IT Security & Privacy

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has announced a comprehensive investigative sweep, targeting businesses associated with popular streaming apps and devices. The focus of this initiative is to assess and ensure compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The Attorney General's office is issuing letters to businesses operating streaming services, alleging a failure to adhere to the CCPA's stringent regulations, particularly emphasizing the opt-out requirements for businesses engaged in the sale or sharing of consumer personal information.

The French data protection authority, CNIL, has fined Amazon France Logistique €32 million for serious violations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The penalty comes after several investigations prompted by employee complaints and media reports about the company's practices in its large warehouses.

VF Corp, the parent company overseeing renowned sneaker brand Vans, has reported a significant data breach impacting approximately 35.5 million consumers. The cybersecurity incident, identified on December 13, 2023, disrupted global customer orders through the company's e-commerce platform, causing delays in order fulfillment and resulting in the cancellation of certain product orders.

In a move towards bolstering international cooperation on privacy and data security enforcement, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has officially signed on to participate in the Global Cooperation Arrangement for Privacy Enforcement (Global CAPE). This multilateral arrangement facilitates collaboration, investigative assistance, and information-sharing among privacy authorities worldwide.

In a recent advisory, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), the French financial regulatory authority, has raised concerns about a surge in fraudulent activities involving the unauthorized use of its name. The warning is targeted at both regulated and unregulated entities under the AMF's jurisdiction, cautioning them against falling victim to sophisticated scams.

FINRA’s 2024 regulatory oversight report has emerged providing new guidance and insight regarding the emerging risk landscape, including such topics as financial crime, operational and communications risks, market integrity concerns, and financial custodianship.The report seeks to provide guidance on these themes. Providing observations, recommendations, and associated obligations across each topic. The frontrunner for these categories is cybersecurity, which FINRA asserts is critical to success in all other areas of compliance, risk management, and long-term organizational health.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued an order prohibiting data broker X-Mode Social and its successor, Outlogic, from selling sensitive location data. The decision comes in response to allegations that the companies sold precise location data that could potentially be exploited to track individuals’ visits to sensitive locations such as medical and reproductive health clinics, religious worship places, and domestic abuse shelters.