: The Federal Trade Commission finalized orders requiring Cox Media Group (CMG) and two other firms to pay a total of $930,000 to settle allegations they deceived customers by falsely claiming to offer an AI-powered service that could target localized ads based on conversations captured from consumers’ smart devices and that consumers had opted into such targeting. In three separate complaints first announced in May , the FTC alleged that Georgia-based media and marketing company CMG Media Corporation, which does business as Cox Media Group , and two marketing firms it worked with, New Hampshire-based MindSift LLC and Wisconsin-based 1010 Digital Works LLC , deceived customers by claiming they used a special algorithm to listen in on and detect pertinent conversations from smart devices in order to target ads to consumers within a specific geographic region. Contrary to these companies’ claims, however, the marketing service wasn’t based on voice data, and consumers hadn’t opted into this service. If the s[...]
: Background information Date of final decision: 15 May 2025 National case Controller: SOLOCAL MARKETING SERVICES Legal Reference(s): Article 7 (Conditions for consent), Article 6 (Lawfulness of processing) Decision: administrative fine and an order to cease electronic commercial prospecting in the absence of valid consent, together with a penalty of 10 000 € per day overdue after a period of 9 months Key words: administrative fine, consent, unsolicited communication Summary of the Decision Origin of the case As the French Supervisory Authority (SA) made commercial prospecting a priority topic for investigations in 2022, it focused on the practices of professionals in the sector, particularly those who resell data, including the many intermediaries in this ecosystem known as data brokers. The French SA carried out investigations on SOLOCAL MARKETING SERVICES which got prospect data mainly from data brokers, publishers of game contests and product testing sites (these actors are the first links in the cha[...]
: Background information Date of final decision: 15 May 2025 National case Controller: SOLOCAL MARKETING SERVICES Legal Reference(s): Article 7 (Conditions for consent), Article 6 (Lawfulness of processing) Decision: administrative fine and an order to cease electronic commercial prospecting in the absence of valid consent, together with a penalty of €10 000 per day overdue after a period of 9 months Key words: administrative fine, consent, unsolicited communication Summary of the Decision Origin of the case As the French Supervisory Authority (SA) made commercial prospecting a priority topic for investigations in 2022, it focused on the practices of professionals in the sector, particularly those who resell data, including the many intermediaries in this ecosystem known as data brokers. The French SA carried out investigations on SOLOCAL MARKETING SERVICES which got prospect data mainly from data brokers, publishers of game contests and product testing sites (these actors are the first links in the chai[...]
: Brussels, 19 March - The EDPB has launched its Coordinated Enforcement Framework (CEF) action for 2026*. Following a year-long coordinated action on the right to erasure in 2025 , the CEF's focus this year will shift to compliance with the obligations of transparency and information under the GDPR . The GDPR ensures that individuals are informed when their data is being processed (under Art. 12, 13 and 14). This right to be informed is a core element of transparency and ensures that individuals have more control over their data. Next steps During 2026, 25 Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) across Europe will take part in this initiative. They will look closely to assess the compliance of controllers with their transparency obligations under the GDPR. Participating DPAs will soon contact controllers from different sectors across Europe, either through enforcement actions or fact-finding exercises. In the latter case, they might also decide to undertake additional follow-up actions if needed. During the second[...]
: Brussels, 20 January - The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has adopted a report on the implementation of the right of access by controllers . The report summarises the outcome of a series of coordinated national actions carried out in 2024 under the Coordinated Enforcement Framework (CEF). It lists the issues that were observed for some controllers, along with a series of recommendations to help them implement the right of access. A central element is controllers’ awareness of the EDPB Guidelines 01/2022 on data subjects rights – Right of access and whether these guidelines were followed in practice. EDPB Deputy Chair Zdravko Vukíc said: “The CEF is a valuable initiative that helps strengthen the cooperation among Data Protection Authorities (DPAs): by tackling selected topics in a coordinated fashion, they achieve greater efficiency and more consistency. How controllers implement the right of access lies at the heart of data protection and it is one of the most frequently exercised data subject rights[...]
: The French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication, Having regard to the French intellectual property code , in particular article L. 331-12 ; Having regard to the French Sports Code , in particular article L.333-10 ; After due deliberation, Adopts the following notice: The year 2025 marked a turning point in the fight against sports broadcasting piracy, with increased involvement of various types of intermediaries, under the impetus of sports rights holders, as part of the dynamic injunctions issued under article L. 333-10 of the French Sports Code . In addition to the legal actions involving Internet Service Providers (ISPs), which have been fully integrated into the scheme since 2022, and in order to strengthen the effectiveness of the blocking measures implemented, rights holders have extended their legal actions, from 2023, to search engine operators, who play a key role as central players in the diffusion of information on the internet and in directing users to sports-related con[...]
: Nixing the Fix: Warranties, Mag-Moss, and restrictions on repairs lfair March 18, 2019 | 10:24AM Nixing the Fix: Warranties, Mag-Moss, and restrictions on repairs By Lesley Fair First, the bad news: That nifty purchase needs a repair. Now the good news for consumers: It’s still under warranty. But where can they go to get it fixed? Can the manufacturer restrict a consumer’s ability to go to the independent repair shop of their choice? Can the manufacturer use glue, non-standard screws, and proprietary diagnostic software that make it difficult for independent repair shops to fix things? Do limitations like these affect consumers’ rights under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act ? That’s the topic of Nixing the Fix: A Workshop on Repair Restrictions , an FTC event scheduled for July 16, 2019 . Enforced by the FTC, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act helps consumers make informed buying decisions and gives them access to remedies if the widget starts to fidget during the warranty period. One key consumer protection unde[...]