The Federal Communications Commission yesterday released a Smartphone Security Checker, a tool designed to help consumers secure their smartphones against mobile security threats. The tool provides consumers with tips that are customized for four different mobile operating systems. Many of tips focus on security-related topics. For instance, the tool recommends that consumers set a
December 2012
House Passes Updated VPPA Amendment
Continuing the flurry of activity around privacy legislation that we have seen over the past few weeks, the House today passed an amendment to the Video Privacy Protection Act (“VPPA”), 18 U.S.C. § 2710. The bill would amend the VPPA by clarifying that a consumer may consent to the disclosure of her video viewing information…
FTC to Study Data Broker Industry’s Collection and Use of Consumer Data
Less than a week after the Bi-Partisan Congressional Caucus’s briefing on data brokers and privacy, the Federal Trade Commission has issued orders requiring nine data brokerage companies to provide the agency with information about how they collect and use data about consumers. The nine data brokers receiving orders from the FTC were: Acxiom, Corelogic, Datalogix,…
FCC Proposes Requiring Emergency Information On Secondary Audio Stream
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently proposed requiring that when broadcast television stations or cable/satellite companies display emergency information visually during non-news programming, they must provide the same information aurally on a “secondary” audio stream. When viewers tune to a channel, they ordinarily hear the primary audio stream; the secondary audio stream can be used to provide…
New ITU Regulations Face En-Masse Rejection
The United States, along with the UK, Canada, and a host of other states, has refused to sign an updated International Telecommunications Regulations treaty at the International Telecommunication Union’s World Conference on International Communications (WCIT-12) in Dubai, citing concerns over treaty provisions related to Internet security and spam, as well as a resolution envisioning a…
5th Circuit Rules That Cell Phones Are Not “Facilities” Under SCA
Yesterday the Fifth Circuit ruled in Garcia v. City of San Laredo that personal cell phones are not “facilities” under the Stored Communications Act (SCA), agreeing with a growing number of courts that have reached the same conclusion. In reaching this decision, the court rejected the claim of plaintiff Garcia, a former police dispatcher for…
Poetic Ethics (Not To Be Confused with Ethical Poetry)
Last week, the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) issued a memorandum with a reminder about executive branch ethics rules governing holiday gifts and fundraising. There is nothing unusual about guidance like this—late last month, for example, the House Ethics Committee issued one for House members and staff—but OGE’s guidance stands out for its poetic formulation:…
New Push for Donor Disclosure in New York
By Derek Lawlor
The New York Attorney General proposed today a broad plan requiring nonprofit organizations involved in New York state elections to disclose the nonprofit’s donors and electoral advocacy activity. This proposed rule comes on the heels of a new rule in New York requiring organizations that lobby to disclose certain donors. The AG’s proposed rule, however,…
New Jersey Restricts Colleges’ Access to Students’ Personal Accounts, Considers Similar Protections for Employees
New Jersey earlier this month became the latest state to bar college and university officials from demanding access to students’ or applicants’ personal online accounts. Gov. Chris Christie signed the law, which takes effect immediately, on Dec. 3. Under the new law, which applies to public and private higher-education institutions, schools cannot require a student…
Are the Educational and Adoption Assistance Tax Exclusions Going to Expire?
By Inside Jobs
Regardless of how the so-called fiscal cliff is “resolved” – and whether this occurs before the end of 2012 – the expiration of educational assistance and adoption assistance tax provisions at the end of this year is already causing headaches for employers who provide (or hope to provide) their employees with these tax-advantaged benefits. However,…