Home Depot settled with more than 40 states Tuesday for $17.5 million over a 2014 data breach that affected some 40 million customers. The settlement requires the company to “tighten its information security program to prevent future breaches,” said California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D): It includes “a comprehensive information security program to protect the integrity and confidentiality of consumers’ personal information.” The company is glad to “put this matter behind us and continue to focus on serving our customers,” a spokesperson emailed, citing free identity protection services, free credit monitoring for customers and heavy investment since 2014. Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro (D) noted the agreement requires employing a “duly qualified Chief Information Security Officer” reporting to senior executives and directors. “The data security measures required by this settlement will help protect the personal information of Marylanders and other consumers throughout the country,” said Maryland AG Brian Frosh (D).
Karl Herchenroeder
Karl Herchenroeder, Associate Editor, is a technology policy journalist for publications including Communications Daily. Born in Rockville, Maryland, he joined the Warren Communications News staff in 2018. He began his journalism career in 2012 at the Aspen Times in Aspen, Colorado, where he covered city government. After that, he covered the nuclear industry for ExchangeMonitor in Washington. You can follow Herchenroeder on Twitter: @karlherk
Communications Decency Act Section 230 needs to be updated, and one gap is the lack of transparency about content moderation decisions and algorithms, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey told the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday. Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told us he wants to treat the addictive nature of social media apps, particularly with young people, as a public health issue. He likened Big Tech to Big Tobacco.
Social media companies need guidance on moderating content, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told us in response to questions about Tuesday’s hearing with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Graham’s Earn It Act (S-3398), co-led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., would establish a commission led by the attorney general to develop voluntary best practices for social media companies (see 2008050039).
Some FTC staffers are expecting Joe Simons to step down as chairman on Inauguration Day, an agency aide told us. An industry official said Simons is “looking to step down before the end of the year.” He recently told senior staff it could be as early as Thanksgiving, but he wants to vote out the agency’s antitrust case against Facebook before he leaves office, the industry official said.
The FCC effort to interpret Communications Decency Act Section 230 isn’t comparable to the heavy-handed regulations repealed during the net neutrality debate in the late 2000s, Commissioner Brendan Carr said Tuesday during a Federalist Society event. Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld questioned how Carr could be against Communications Act Title II regulation of internet service providers but also support Section 230 regulatory changes envisioned by the Trump administration (see 2011060053).
Zoom deceived users about encryption services, circumvented browser security features and exposed consumers to third-party surveillance, the FTC alleged Monday in a nonmonetary settlement with the company. The commission voted 3-2 with Democrats Rohit Chopra and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter dissenting.
The FCC’s Communications Decency Act Section 230 rulemaking proceeding (see 2010210062) opens the door for a potential Biden administration to pursue its own interpretation of the technology industry’s liability shield, tech observers and legal experts told us. Rather than drop the proceeding, initiated by President Donald Trump’s social media executive order, a Democratic FCC could take an activist approach with it, they said.
If Democrat Joe Biden wins the presidency, he could potentially expand DOJ’s antitrust lawsuit against Google, former antitrust enforcers and experts said in interviews. If President Donald Trump is reelected, they expect DOJ to avoid settlement talks and prosecute the case vigorously.
It’s questionable whether a consumer could sue over unlawful surveillance if the federal government is always able to claim classified information protections, said 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Margaret McKeown Monday during oral argument in Jewel v. NSA (see 2004170052).
The Supreme Court didn’t offer a clear picture at oral argument for how it might rule in Oracle’s lawsuit against Google (see 2010070065), but remarks from justices were telling, observers told us. Potential outcomes include the high court remanding the case or a 4-4 split, which would be a victory for Oracle, they said. Stakeholders disagreed about what the justices’ comments meant for each side.