Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Jan 19 2023

Statement of Pam Dixon at the FTC Open Commission Meeting regarding health privacy statements and consumer confusion

Thank you Chair and Commissioners. The profusion of health apps, websites and digital tools that provide consumers with assistance and insights about their health is a positive development. However, it has come at the cost of increasing privacy risks. One of these risks is that consumers are confused about when and where federal health privacy protections apply to their health information.

Aug 03 2022

WPF advises FTC regarding proposed changes to the Telemarketing Sales Rule

The World Privacy Forum provided comments to the FTC regarding its proposed substantive amendments to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (part 310), 87 FR 33677. Generally, WPF supports nearly all of the proposed changes in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. However, we are concerned about three specific areas: The expansion of consumer records kept by telemarketers

Jul 01 2021

WPF urges FTC Chair and Commissioners to update FTC Health Breach Notification Rule

The FTC held an historic open FTC Commission meeting, during which the Chair and Commissioners conducted their business openly and also provided an opportunity for public comments. The World Privacy Forum was selected to provide a public comment, which focused on the need to update the Health Breach Notification Rule.

May 07 2021

FTC agrees to make compliance report public in face recognition-related case; WPF comments had a positive impact

We are extremely pleased and heartened that after years of requesting that the FTC make compliance reports public, that the Commission has agreed to do so with the Everalbum settlement. WPF submitted comments regarding the Everalbum proposed settlement to the US Federal Trade Commission on February 23, 2021. Today, the FTC announced the final settlement and

Mar 03 2021

WPF urges US Federal Trade Commission to re-examine data breach notification requirements for health data in Flo Health proposal

The World Privacy Forum has submitted comments to the FTC regarding its proposed consent order In the Matter of Flo Health, Inc. requesting that the FTC conduct further analysis regarding the FTC Health Data Breach Rule and its potential applicability to the alleged unconsented sharing of women’s pregnancy, menstruation, mental health, and other data with

National IDs Around the World — Interactive map

About this Data Visualization: This interactive map displays the presence...
Report: From the Filing Cabinet to the Cloud: Updating the Privacy Act of 1974

This comprehensive report and proposed bill text is focused on the Privacy Act of 1974, an important and early Federal privacy law that applies to the government sector and some contractors. The Privacy Act was written for the 1970s information era -- an era that was characterized by the use of mainframe computers and filing cabinets. Today's digital information era looks much different than the '70s: smart phones are smarter than the old mainframes, and documents are now routinely digitized and stored and perhaps even analyzed in the cloud, among many other changes. The report focuses on why the Privacy Act needs an update that will bring it into this century, and how that could look and work. This work was written by Robert Gellman, and informed by a two-year multi-stakeholder process.
COVID-19 and HIPAA: HHS’s Troubled Approach to Waiving Privacy and Security Rules for the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic strained the U.S. health ecosystem in numerous ways, including putting pressure on the HIPAA privacy and security rules. The Department of Health and Human Services adjusted the privacy and security rules for the pandemic through the use of statutory and administrative HIPAA waivers. While some of the adjustments are appropriate for the emergency circumstances, there are also some meaningful and potentially unwelcome privacy and security consequences. At an appropriate time, the use of HIPAA waivers as a response to health care emergencies needs a thorough review. This report sets out the facts, identifies the issues, and proposes a roadmap for change.