New York Paralegal Blog

Facebook Must Obtain Consumers' Consent Before Sharing Their Information Beyond Established Privacy Settings Following a public comment period, the FTC has accepted as final a settlement with Facebook resolving charges that Facebook deceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public.

By CHRIS MARSHALL SAN JOSE, Calif. (CN) - Apple may be liable for sending unauthorized iPhone user information to the third parties behind applications, but the application developers are in the clear, a federal judge ruled.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., announced today the guilty plea of ADENIYI ADEYEMI, 27, a computer technician formerly employed as a contractor at the headquarters of the Bank of New York. ADEYEMI admitted to stealing a list of personal identifying information of 2,000 bank employees, and using this information to orchestrate thefts of more than $1.1 million from charities and nonprofit organizations, among other institutions, over an eight-year period. ADEYEMI pled guilty to the top charges in the indictment, Grand Larceny in the First Degree and Money Laundering in the First Degree, as well as to the felony charge of Computer Tampering in the First Degree. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 21, 2010. In addition to pleading guilty, ADEYEMI signed a confession of judgment and forfeiture stipulation acknowledging an outstanding debt of $393,423 to E*Trade and Chase Bank, and forfeiting $29,285 in cash seized from ADEYEMI’s apartment along with an E*Trade account i...

Social networking service Twitter has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it deceived consumers and put their privacy at risk by failing to safeguard their personal information, marking the 30th case the FTC has brought targeting faulty data security, and the agency’s first such case against a social networking service. The FTC’s complaint against Twitter charges that serious lapses in the company’s data security allowed hackers to obtain administrative control of Twitter, including access to tweets that consumers had designated private, and the ability to send out phony tweets pretending to be from then-President-elect Barack Obama and Fox News, among others.

(FTC) Sony BMG Music Entertainment (Sony Music) has agreed to pay $1 million as part of a settlement to resolve Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the Commission’s implementing Rule. The Commission’s complaint alleges that, through its music fan Web sites, Sony Music improperly collected, maintained and disclosed personal information from thousands of children under the age of 13, without their parents’ consent. The civil penalty to be paid by Sony Music matches the largest penalty ever in a COPPA case. Sony BMG Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, represents hundreds of popular musicians and entertainers, including numerous artists popular with children and teenagers. The company operates over 1,000 Web sites for its musical artists and labels. Sony Music requires users to submit a broad range of personal information, together with date of birth, in order to register for these sites. ...