PrivacyRSS

  • April 6, 2012

    EU Hackers Would Face 2 to 5 Years Under Cyberattack Bill

    The European Parliament is backing draft legislation that would increase penalties for hackers as well as for companies that benefit from these breaches, it confirmed Thursday, in a move that aligns with the European Union’s push to harmonize divergent member state laws.

  • April 6, 2012

    4th Circ. Revives Repo Preemption Suit Against Chase

    The Fourth Circuit on Thursday revived a putative class action against JPMorgan Chase Bank NA accusing the financial giant of selling repossessed cars without providing proper notice, ruling federal regulations do not preempt Maryland's closed-end creditor provisions.

  • April 6, 2012

    Schumer Urges DOT To Require Disclosure Of Carry-On Fees

    Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., urged the U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday to require airlines to disclose carry-on baggage fees when they quote ticket prices, after a budget airline began charging customers up to $35 for the luggage.

  • April 6, 2012

    CenturyLink Accused Of Falsely Advertising Internet Speed

    Telecommunications giant CenturyLink Inc. on Wednesday was zapped with a putative class action in Florida federal court alleging it misled consumers by falsely advertising the speed of its Pure Broadband wireless Internet service.

  • April 6, 2012

    Cardholders Sue Global Payments Over Massive Data Breach

    Global Payments Inc. was slammed in Georgia on Wednesday with the first class action stemming from the massive data breach that became public in late March, after Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. began warning cardholders that their account information may have been stolen.

  • April 5, 2012

    Judge Finalizes Banks' Landmark $25B Mortgage Settlement

    A Washington federal judge on Wednesday approved the landmark $25 billion settlement between the nation's five largest mortgage servicers, the federal government and 49 state attorneys general, two months after the deal was announced to great fanfare.

  • April 5, 2012

    Alleged LulzSec Member Cops To Hacking Sony Pictures

    An alleged member of hacker group LulzSec pled guilty in California federal court Thursday to charges he helped steal confidential information from Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.'s computer systems last year.

  • April 5, 2012

    Google Defends New Privacy Safeguards To French Watchdog

    Google Inc. on Thursday argued for the lawfulness of its privacy policy in responding to less than half the questions posed by a French regulator, insisting its privacy practices aligned with those of Facebook Inc., Apple Inc. and other competitors.

  • April 5, 2012

    Dreyer's Licks Ice Cream Marketing Action In 9th Circ.

    The Ninth Circuit affirmed Thursday that a proposed class of consumers cannot claim a Nestle SA subsidiary misleadingly marketed otherwise sumptuous ice cream as containing zero trans fat per serving, since, by federal regulators' definition, it contained zero trans fat per serving.

  • April 5, 2012

    Samsung Will Scrap Some 3-D TV Claims, Ad Regulator Says

    An advertising industry self-regulator said Thursday that Samsung Electronics Inc. had agreed to pull certain certain advertising claims for its active 3-D televisions after the organization, considering a challenge from Samsung rival LG Electronics Inc., found they were unsupported.

  • April 5, 2012

    Force-Placed Policies Likely Gouge Homeowners, NY Says

    New York's Department of Financial Services said Thursday that insurers owned by three multibillion-dollar conglomerates are likely charging homeowners too-steep rates for required policies and that some could be sending those profits back to the banks that issue home loans.

  • April 5, 2012

    New Zealand Privacy Czar Backs Relaxed Info-Sharing Law

    New Zealand's privacy commissioner on Thursday threw support behind a proposed measure that would bring the country in line with American and European views on data sharing by giving public and private agencies more leeway to disclose individuals' personal information.

  • April 5, 2012

    Hartford Balks At Coverage For Hulu Privacy Suit

    Hartford Casualty Insurance Co. asked a California state court on Wednesday to excuse it from covering Hulu LLC in an underlying putative class action alleging the online video streamer illegally tracked consumers' Web surfing habits.

  • April 5, 2012

    Delta Lost Baggage Suit Grounded By Federal Law

    A Florida woman’s proposed class action against Delta Air Lines Inc. over lost baggage costs was tossed by a federal judge on Thursday, who said her consumer protection claims are preempted by the federal Airline Deregulation Act.

  • April 5, 2012

    Wolters Kluwer Unit Sued Over Tax-Refund Loan Marketing

    An online tax preparation unit of information services giant Wolters Kluwer NV was hit with a putative class action Wednesday in Illinois state court alleging it deceptively markets short-term, high-interest loans backed by security interests in customers’ anticipated tax refunds.

  • April 4, 2012

    Vertrue Blames Online Marketing Regs For Ch. 11 Filing

    Private equity-held direct marketing company Vertrue LLC and affiliates filed for Chapter 11 protection Monday, citing an Iowa court ruling that their marketing practices violated a consumer protection law and new federal rules restricting how they recruit customers online. 

  • April 4, 2012

    Judge Dishes Up Win For McDonald's In Happy Meal Dispute

    A California state judge on Wednesday tossed a putative class action accusing McDonald's Corp. of violating state consumer protection laws by using toys to market nutritionally poor Happy Meals directly to children.

  • April 4, 2012

    TD Bank Customers Score Class Cert. In Overdraft Fee Case

    A Florida federal judge granted class certification Tuesday to TD Bank NA customers alleging the bank manipulated the order of debit card transactions to maximize overdraft fees, in violation of its contracts and state consumer protection laws.

  • April 4, 2012

    BP, ConocoPhillips, Shell Strike Deal To Exit Hot Fuel MDL

    Energy giants BP PLC, ConocoPhillips and Shell Oil Co. on Wednesday exited a Kansas multidistrict litigation alleging they illegally sold fuel without revealing or accounting for temperature expansion.

  • April 4, 2012

    Ad Industry Pushes Back Against Commerce Privacy Codes

    The online advertising industry urged the U.S. Department of Commerce on Monday to steer away from creating voluntary codes of conduct for do-not-track and other technologies currently subject to industry self-regulation.