A federal court in Missouri recently held that a restaurant’s promotional text messages did not violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) because the messaging equipment used by the restaurant did not qualify as an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) as defined by the statute. The district court noted a split between the circuit courts
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Expected changes to COPPA: bipartisan proposals and the FTC review
With newly proposed legislation, the House has joined the Senate in introducing bipartisan legislation making changes to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). This pending legislation, when combined with the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) ongoing COPPA review and workshop, foreshadows expanded COPPA protections, especially for teenagers between 13 and 15 years of age.
To…
Key takeaways from the ICO’s draft Direct Marketing Code of Practice
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office has published a draft Code of Practice on Direct Marketing, which is now out for consultation. Here we discuss the context for this and key takeaway points from its 120+ pages.
Why is the ICO publishing this document?
The ICO is required under the Data Protection Act 2018 to publish…
FTC Eyes Contact Lens Trademark Settlement Agreements
Over a spirited dissent, and in a 3-1 decision issued on November 14, the FTC Commissioners held that 1-800 Contacts violated Section 5 of the FTC Action by entering into settlement agreements with competitors that (1) harmed consumers in the online sale of contact lenses and (2) harmed search engines by artificially reducing the prices…
Reed Smith and the #SeeHer Movement
Reed Smith is pleased to announce that it is the first law firm to become a member of the #SeeHer Movement, an initiative which aims to create a more accurate portrayal of women in the media. Despite the great strides made to accurately portray women and girls in the media, there still exists an unconscious…
IBA Self-Regulatory Principles at Center of BBB Decision
Two digital advertising companies are the targets of a recent Better Business Bureau effort to enforce the industry’s self-regulatory principles. The interest-based advertising rules of the road require third parties to provide enhanced notice to consumers when collecting IBA data from non-affiliated websites, and require all companies to provide easy-to-use tools to opt out of…
What’s next for the advertising industry? Blockchain
Industries are increasingly harnessing blockchain technology in new and innovative ways. Blockchain – a digital record, or ledger, of transactions – has the potential to revolutionize the way in which we conduct business across a variety of sectors, including the advertising industry. The application of Blockchain technology in the advertising industry is in its nascent…
Squeezing the Supply Chain: Premium Publishers Align with Advertisers in Fight to Clean Up Murky Digital Media Ecosystem
Advertisers aren’t alone in their quest to clean up the digital media ecosystem—this, according to an open letter penned by Digital Content Next (DCN) CEO Jason Kint.
Kint’s letter was in response to P&G Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard’s IAB speech last month, where Pritchard drew a line in the sand regarding the quality and…