of the recent changes with respect to privacy in the EU that need immediate attention and consideration even if the business is not EU based.

This week many stakeholders are meeting in Washington DC to take part in a major conference (as is your author) on such issues and it will be interesting to see if the feedback from industry sessions makes its way into deliberations and further fine tuning of the proposed new Regulation. Some further twists and turns are likely but the core new elements will almost certainly not be going away. What is certain is that companies cannot assume they are fully on top of what is arguably the fastest moving area of the law currently. A review of where the business is now and identification of what needs addressing is without doubt a current business imperative.

This blog was originally posted in Pillsbury’s SourcingSpeak blog.

  A weekly wrap up of interesting news about virtual worlds, virtual goods and other social media.

Path Inc. to Settle Charges Over Collecting Kids’ Data
Path Inc., a maker of a popular social networking app, agreed to an $800,000 settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over charges it collected children’s personal information without their parents’ consent, regulators said Friday.

Feds Urge App Makers, Mobile Operating Systems to Do Better On Privacy
The Federal Trade Commission on Friday issued a list of recommendations of how those who make mobile software can do a better job of protecting user’s privacy and making clear what information is being collected.

What the Proposed Apps Act Would Mean for App Developers
Mobile applications have been the subject of a lot of recent attention during the past several months. Back in the fall of 2012, California Attorney General Kamala Harris warned app developers of the need to disclose their privacy practices in order to comply with California’s Online Privacy Protection Act and shortly thereafter commenced an action against Delta Airlines for its failure to have displayed a privacy policy on its app.

Fed. Circ. Aims For Clear Rules On Software Patents
A case set for oral arguments before the full Federal Circuit on Friday has the potential to provide much-needed clarity on when inventions implemented using a computer are eligible for a patent, attorneys said.

Brazil: The Social Media Capital of the Universe
Brazil’s expanding middle class is increasingly growing online, and social media are particularly popular because of Brazil’s hyper-social culture, social-media executives say.

Is Online Gambling Legal If Bitcoins, Not Dollars, Are At Stake?
With no government ties, Bitcoin is used to buy everything from blogging services to Brooklyn-made cupcakes. Theoretically, millions of dollars are being kept in the digital currency, and it’s increasingly being used by specialized online gambling websites. But is Bitcoin gambling legal?

On January 10, 2013, the President signed the Video Privacy Protection Act Amendments Act of 2012 into law. The 2013 Act amends the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988 (18 USC 2710), which prohibited the sharing or disclosure of video rental history.

The 1988 Act was prompted due to the release of then Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork’s video rental history. Although there was nothing illicit in Bork’s video rentals, Congress noted the ease with which the information was located and disclosed.

The 1988 Act did not allow for the customer to consent in advance to the disclosure of rental history, rather, informed, written consent had to be obtained each and every time “at the time” of the disclosure.

The New Act now allows sharing of video rental history as long as informed, written consent is received from the customer, including by electronic means such as over the Internet. Notably, this consent must be in a “distinct and separate” form from any other legal or financial obligations. The consent may be given in advance and for a period of up to 2 years, or until it is withdrawn from the consumer.

The enforcement provisions of the 1988 Act remain in full force. Thus, any failure to properly follow the new informed consent requirements could lead to statutory damages of not less than $2,500 per person, attorneys’ fees and costs, punitive damages, and equitable relief.

  A weekly wrap up of interesting news about virtual worlds, virtual goods and other social media.

Bait and Switch? @TextInstagram Transfers Followers to Personal Account
The creator of viral parody Twitter handle @TextInstagram is in hot water after he transformed the account into a personal account, @JoshHelfferich. 

Twitter Tweaks Developers With Tough Rules
Twitter introduced new rules for developers who create applications that rely on Twitter data, provoking disappointment and condemnation among those who write code.

OnLive assets sold to new company, service will continue
Cloud gaming pioneer OnLive has confirmed that its assets have been sold to a newly-formed company with “substantial backing.” OnLive will continue to operate its gaming and desktop streaming services and supports its current partnerships, the company said in a statement.

California Social Media Privacy Bill Would Put New Restrictions On Employers
Employers are tricky: many increasingly require applicants to turn over their social media passwords so they can take a look at interviewees’ profiles. Earlier this week, the state of California took moves to outlaw this practice when the state senate unanimously voted for a bill banning employers from demanding access to the social media profiles of both job applicants and current employees as well as barring retaliation if such requests are denied.

Kixeye Poaches CityVille GM Patmore From Zynga to be VP of Product
Zynga’s tanking stock price is everyone else’s gain. Kixeye, the iconoclastic, midcore Facebook gaming company, just hired away the general manager of CityVille, Alan Patmore, to be its vice president of product. It’s a score for the company at a time when the entire social gaming industry is in flux.

Applifier’s Everyplay, Which Lets Mobile Gamers Share Glory, Attracts Interest From 100 Developers
Applifier, a Helsinki and San Francisco-based mobile-social gaming network, added a lot more richness to its user experience this week with Everyplay, a way for gamers to share and replay their greatest moments. Everyplay lets gamers share their favorite titles by recording and replaying sessions of games — like a time they might have gotten a high score.