Mobile App Series: Privacy by Design
Report on Patient Privacy Volume 23, no 1 (January 2023) The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said a data breach at a Medicare subcontractor impacted the personally identifiable information and protected...more
In July 2022, the FTC brought an enforcement action to enjoin Meta’s acquisition of virtual reality app maker Within. The FTC’s approach in that complaint could have implications for Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of...more
Have you ever downloaded an app outside of the Apple app store? Probably not, because the current setup of app marketplaces like the Apple app store makes that very difficult. That is about to change. On Feb. 3, 2022, the...more
If your company creates health-related apps, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has set out some key considerations: - Make accurate representations. Clearly explain how people’s information will be used and shared and then...more
Google Play’s “data safety form” is now live. Developers can now submit the form for early review and feedback. Starting in April 2022, Google will require this label and a privacy policy for all new and existing apps. This...more
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many Americans have increasingly relied on digital health apps to manage their personal health and wellness. These apps include traditional telehealth apps through which patients can complete...more
The Federal Trade Commission announced on January 11 that Everalbum, the developer of the photo storage application called Ever, settled allegations that it deceived users about its use of facial recognition technology and...more
During its summer conference this year, Apple announced that later in 2020, it would require application developers to provide in-depth detail regarding their data collection and use practices to give users more information...more
On Tuesday I wrote about how Epic Games’ CEO Tim Sweeney was engaging Apple on at least three battlefronts. I missed a battlefront and I’m here today to rectify that mistake. I mentioned Epic’s groundbreaking and lucrative...more
Tim Sweeney, the Colossus of Cary, is fighting even bigger foes – Apple and Google. The multibillionaire chief executive of Epic Games has opened a multi-front war on the tribute that app developers are forced to pay to reach...more
Report on Patient Privacy 20, no. 1 (January 2020) - ? A cybersecurity breach temporarily halted cancer radiation treatment services at the Cancer Center of Hawaii on Oahu,[1] the center said. The center, which provides...more
A recent issue of MIT’s Technology Review magazine is titled, “Look how far precision medicine has come.“ At least part of the premise is that personalized medicine or precision medicine is not perceived as having made the...more
The Federal Trade Commission on October 23, 2017, provided guidance on how it will enforce the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) with respect to audio recordings of children. This comes as part of a wave of...more
As federal and state governments struggle to address future healthcare regulation, demand for healthcare that is cheaper, better and faster continues to surge. Every day, new healthcare apps are being developed to respond...more
New York AG Settles Data Protection Enforcement Against Mobile Health Apps - After a year-long investigation into mobile health apps claiming to be able to measure vital signs or health indicators through smartphone...more
Health app developers must be vigilant not only of federal laws, but of state laws as well. On March 23, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced a settlement with developers of three health-related...more
Mobile health apps are becoming more and more popular as a tool for consumers in maintaining healthy lifestyles. However, there is a growing concern that the health-related benefits are being over-stated by mobile health app...more
This month, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in partnership with other federal agencies, has released an online tool that provides developers legal guidance for the creation of mobile health applications (apps). Companies that are...more
The new interactive tool highlights the relevant federal regulatory schemes, but the high-level analysis may limit its value to mobile health app developers....more
This month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued guidance on privacy and security best practices for health-related mobile apps, such as fitness apps connected with wearables, diet and weight loss apps, and health...more
On April 5, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it had created a web-based tool designed to assist developers of health-related mobile apps identify and understand what federal laws and regulations might apply...more
As regulators seek to define their authority and the scope of their enforcement power, more health apps will continue to flood the marketplace and transform how patients are treated. As mobile health applications...more
Consider this: A 42-year-old man arrives at the emergency room showing signs of a heart attack. The ER doctors, using the patient’s activity tracker—in this case, a Fitbit® —are able to pinpoint when the patient’s normal...more
On March 17, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced it had issued warning letters to twelve application (“app”) developers who installed in their apps software created by the company SilverPush that is capable...more