Lock on a computer screen held to edges by chains

What Is Happening in Children’s Online Privacy?

Privacy Law , , , , ,

Children’s online privacy has always been an important topic, but a number of recent developments around the world have many businesses taking it more seriously. In September, Google agreed to pay a record $170 million fine to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by illegally collecting personal information from children without parental consent and using it to profit through targeted ads. A few weeks later, China’s own version of COPPA called the “Measures on Online Protection of Children’s Personal Data,” came into force, providing further clarity on protecting children’s personal data online under China’s Cyber Security Law. On October 7, the FTC hosted a public workshop to explore whether to update COPPA, which is over 20 years old and in need of a refresh due to the emergence of new technologies. (Just think of all those smart devices, social media platforms and educational apps and technologies that were not around in 1998). Finally, the California Attorney General recently released proposed regulations to the California Consumer Protection Act, which goes into effect in January 2020, that would require a business that knowingly collects the personal information of children under the age of 13 to establish, document and comply with a reasonable method for determining that the person affirmatively authorizing the sale of the personal information about the child is the parent or guardian of that child.

Many children start using the Internet at an early age, raising privacy issues distinct from those for adults. First, children may not understand what data is being collected about them and how it is used. Second, children can easily fall victim to criminal behavior online by providing seemingly innocuous information to web users who can appropriate such information for malicious purposes. Third, children cannot give the same meaningful consent to data collection and use activities as an adult. 

In the U.S., Congress passed COPPA in 1998 to protect children’s use of the Internet—particularly websites and services targeted toward children. COPPA requires website operators to provide clear and conspicuous notice of the data collection methods employed by the website, including functioning hyperlinks to the website privacy policy on every web page where personal information is collected. It also requires affirmative consent by parents prior to collection of personal information for children under the age of 13. Recognizing that teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 are not protected under COPPA, many individual states have made efforts to address privacy issues for this age group.

Recognizing the need to update COPPA to keep up with the times, the FTC considered the following topics at the October workshop, among others:

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AL, Cybersecurity + Privacy event flyer

Metaverse Law to Speak at Artificial Intelligence Los Angeles Seminar

Events , , , ,

Metaverse Law will be one of the speakers at the AI LA Community’s seminar focused on cyber security and privacy. The seminar will be held at The Cedars-Sinai Accelerator in West Hollywood on Thursday, November 21st.

The event is from 6:30PM to 10:00PM and includes networking, a panel of speakers followed by a Q&A, and concludes with another round of networking.

Tickets and further event details can be found at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ai-cybersecurity-and-privacy-tickets-80204145759

Postal Customer Council Flyer - Data Protection Lunch and Learn on November 14

Metaverse Law to Speak at Postal Customer Council Lunch and Learn

California Privacy Law, Cybersecurity, Events, HIPAA, Privacy Law , , , ,

Metaverse Law will be giving a zip talk and participating in a Q&A panel on Thursday, November 14 at the Phoenix Club in Anaheim, CA about Data Protection and Cyber Security.

The event itinerary includes registration at 11:00AM – 11:45AM, followed by lunch and a seminar which conclude at 1:30PM.

Registration details can be found at http://www.socalpcc.org/lock-it-or-lose-it.html.

Image of interconnected web of people

Website Accessibility for Privacy Policies – California Consumer Privacy Act Regulations

California Privacy Law , , ,

Image Credit: Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

On October 10, the California Attorney General released proposed guidelines to implement the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA), which goes into effect in January 2020. One of the provisions that surprised many was a new requirement that privacy notices given to consumers “[b]e accessible to consumers with disabilities” and “[a]t a minimum, provide information on how a consumer with a disability may access the notice in an alternative format.” [Note: the AG’s regulations are not final, and interested parties may submit comments about them before December 6, 2019 at a series of public hearings, by mail, or by email.]

The requirement to provide the privacy notice in a format that is accessible to people with disabilities is consistent with recent trends towards website compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Whether out of a desire to advance equity or to comply with the spirit or letter of accessibility laws, we see more businesses and website operators making earnest attempts to make their websites accessible to the broadest audience possible.

Unfortunately, the AG did not provide very much guidance on how businesses could make their privacy notice or websites more accessible. Luckily, several organizations doing work in this area, including the W3 Web Accessibility Initiative, Stanford Online Accessibility Program and Berkeley WebAccess, have put resources online for designers, developers and content creators.

While not exhaustive, the following is a list of fairly straightforward best practices distilled from other lists that businesses and website operators can implement to make their websites accessible to people with disabilities:

1.     Use headings correctly to organize the structure of your content

2.     Pay attention to color contrast

3.     Images should include alternate text in the markup/code; complex images should have more extensive descriptions near the image

4.     Provide transcripts for podcasts

5.     Websites with videos should provide visual access to the audio information through in-sync captioning

6.     Sites should consider using skiplinks

Millions of internet users have special needs, disabilities and impairments that make certain websites difficult or impossible to access and use. By designing your website with these challenges in mind, you can ensure that it is welcoming to as many users as possible.

Lock in "cyber security" word circle and other dot circles

Cybersecurity Ignorance is No Excuse for Tax Professionals

Cybersecurity, Federal Trade Commission, Privacy Law , , , ,

Image Credit: Pete Linforth from Pixabay

Co-authored with Lily Li and Kenny Kang. Mr. Kang is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Charted Global Management Accountant (CGMA), and Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) with a wealth of experience in public accounting and industry.

CPAs and other tax professionals collect their client’s crown jewels: sensitive financial data. This makes them prime targets for cybercriminals. For hackers looking to make a quick buck, or engage in more sophisticated identity theft and tax fraud schemes, tax professionals are a treasure trove of social security numbers, tax ID numbers, bank account numbers, confidential agreements, and other personally identifiable information. Consequently, 3-5 tax practitioners get hacked each week, according to a 2017 webcast by the IRS criminal investigations unit – a number that has likely increased over the last couple of years.

In July 2019, IRS released its own statistics relating to identity theft:

IRS Individual Filing Article “Identity Theft Information for Tax Professionals”

[Page Last Reviewed or Updated: 24-Jul-2019]

An estimated 91 percent of all data breaches and cyberattacks begin with a spear phishing email that targets an individual. The criminal poses as a trusted source, perhaps IRS e-Services, a tax software company or a cloud-storage provider, or the criminal poses as a potential client or professional colleague. The objective is to get the tax professional to open a link or PDF attachment. This allows the thief to steal passwords or download malware that tracks keystrokes or gives the thief control of your computer. 

In light of the rise in cyberattacks against tax practitioners, the IRS has taken notice. For this year’s PTIN renewal season, the IRS has revised Form W-12, IRS Paid Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) (Rev. October 2019) by adding Line 11, which included a mandatory checkbox for tax preparers, requiring them to confirm their awareness of their data security responsibilities. Line 11, Data Security Responsibilities, states:

 As a paid tax return preparer, I am aware of my legal obligation to have a data security plan and to provide data and system security protections for all taxpayer information.  Check the box to confirm you are aware of this responsibility.

This affirmative checkbox applies to licensed tax attorneys, CPAs, enrolled agents, enrolled actuaries, enrolled retirement plan agents, state regulated tax return preparers, certifying acceptance agents, and it should not come as a surprise for tax professionals.

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