Today:  FCC Artificial Intelligence Forum, FTC Approves Settlements Under EU-U.S. Privacy Shield

FCC Artificial Intelligence Forum

The FCC announced the agenda for its November 30 Forum on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. The forum will convene experts in the AI and machine learning fields to discuss the future of these technologies and their implications for the communications marketplace. The event will also include demonstrations to enable the public to see these emerging technologies in action.  The agenda includes two panels to be moderated by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai: one entitled “What Is AI and Where Is It Taking Us?” and the other entitled “Applications of AI and Machine Learning in the Here and Now.”  The Forum will be held at FCC headquarters in Washington, D.C. and will be open to the public.  More information.

FTC Approves Settlements Under EU-U.S. Privacy Shield

The FTC announced that it has given final approval to settlements with four companies over allegations that they falsely claimed certification under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework.  In separate complaints, the FTC alleged that IDmission, LLC, mResource LLC (doing business as Loop Works, LLC), SmartStart Employment Screening, Inc., and VenPath, Inc. falsely claimed to be certified under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield, which establishes a process to allow companies to transfer consumer data from European Union countries to the United States in compliance with EU law. 

The FTC alleged that IDmission applied for Privacy Shield certification but never took the necessary steps to complete its certification under the program. The company claimed on its website, however, that it complied with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework.  As part of the proposed settlements with the FTC, all four companies are prohibited from misrepresenting the extent to which they participate in any privacy or data security program sponsored by the government or any self-regulatory or standard-setting organization, and must comply with FTC reporting requirements. In addition, VenPath and SmartStart must continue to apply the Privacy Shield protections to personal information they collected while participating in the program, protect it by another means authorized by the Privacy Shield framework, or return or delete the information within 10 days of the order. 

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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.