Earlier this month, we saw an eye-opening Ninth Circuit opinion regarding products liability theories applied to social media apps. In short, the Ninth Circuit held section 230 of the Communications Decency Act does not shield the owner of a social media app from liability for third party content when the dispute involves the design of … Continue reading
By June 30, 2018, retailers accepting digital (online) credit card transactions must cease using encryption protocols known as SSL or TLS 1.0. Retailers must transition to TLS 1.1 or higher (such as the popular TLS 1.2) or else lose the ability to accept credit card payments. Note also that Nevada law requires compliance with the … Continue reading
For retailers that accept credit or debit cards and use service providers, a new version of the PCI Data Security Standards (PCI DSS v3.2) will impose new requirements as of November 1, 2016. The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council issued “clarifications” and “evolving requirements” in the new version. Clarifications are changes to ensure … Continue reading
Updating a prior post, on May 2, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its receipt of a $13.4 million judgment against the CEO of BlueHippo, after the Second Circuit overturned the district court’s determination that BlueHippo’s damages were limited to $600,000 in 2014. BlueHippo marketed computers and electronics to consumers regardless of their … Continue reading
President Obama has signed the E-Warranty Act of 2015 (PL 114-51). The new law amends the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Improvements Act (15 USC § 2302(b)) by permitting (not requiring) consumer product warranties to be made available online. If a consumer product manufacturer elects to make product warranties available online, the manufacturer will be subject to … Continue reading
By October 1, 2015, many people in the U.S. who use credit cards will likely notice changes when they pay for purchases at retail stores. The reason for the change is the “EMV liability shift” scheduled to occur on October 1 (EMV is an acronym for EuroPay, MasterCard, and Visa). As we had previously described, … Continue reading
If a company sues a competitor about an advertisement that the company believes is false or misleading about the company’s product, a court victory is frequently cause for a press release, as well as announcements on social media and to bloggers. When the complaint is made to the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council … Continue reading
On September 18, 2014, a federal trial court in Missouri granted the Federal Trade Commission’s ex parte motion for a temporary restraining order, asset freeze, and appointment of a receiver for Butterfly Labs. Butterfly Labs made claims on its web site and on social media that its computers enabled consumers to “mine” a type of … Continue reading
Question: What’s the difference between $600,000 and $14 million in a contempt action? Answer: Presumption of consumer reliance, according to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Federal Trade Commission v. BlueHippo Funding, LLC. The case began in 2003, when BlueHippo first began marketing computers and electronic products to consumers regardless of their credit history. … Continue reading