A recent study found that some data brokers are selling highly sensitive data relating to consumers’ mental health conditions on the open market with minimal vetting of their customers and few controls on how these purchasers use the data. The study, conducted by a researcher at Duke University’s Technology Policy Lab, found that 11 out
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Privacy Tip #356 – GoodRx Settles with FTC for Sharing Health Information for Advertising
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on February 1, 2023 that it has settled, for $1.5M, its first enforcement action under its Health Breach Notification Rule against GoodRx Holdings, Inc., a telehealth and prescription drug provider.
According to the press release, the FTC alleged that GoodRx failed “to notify consumers and others of its unauthorized…
Social Media Enables Social Engineering Scams
The more one uses and shares on social media, the more information is publicly available for cyber attackers to use to exploit users’ personal and professional information.
It is hard for people to realize that every single thing shared on any social media platform is available for friends and foes alike to access and use.…
California AG Announces CCPA Compliance Efforts
The Office of the California Attorney General recently announced that it will initiate an investigative sweep and will start sending letters to businesses about their mobile apps for failure to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). There is also a new online tool that allows consumers to directly notify a business of an…
World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook for 2023 Is Bleak
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but remember that I am only the messenger. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 23 Insight Report (published in collaboration with Accenture), although business leaders are more aware of the risk of cyber issues to their organizations, there remain challenges on how organizations are…
Privacy Tip #355 – Avoid Employment Offer Scams
In response to a rash of employment offer scams, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently issued a scam alert intended to educate job seekers so they can avoid being victimized.
Not only are individuals subject to these scams, but legitimate businesses are spoofed and used to conduct the scams and they only find that out…
Chick-Fil-A Sued for Sharing Data through Meta Pixel
While plaintiffs’ attorneys were initially focused late last year on suing health care entities for using Pixel and other tracking technology to share information about website users with social media platforms such as Meta (formerly Facebook), they are now eyeing other industries, including the fast food industry.
This week, a class action complaint was filed…
T-Mobile Sued for Data Breach of 37 Million Records
On January 22, 2023, T-Mobile was sued in federal court in California alleging negligence, unjust enrichment, breach of express contract, breach of implied contract, and invasion of privacy over the recently-disclosed data breach of more than 37 million postpaid and prepaid customer records.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff was informed just two days…
We Might Be Close to Final CPRA Regulations, with More to Come
The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) Board will hold its third public hearing on February 3, 2023, at 10 am PST.
The meeting will open with the Chairperson’s Update, during which CPPA Chairperson Jennifer Urban will likely address the status of the delayed California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) regulations. Chairperson Urban is also a Clinical…
Privacy Tip #354 – Scammers Use Weather Emergencies Against Victims
It has been difficult to watch the extreme weather patterns that have been happening around the U.S. over the past few months. Fires and torrential rainstorms in California, tornadoes down south, blizzards in the Midwest and New York, and a devastating hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. It is heartbreaking to see the devastation and…