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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a joint state-and-federal initiative, “Operation Call It Quits,” which targets illegal telemarketing practices that violate the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR).

The TSR, which applies to interstate telephonic marketing communications intended to “induce the purchase of goods or services or a charitable contribution,” makes it illegal to engage in…

The New York Attorney General settled cases with five companies – Equifax, Western Union, Priceline.com, Spark Network and Credit Sesame – for having mobile apps that failed to keep sensitive user data secure when transmitted over the Internet. The companies’ mobile apps suffered from a well-known security vulnerability that could have allowed hackers to intercept…

Join our partner, Divonne Smoyer, on Tuesday, September 9, 2014 for a teleseminar featuring Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen.

Van Hollen, Wisconsin’s Attorney General since 2007, will discuss how AGs generally approach legal and policy issues and work either alone or together to resolve complex issues.
Continue Reading Reed Smith Teleseminar – Get to Know Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen

Last month, Snapchat reached a settlement with the Maryland Attorney General over alleged deceptive trade practices regarding Snapchat’s marketing claims that user “snaps” disappear forever. In addition, the Attorney General alleged that Snapchat had violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). This settlement follows a similar settlement between Snapchat and the Federal Trade Commission, which we reported on previously.

After announcing the settlement, Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler said that “despite Snapchat’s marketing claims to the contrary, no company can fully prevent content you send to someone else from being copied, shared or posted online[.]” Attorney General Gansler went on to state that companies operating online or through mobile devices have a responsibility to safeguard user privacy and to be transparent about the information they collect. According to Attorney General Gansler, Snapchat misrepresented to consumers that pictures and video messages sent using the Snapchat mobile application are only viewable temporarily, when in fact they can be captured by the recipient for future viewing or circulation. As a result of these representations, some Snapchat mobile application users may have sent pictures or video messages they would not have sent were these risks adequately disclosed. The Attorney General further alleged that Snapchat secretly collected information from users’ contact lists without their consent, and that Snapchat failed to comply with COPPA by knowingly collecting the personal information of children under the age of 13 without verifiable parental consent.
Continue Reading Snapchat Settlement with MD AG Marks Latest State-Level Privacy Enforcement Action

This post was written by Dan Jaffe.

The business community has won an important victory in a lawsuit challenging a Maine law that severely restricts the collection, transfer and use of “personal information” or “health-related information” from minors.  The Maine Attorney General has publicly committed not to enforce the law, which was scheduled to take…

The lawsuit filed in Maine to stay enforcement of a Maine privacy law targeting minors, received a hearing today in federal district court. The Maine attorney general argued that the motion for a preliminary injunction should be denied and that the case should be dismissed. MediaPost reports that Attorney General Janet Mills, having already stated…

In the face of federal disagreement as to whether the chemical bisphenol A (BPA)  threatens the health of babies and young children, several state attorneys general have taken the matter into their own hands, and have asked baby product manufacturers to stop using the controversial chemical.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, joined by the AGs…