Insider Whistleblower Blasts Facebook to Senate, Says Company Needs to “Declare Moral Bankruptcy”

The U.S. Senate heard explosive testimony today from Frances Haugen, an ex-Facebook insider who detailed the company's manifest failures in protecting teens and other users from serious and pervasive problems within Facebook's different platforms, including Instagram. Ms. Haugen focused her testimony on the cascade of ways in which the social media behemoth actively harms younger

2021-10-05T18:07:55+00:00October 5th, 2021|Digital Privacy & Data Security, Public Good|

Plaid Inc. Agrees to $58 Million Settlement in Consumer Privacy Case

Reuters reports that FinTech firm Plaid Inc. has agreed to pay $58 million to settle allegations that it improperly obtained and profited from user bank account credentials and personal financial information. The company also agreed to change certain of its business practices, according to public filings made in California.

2021-08-10T18:11:01+00:00August 10th, 2021|Consumer Fraud, Digital Privacy & Data Security|

Douglas Cuthbertson Talks to TIME About New Heightened Security and Privacy Concerns Surrounding the TikTok App

As reported by TIME, data privacy experts are voicing concerns over a recent change made to TikTok’s U.S. privacy policy allowing the increasingly popular media app to collect users biometric data, including “faceprints” and “voiceprints.” The change will affect over 100 million Americans who use TikTok every month.

2021-06-16T16:47:24+00:00June 16th, 2021|Digital Privacy & Data Security, Firm News|

Settlement Receives Final Approval in Disney/Viacom/Kiloo Child Privacy Violations Lawsuit

As reported by The New York Times, a judge has granted final approval to the settlement between Disney, Viacom, Kiloo and other gaming companies and parents who accused them of violating child privacy protection laws by collecting and selling personal identifying information of children who used their child-focused mobile apps. The lawsuits alleged the media giants

2021-05-10T22:43:47+00:00April 13th, 2021|Digital Privacy & Data Security|

Court Rejects Google’s Attempt to Get Child Privacy Lawsuit Dismissed

As reported by Law360 (subscription), on February 3, 2021, a New Mexico federal judge denied Google’s attempt to dismiss children’s privacy law violation claims against it which were initiated by New Mexico’s attorney general, who accused the internet goliath of facilitating the malicious harvesting of children’s personal info, including physical location, via apps and games,

2021-05-10T23:35:31+00:00February 4th, 2021|Digital Privacy & Data Security|

Proposed Settlement Reached in Disney and Viacom Child Privacy Violation Lawsuits

As reported by Law360 (subscription), on Wednesday, August 6, 2020, Disney, Viacom, Kiloo and other gaming companies reached a proposed settlement agreement with parents who accused them of violating child privacy protection laws by collecting and selling personal identifying information of children who used their child-focused mobile apps. The lawsuits allege the media giants collected kid’s

2020-08-07T11:50:22+00:00August 7th, 2020|Digital Privacy & Data Security|

New Data Theft Class Action by Users of Venmo, Stripe, and Other Payment Platforms Against Plaid Alleges Violations of Data Privacy Laws

As reported by Law360 (subscription), Lieff Cabraser has filed a class action lawsuit in federal court in California alleging that financial tech start up Plaid Inc. stole Venmo and Stripe users’ personal banking data and sold that data to third party apps without the users’ consent in violation of federal and state privacy laws. Plaid,

Federal Judge in New Mexico Denies Motion to Dismiss Twitter Child Privacy Violations Lawsuits

As reported by Law360, U.S. District Judge Martha Vazquez has issued an order denying an attempt by Twitter and children’s app developer Tiny Lab, along with multiple advertising company partners, to dismiss claims that the companies secretly collected kid’s location data and personal information in violation of child privacy laws.

2020-03-25T12:28:35+00:00March 25th, 2020|Digital Privacy & Data Security|

Google Street View Privacy Violations Lawsuit $13m Settlement Receives Final Approval

As reported by Law360, U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer has granted final approval to a $13 million settlement over Google’s illegal gathering of network data via its Street View vehicle fleet. Given the difficulties of assessing precise individual harms, the innovative settlement, which is intended in part to disincentivize companies like Google from future

2020-03-20T10:29:05+00:00March 20th, 2020|Digital Privacy & Data Security|

Ninth Circuit Upholds Facebook Settlement in Message Scanning User Privacy Violations Lawsuit

At a March 3rd hearing, the Ninth Circuit Court of appeals upheld a class action settlement resolving claims over Facebook’s allegedly inappropriate collection of data from users’ private messages and then profits by improperly sharing that information with third parties in violation of U.S. privacy laws. The court rejected an argument made by a single

2020-03-04T12:41:43+00:00March 4th, 2020|Digital Privacy & Data Security|