UDAP Laws
We advise clients on Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act and similar state-level "unfair and deceptive" trade practice laws, helping clients to ensure that their public representations match their practices. We represent companies accused of making deceptive statements with respect to their advertising practices or engaging in "unfair" advertising activities. We also help our clients understand how FTC rulemaking, enforcement actions, and public statements affect their business.

State Consumer Privacy Laws
Nearly half of U.S. states now impose rigorous requirements on companies involved in the ad tech ecosystem, ranging from publishers to advertisers to their intermediaries. We have counseled companies of all sizes through this rapid transformation of the privacy legal landscape, which began with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in 2020 and has proliferated since. We advise companies on the core obligations imposed by these laws, including providing required notices and opt-outs and operationalizing data subject rights when processing only pseudonymized identifiers. We also counsel on issues related to processing sensitive data for advertising purposes, helping clients avoid such processing or obtain required consents. We regularly defend companies in regulatory inquiries brought under these state consumer privacy laws, many of which focus on advertising-related uses and disclosures of personal information. We use our knowledge of technology to help regulators understand our clients' practices and to bring our clients into full compliance with the law.

Health Privacy Laws
Beginning with Washington's My Health My Data Act (MHMD), states have increasingly imposed obligations on companies that collect, use, and disclose broadly defined notions of "consumer health data" that could be read to include, for instance, cookie or device IDs tied to certain browsing or purchase information. MHMD, unlike many U.S. privacy laws, is backed by a private right of action, raising the stakes for compliance in this somewhat uncharted area. We work with clients to mitigate risk under these laws, and we are defending the first claim brought under MHMD.

Data Broker Laws
States continue to impose detailed and onerous obligations on companies that operate as "data brokers." A new federal law, the Protecting Americans’ Data From Foreign Adversaries Act also regulates "data brokers." While defined differently in each law, the broad scope of the term under many of the data broker laws can sweep in unsuspecting companies. We work with companies to assess risk of being considered a data broker and counsel them on how to comply with relevant obligations. We also represent companies when they are accused of failing to comply with data broker requirements.

Child and Teen Privacy
State and federal regulators are increasingly focused on advertising to children and teens. Any company that collects personal data from kids or teens now assumes additional compliance obligations and must be prepared for regulator questions concerning their advertising practices. Building on our long history of advising and defending companies on claims brought under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) concerning allegations of using children's data for advertising purposes, we work with companies to ensure that their practices comply both with COPPA and with proliferating state laws governing teens' personal information.

Regulatory Counseling and Enforcement Actions/Investigations
We regularly represent companies before the FTC and state attorneys general concerning their advertising practices and collection, use, and sharing of personal information to power those practices. These investigations have addressed issues such as marketing statements, the collection and use of personal information and disclosures to consumers regarding marketing and advertising practices and choices, the collection and use of geolocation information, and how to allocate responsibility among participants in online and mobile advertising technologies.

Class-Action Litigation
Regulatory investigations often lead to, or are simultaneous with, class-action litigation involving claims based on privacy policy statements, consumer protection laws prohibiting deceptive or unfair practices, collection and disclosure of user information, and wiretap laws. We regularly defend companies in these claims, using our knowledge of the industry, relevant technology, and legal landscape. Our team has a strong track record of resolving disputes and investigations efficiently, minimizing disruption to your business.

Policy
We help clients advocate for sensible changes to proposed regulations issued pursuant to various state and federal privacy laws, aiming to help protect consumers and respect legislative goals, while not unduly burdening businesses. We assist companies that submit comments and proposals in their own name as well as coordinated efforts through trade associations and similar organizations.

Transactions & Diligence
The ad tech ecosystem brings with it unique challenges in contracting with other parties. Ensuring the best representation of clients in this space requires deep knowledge of relevant technology and standard market practices, as well as a firm grasp on the changing legal landscape. We bring this experience to our clients as we help them negotiate everything from day-to-day insertion orders using the Interactive Advertising Bureau's standard terms to high-stakes advertising and platform deals and in both buy-side and sell-side deals and mergers and acquisitions due diligence.