On August 17, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a $2.1 million settlement with online bill-payment company Doxo over allegations that the company, and its two co-founders, deceived consumers through search ads, fees, and subscription practices. The case shows that consumer protection risk can begin at the first click, especially when ads or landing
compliance
From AI Policy to AI Control: Building Governance That Works
AI governance is often treated as a policy problem: define approved uses, create an oversight framework, publish acceptable use rules, and document compliance. These steps matter, especially as increasingly more regulations are introduced that raise expectations for accountability, transparency, data governance, and lifecycle risk management. However, the harder question for many organizations is no longer…
New DROP Requirements Raise the Stakes for Data Brokers Handling Californians’ Personal Information
California’s SB 361 expands California’s Delete Act and will soon require registered data brokers to regularly check California’s data deletion database, known as DROP, to determine whether a California consumer has requested deletion of their personal information. Beginning August 1, 2026, data brokers must access DROP at least every 45 days and, when a request…
Update on New Jersey’s New Data Broker Rule
Last week, we wrote about the newly enacted New Jersey data broker law. On July 10, 2026, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Division of Consumer Affairs published an alert clarifying that covered data brokers and data collectors will not need to register or pay registration fees until the Division launches the required public registry, which…
FCC and 49 State Attorneys General Dial Up Attention on Robocall Compliance
On July 8, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Enforcement Bureau entered into a consent decree with Voximplant, Inc., a voice and video call platform, to resolve an investigation into whether the company failed to comply with the FCC’s robocall mitigation rules. The FCC’s robocall mitigation framework is designed to make the voice calling ecosystem…
Privacy Tip #492 – FTC Enforcing the Take It Down Act
On May 19, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it will begin enforcing the Take It Down Act (TIDA) immediately. TIDA was made law in May 2025 and requires platforms to remove non-consensual intimate imagery within 48 hours of being notified. It provides criminal penalties for the publication of non-consensual intimate imagery and…
FTC’s TAKE IT DOWN Act Stakeholder Letter Signals Heightened Compliance Priority
The spread of AI generated intimate imagery has turned what was already a serious online safety issue into a fast- moving platform governance problem. The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) latest stakeholder letter makes clear that covered platforms will be expected to have systems in place before enforcement begins. This week, the FTC sent a stakeholder…
From Future Requirement to Present Risk: California Privacy Audit Readiness
California companies may have less time than they think to prepare for privacy audits. The California Privacy Protection Agency’s (CPPA) new Audits Division, created in February 2026, is expected to begin assessing companies’ compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) this year, according to Executive Director Tom Kemp. This is a notable remark because—while…
Privacy Trends Fashion, Beauty, and Wearable Tech Brands Need to Watch
Fashion, beauty, and wearable technology brands are heading into 2026 with a lot more to think about concerning data privacy. What used to feel like a back-end legal issue is now shaping how companies design products, personalize experiences, and build trust with customers. With new state privacy laws taking effect in Indiana, Kentucky, and Rhode…
California’s DROP Regime will Change the Data Broker Risk Equation
California’s new Delete Request and Opt-Out Platform (DROP) goes live on August 1, 2026, and the compliance stakes are enormous. State officials have warned that a single missed deletion cycle could create theoretical penalty exposure of $1.5 billion for one data broker. That number reflects how aggressively the Delete Act is designed to work. One consumer request can…