The Federal government and other entities are adjusting to and planning for the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Here’s a quick look at some of the top developments of interest to the Federal IT community: […]

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Joe Simons said that the agency is “doing our part” to recognize and overcome the challenges faced by consumers and businesses during the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.

The Federal Trade Commission announced it will hold a public workshop on May 13 in Washington to hear testimony and review research on proposed changes to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act’s Safeguards Rule that requires financial institutions to implement information security programs.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released its 2019 Privacy and Data Security Update that highlighted “a record year for enforcement actions aimed at protecting consumer privacy and data security.”

The Federal Trade Commission said today it will take a ten-year look-back at acquisition activities of five U.S. tech giants to “deepen its understanding” of large tech company acquisition activity.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a petition with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today seeking regulations for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Joseph Simons said at the Consumer Electronics Association’s CES event on Jan. 7 that creating a new Federal privacy regulator would be a “huge mistake.”

Two Federal Trade Commissioners – one a Republican and the other a Democrat – agreed on Oct. 28 that the agency has the tricky task of balancing both consumer data privacy and business interests, and must find that balance even as the fast pace of technological advancement makes the value of prescriptive regulation uncertain. 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) offered its comments on the draft version of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST’s) Privacy Framework, including praise and suggestions for several additions to the policy.

An Office of Inspector General (OIG) report released today says that one of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) top management challenges is securing its information systems and networks from destruction, data loss, and compromise, based on an audit covering Fiscal Year 2018.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., a long-time advocate for stronger data privacy rules and current sponsor of the Information Transparency and Personal Data Control Act, said today it’s unlikely that Congress will take action on this issue this year.

Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., on July 31, introduced a bill to combat illegal robocalls.

Credit reporting agency Equifax said today it has agreed to pay $671 million to settle government investigations and legal actions related to a 2017 data breach that exposed information on about 147 million U.S. consumers.

Data privacy and online child protection experts at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today called for multi-layered approaches to online data monitoring, policies, and enforcement to safeguard children from sexual exploitation and exposure to inappropriate content online.

The House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Subcommittee proposed a total of $24.5 billion for FSGG discretionary budget authority in fiscal year 2020, which includes funding for election security, modernizing the Internal Revenue Services (IRS), and protecting consumer data.

The Justice Department (DoJ) is preparing a potential antitrust investigation of Google to examine the tech giant’s internal practices and search rankings, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee released a draft of the fiscal year 2020 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) funding bill that would see the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) get a bump in their funding.

Congress must take action to ensure that consumer data is being adequately protected at consumer reporting agencies (CRAs), witnesses said at Tuesday’s House Committee on Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy hearing.

Panelists representing small businesses advocated for Federal uniformity and preempt over state data privacy laws and against data protection regulations that would disproportionately burden smaller companies at a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Subcommittee on Manufacturing, Trade, and Consumer Protection hearing today.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recapped a busy year in enforcement actions the agency undertook in 2018 in its newly issued privacy and data security update.