Publications
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06.15.2023Texas Becomes Latest State to Address Kids’ Privacy and Safety OnlineBlogsTexas has become the latest state to impose age-related privacy and safety restrictions on online service providers, joining Arkansas, California, Florida, and Utah. Signed by Governor Greg Abbott on June 13, 2023, the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act is scheduled to go into effect on September 1, 2024, and will require digital service providers to “register” the age of potential users at account creation and implement a series of privacy and safety controls for known minors.
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03.13.2023Northern District of Illinois Clarifies Standards for Tower DumpsBlogsThe U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently found that in order for cell tower warrants to be supported by probable cause and satisfy Fourth Amendment concerns, they must include protocols limiting the government’s collection of information from individuals not involved in the underlying criminal activity.
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08.07.2020CFAA Decision May Raise Bar on Scraping LiabilityArticlesAs scraping and crawling of websites becomes more ubiquitous, courts continue to struggle with where to draw the lines regarding what is permissible. This can be a highly fact-intensive inquiry, but a recent case before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia provides some important takeaways.
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08.20.2019Workshop Marks Start of FTC Interest in Gaming 'Loot Boxes'Articles
Law360
On Aug. 7, the Federal Trade Commission held a full-day workshop titled "Inside the Game." It addressed consumer protection issues regarding video game "loot boxes" — randomized or surprise in-game virtual rewards that players buy or earn. -
04.19.2019What We Heard At The FTC Hearings: Days 20 And 21Articles
Law360
On April 9 and 10, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission focused on the agency’s approach to consumer privacy at the 12th hearing in its “Hearings on Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century” series. The hearing occurred at a potentially pivotal time with respect to the regulation of consumer privacy in the United States.
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12.05.2018The Issues Framing NIST's Privacy FrameworkArticles
Law360
On Nov. 29, 2018, the National Institute of Standards and Technology held a webinar to solicit feedback on the Privacy Framework that it is developing. The NIST Privacy Framework will be a voluntary, risk-based management tool for public- and private-sector stakeholders aimed to address privacy risks, including the risks inherent in new technologies such as the “internet of things, blockchain and artificial intelligence.
Blogs
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Texas Becomes Latest State to Address Kids’ Privacy and Safety Online
Texas has become the latest state to impose age-related privacy and safety restrictions on online service providers, joining Arkansas, California, Florida, and Utah. Signed by Governor Greg Abbott on June 13, 2023, the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act is scheduled to go into effect on September 1, 2024, and will require digital... -
Northern District of Illinois Clarifies Standards for Tower Dumps
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently found that in order for cell tower warrants to be supported by probable cause and satisfy Fourth Amendment concerns, they must include protocols limiting the government’s collection of information from individuals not involved in the underlying criminal activity. In In re Application for Tower... -
Video Game Loot Boxes: FTC Workshop on the Role of Virtual Rewards in Game Play
On August 7, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission convened an all-day workshop to discuss consumer protection issues associated with “loot boxes”—randomized virtual items players can purchase or earn in video games. While the production cost of video games has increased significantly, the average price of console games has largely not changed since the 1970s, and... -
SCOTUS: Private Entities Operating Forums for Speech Are Not State Actors
Against the background of lawsuits and debate about the role of communications service providers in moderating speech on their platforms, the U.S. Supreme Court has weighed in, affirming that private entities that host forums for speech are not state actors subject to constitutional requirements. The Decision In a 5-4 decision by Justice Kavanaugh, the Court...