InfoBytes Blog
Filter
Subscribe to our InfoBytes Blog weekly newsletter and other publications for news affecting the financial services industry.
FCC Seeks Comments on Mobile Device Privacy, Data Security
Recently, the FCC released a request for public comment on the privacy and data security of personal information on mobile devices. The request focuses on the amount and types of consumer information that may be collected by carriers. For example, the FCC lists a series of factors, including (i) the degree of control that the service provider exercises over the design, integration, installation, or use of the software that collects and stores information, (ii) the manner in which the collected information is used, and (iii) the role of third parties in collecting and storing data, and asks which, if any, are relevant to assessing a wireless providers obligations under the Communications Act and the Commissions implementing rules. The FCC will accept public comments for 30 days from publication of the request in the Federal Register. In 2007, the FCC similarly solicited comments and revised its rules under the Communications Act to tighten data security requirements and address pretexting.
Suit Challenging Charges for Minors' In-App iTunes Purchases Survives Motion to Dismiss
On March 31, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied, in large part, a motion to dismiss claims brought by parents of children who made in-app purchases from the parents iTunes accounts. In re Apple In-App Purchase Litigation, No. 11-1758, 2012 WL 1123548 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 31, 2012). The parent plaintiffs sued Apple on behalf of a putative class claiming that apps provided by Apple and advertised as free allowed children, without the parents knowledge, to make in-app purchases of online game supplies during a 15-minute window following the parents initial account authentication. The parents alleged that each purchase by a minor under these circumstances constituted separate, voidable contracts with Apple that may be disaffirmed by a parent or guardian. Apple countered that the only contracts at issue are those between it and the iTunes account holders, and the terms and conditions of those contracts provide that account holders are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and security of [their] Account and for all activities that occur on or through [their] Account. In denying the motion to dismiss, the court held that the complaint can not be dismissed as a matter of law because Apple offered no case law to support its contention that the terms and conditions constitute a relational contract that governs each subsequent transaction. Further, the court allowed to proceed (i) claims under Californias Consumer Legal Remedies Act because allegations that Apple omitted material facts to induce minors into buying additional gaming products were actionable, and (ii) Unfair Competition Law claims because plaintiffs alleged all three prongs of the UCL, properly pleading that Apples actions were unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent business acts or practices.
Pages
- « first
- ‹ previous
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4