Tag Archives: Samuel Kane

Utah Publishes Social Media Regulation Act Proposed Rule

by Kirk J. Nahra, Ali A. Jessani, and Samuel Kane

Photos of the authors

From left to right: Kirk J. Nahra, Ali A. Jessani, Samuel Kane.

On October 15, the Utah Department of Commerce’s Consumer Protection Division published a Proposed Rule implementing elements of the Utah Social Media Regulation Act (SMRA), which was signed into law in March 2023.

The SMRA imposes a range of requirements on social media companies related to minors’ use of social media platforms. The law, for example, requires that social media companies verify users’ ages, obtain parental consent authorizing minors to use the companies’ services, limit the functionality of minors’ accounts (e.g., messaging, advertising), and restrict the hours at which minors can access their accounts. The law also includes broad restrictions on these companies’ use of practices, designs, or features that contribute to minors’ addiction to social media. Importantly, the law is enforceable both by the Consumer Protection Division and through a private right of action. The Proposed Rule, in turn, offers additional specifics regarding how social media companies can satisfy the SMRA’s age verification and parental consent requirements. Public comments on the Proposed Rule will be accepted until February 5, 2024.

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CFPB Issues Request for Information on Data Brokers

by Kirk Nahra, Ali Jessani, and Samuel Kane

Left to Right: Kirk Nahra, Ali Jessani, and Samuel Kane (Photos courtesy of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP)

On Wednesday, March 15, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced an inquiry into data brokers, issuing a “Request for Information Regarding Data Brokers and Other Business Practices Involving the Collection and Sale of Consumer Information.” This request for information (RFI) seeks information about: (1) the data broker market generally, including brokers’ information collection practices, the industry’s effects on consumers, and potential safeguards or controls to regulate data broker activity; and (2) individuals’ experiences in interacting with data brokers. The CFPB intends to use responses to the RFI to inform future rulemaking under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Public comments are due by June 13.

While any issuance by the CFPB of data broker regulations is far from imminent, the CFPB’s RFI is indicative of a growing appetite at both the federal and state levels to bring greater oversight to bear not just on data brokers, specifically, but on commercial uses of personal data more generally — a trend that we have seen on display with recent FTC enforcement actions and rulemaking activities, potential federal privacy legislation, and various state privacy law proposals, to name but a few examples. Continue reading →

FTC Continues Enforcement Focus on the Use and Disclosure of Health Information for Advertising

by Kirk J. Nahra, Ali A. Jessani, Arianna Evers, and Samuel Kane

Author photographs

From left to right: Kirk J. Nahra, Ali A. Jessani, Arianna Evers, and Samuel Kane. (Photos courtesy of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP.)

On Thursday, March 2, the FTC announced an enforcement action against BetterHelp, Inc., an online mental health counseling service, relating to claims that the company’s collection and use of consumer health data were unfair and deceptive acts and practices under Section 5 of the FTC Act. As part of the settlement, BetterHelp will be required to pay $7.8 million, which the FTC will use to provide partial refunds for consumers who enrolled in and paid for BetterHelp services between August 2017 and December 2020. The BetterHelp enforcement decision comes just over a month after the FTC reached a historic settlement order with another company in the healthcare space, GoodRx, for similar alleged violations.

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