U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia should carefully review the “fairness and adequacy” of the FTC’s $5 billion settlement with Facebook and consider the impact on pending consumer complaints, the Electronic Privacy Information Center said Friday. EPIC filed a motion to intervene in U.S. v. Facebook (in Pacer). The consent decree would prevent EPIC and other advocates from pursuing all complaints filed with the FTC before June 12, the group said. Earlier this year, EPIC said 26,000 complaints were pending before the commission. It’s seeking further information through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The FCC and 15 other federal agencies have ineffective information security policies and practices, GAO reported Friday. The department of Commerce and Justice were also included in the group. Most of the 16 agencies sampled had “weaknesses in most security control areas,” it said. GAO recommended the Office of Management and Budget hold coordinated cybersecurity review meetings “at more agencies that need them.” OMB held three such agency meetings in 2018, compared to 24 in 2016, GAO said. It suggested OMB submit a “statutorily required report to Congress on the effectiveness of agencies' information security policies and practices.”

More than 20 federal agencies designated a cybersecurity risk executive at GAO's request, but none “fully incorporated” other key practices recommended for cybersecurity risk management, the watchdog reported Thursday. Other key practices included developing “a risk management strategy and policies, assessing cyber risks and coordinating between cybersecurity and enterprise-wide risk management functions.” GAO made 58 recommendations for improving cybersecurity management programs to departments including Commerce, Energy, Homeland Security, Justice, State, Transportation and Treasury.

Comments on the FTC review of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (see 1907170063) are due Oct. 23, said Thursday’s Federal Register.

Now one year old, the general data protection regulation is bearing fruit, said European Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Commissioner Vera Jourova at a Wednesday briefing. The European Commission published its first assessment of the GDPR, saying it's working well, but more work is needed to make it fully effective. The report reached three conclusions, Jourova said. "Data protection finally matters" and people are starting to care about their privacy. The EU is "entering a digital era on a strong footing" as data protection rules become part of other policies such as artificial intelligence. And Europe's data protection rules "open up possibilities for digital diplomacy to promote data flows based on high standards between countries that share EU values." The EC still has some concerns, she said: Some EU members are "gold-plating" the regulation by adding new provisions into national laws. There are fewer complaints from businesses that see the "doom scenario" didn't materialize, but too many companies, especially smaller ones, remain uncertain about the measure. The EU has become "the rule maker for the world," with more countries using the regulation as a reference point for adopting privacy laws, she said. Greece, Portugal and Slovenia haven't adopted the GDPR into their law. Asked whether the EC is considering formal enforcement actions, Jourova said she won't hesitate to launch such procedures where appropriate and is talking with EU members to resolve the issues.

Samsung, Intel, Ericsson and MediaTek can intervene in support of Qualcomm’s request for a stay in its appeal of an FTC lawsuit over the company's alleged mobile chip monopoly (see 1907190012), the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled (in Pacer) Tuesday. ACT|The App Association previously filed an amicus brief against Qualcomm’s motion for a stay, saying the harm to the market from a stay “substantially outweighs the dubious allegations of harm to one competitor.”

The FTC should investigate whether Amazon failed to tell consumers that Prime Day endorsers collect commissions from sales they generate, Public Citizen said in a complaint to the agency Tuesday. Social media accounts were inundated with Prime Day recommendations, many of which were paid endorsements, through the July 15-16 event, Public Citizen said. Inadequate disclosure to consumers violates “FTC policies and principles stating that people have a right to know when they are being advertised to,” the group said. The agency confirmed receiving the complaint. "All associates must follow our Associates guidelines, which include obligations to identify as an associate and provide all legally required disclosures," a company spokesperson said. "Those who don’t are subject to action including potential closure of their account.”

Encryption makes online activity more secure, but blocking lawful police access to essential criminal evidence is endangering society, Attorney General William Barr told the International Conference on Cyber Security on Tuesday. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., in a separate speech on the Senate floor, attacked the Trump administration, warning of what he considers the potential for surveillance abuse. “By enabling dangerous criminals to cloak their communications and activities behind an essentially impenetrable digital shield, the deployment of warrant-proof encryption is already imposing huge costs on society,” Barr said. Cartels are using digital shields to block lawful investigatory access, he said, citing the societal costs of associated drug trafficking. Warrant-proof encryption also hampers investigations of domestic and foreign terrorists, he said, citing an inability to access messages from a 2015 terrorist attack in Garland, Texas. “The status quo is exceptionally dangerous, unacceptable, and only getting worse,” he said. Barr and President Donald Trump can’t be trusted with such “unprecedented power” over data access, Wyden said: “Their record shows they do not feel constrained by the law. They have not been bound by legal or moral precedents.” Barr testified in 2003 that “the president is not restrained when it comes to surveilling” U.S. citizens and claimed the Patriot Act didn’t go far enough, Wyden said: Barr “has contempt for our laws and the Fourth Amendment.” He criticized Barr for relying on “a tired, debunked plan to blow a hole in one of the most important security features protecting digital lives of the American people.” Weakening encryption by creating a back door for government exposes people’s personal data to criminals, hackers and predators as well, Wyden said.

DOJ’s Antitrust Division is examining potential competition and market power concerns about the tech industry, the department announced Tuesday. It will examine “how market-leading online platforms have achieved market power and are engaging in practices that have reduced competition, stifled innovation, or otherwise harmed consumers,” DOJ said. Areas of concern include search, social media and online retailers, suggesting Google, Facebook, Twitter and Amazon could be scrutinized. “Without the discipline of meaningful market-based competition, digital platforms may act in ways that are not responsive to consumer demands,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim.

Alibaba’s news that it’s welcoming U.S. sellers to its business-to-business marketplace “shows the Chinese retail giant’s desire to diversify its product offering,” said eMarketer analyst Jillian Ryan Tuesday. About 90 percent of goods sold on the Alibaba marketplace are from China-based factories manufacturing goods to order for buyers across the globe, said Ryan: “Buyers on the platform are from developed nations like the US, Canada, India, Australia, Brazil and the UK, and these buyers want to be able to source goods from the US," said the analyst. The Alibaba website said Tuesday the company is offering “new ways for US businesses to thrive,” via its improved customer experience. It invited businesses to participate in nationwide workshops, special offers and services and receive up to $500 off seller packages. The initiative gives companies access to “millions of buyers,” and allows them to showcase their storefront on Alibaba.com and “start getting traffic” from the site’s “massive global search engine.” Alibaba will provide digital marketing tools and help business optimize campaigns with “in-depth data and analysis,” it said. Ryan noted Alibaba has a few select pilot sellers for the project and “anchor sellers” in Office Depot and Robinson Fresh, but said to be successful against Amazon, Alibaba needs to recruit a meaningful number of small- to medium-size businesses.