July 9 – 13, 2019

As I begin to catch up, here’s a quick summary of some of the week’s information governance headlines.

“FTC Approves Roughly $5 Billion Facebook Settlement,” The Wall Street Journal, July 13, 2019 (online). Violation of prior consent order involving user privacy leads to big fine and additional controls. Privacy, Governance.
“U.S. Reaches $1.4 Billion Opioid-Drug Settlement With U.K.’s Reckitt,” The Wall Street Journal, July 12, 2019 (online). Drug company misleads as to the safety of its product and pays the price.
“Google Contractors Listen to Recordings of People Using Virtual Assistant,” The Wall Street Journal, July 12, 2019 (online). Who’s listening to what you tell your Google Assistant? Somebody.

“Schools Wrestle With Privacy of Digital Data Collected on Students,” The Wall Street Journal, July 11, 2019 (online). Who owns the data, and what rules govern? How long do schools keep disciplinary information.
“Kim Darroch Resigns as U.K. Ambassador to U.S. After Leaked Cables,” The Wall Street Journal, July 11, 2019 (online). Loose lips sink ships.
“PG&E Knew for Years Its Lines Could Spark Wildfires, and Didn’t Fix Them,” The Wall Street Journal, July 11, 2019 (online). When you have information, you need to use it appropriately. No playing ostrich.
“D.C. Attorney General Sues Marriott Over Fees,” The Wall Street Journal, July 10, 2019 (online). Bad week for Marriott. Adding undisclosed fees to your advertised rates – it that deceptive? Who governs when information is hidden?
“Marriott Faces $124 Million Fine Over Starwood Data Breach,” The Wall Street Journal, July 10, 2019 (online). Less than British Airways, but still a lot. Marriott should have done a better due diligence before buying Starwood. Privacy is pricey.

“Trump Rule Requiring Drug Prices in TV Ads Blocked,“The Wall Street Journal, July 9, 2019 (online). District Court judge says Health and Human Services didn’t have the authority to require pharmaceutical companies to publish these prices. To do so would al;so infringe their free speech rights.
“British Airways Faces $230 Million Fine Over Data Breach as European Privacy Rules Start to Bite,” The Wall Street Journal, July 9, 2019 (online). GDPR-related fine proposed for failure to get adequate consents from customers.