consent

Subscribe to consent

On April 30, 2018, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released for public comment an administrative complaint and proposed consent agreement with mobile phone manufacturer BLU Products Inc. and its owner and president. Although the FTC has entered into many settlements relating to privacy and data security, this proposed settlement is particularly noteworthy for two reasons: (1) the FTC allegation that a company’s failure to implement appropriate security procedures to oversee a vendor’s security practices (including a lack of vendor due diligence) can violate Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act; and (2) the proposed remedy includes a separate notice and affirmative opt-in consent relating to collection, use, and sharing of certain consumer information. BLU does not admit or deny any of the FTC’s allegations.

On March 2, 2017, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) published its draft General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) consent guidance, and called for comments on the guidance. The consultation is open until March 31, 2017. The ICO will issue final guidance in May 2017.

The guidance is detailed, and references the various GDPR Articles and recitals and previous Article 29 Working Party opinions on which it is based. The guidance is also conservative and keen to emphasize the heightened consent requirements that the GDPR mandates (over and above the current data protection law), particularly in the UK.

On 10 January 2017, the European Commission published the official proposal of the revised e-Privacy Regulation, which amends the current e-Privacy Directive. Many of the alarming changes that were included in the leaked December draft of the Regulation, which we covered, have been changed, resulting in a practical set of rules that align with the wider EU data protection framework. Below, we highlight key points in the official proposal.