Archive for September 2014
Report Reveals that the Majority of Apps on Market Ignore Privacy Concerns
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that apps on the market overall are not providing users with even basic privacy protections. The report focused on research conducted by the Global Privacy Enforcement Network, which is a coalition of privacy officials from 19 countries, including the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, and determined that 60% of…
Read MoreCalifornia Notifies App-Based Ride Service Uber and Competitors that Service is Illegal
The big story on the Internet today is about the new app-based ride service Uber: California regulators have just notified Uber and its competitors, Lyft and Sidecar, that the services are illegal under California law. An article by Forbes Contributor Mark Rogowsky offers a fairly comprehensive explanation of California’s problem with these services. Apparently the…
Read MoreCalifornia Adopts Smartphone Kill Switch Law
California has just enacted a smartphone kill switch law, which will require all smartphones sold in the state of California as of July, 2015, to have kill switch features enabled as the default settings on the smartphone. SB 962 requires all smartphones: manufactured on or after July 1, 2015, and sold in California after that…
Read MoreCalifornia Governor Signs Bill Prohibiting Nondisparagement Clauses in Consumer Contracts
California has just added a new type of clause to the list of clauses that violate public policy in the state: the non-disparagement clause. Governor Jerry Brown has just signed AB 2365, which prohibits companies from including nondisparagement clauses in consumer contracts, including online terms of service. The bill–nicknamed the “Yelp” bill–prohibits now the inclusion…
Read MoreFTC Settlement with Google to Require Refund of Unauthorized In-App Charges
The Federal Trade Commission has announced that Google has agreed to refund customers’ unauthorized in-app purchases made by their children in the Google Play Store pursuant to a settlement over a complaint filed by the Commission alleging violations of Section 5(a) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 45(a) prohibiting unfair or defective acts or…
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