Penalty Amount
$25,000,000
Comcast disclosed personal information of approximately 75,000 customers who had paid for unlisted VOIP phone service. The settlement includes a $25 million penalty and $8 million in restitution, along with a permanent injunction requiring improved privacy practices and customer disclosures.
Comcast must pay $25 million in penalties and $8 million in restitution to affected customers, implement a permanent injunction to improve handling of customer complaints and vendor restrictions, provide easy-to-read disclosure forms, and refund fees paid for unlisted service.
In-house legal teams should review all customer and vendor agreements, especially those related to unlisted VOIP phone services, to ensure robust data privacy protections. Focus on clauses governing data sharing, customer consent for personal information disclosure, and integration of privacy practices. Specific reviews include data processing addendums for vendors, service agreements for unlisted features, and confidentiality provisions. Changes may be needed to explicitly prohibit unauthorized disclosure of unlisted customer data, require opt-in consent for any data sharing, implement clear breach notification procedures for data incidents, and incorporate terms for restitution and permanent injunction compliance to align with settlement requirements.
Entity
Comcast
Industry
TelecommunicationsOfficial Press Release
Comcast final judgment and permanent injunction
https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press_releases/Comcast%20final%20judgment%20and%20permanent%20injunction.pdf
People of CA v Comcast complaint RG15786197 Alameda Superior
https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press_releases/People%20of%20CA%20v%20Comcast%20complaint%20RG15786197%20Alameda%20Superior.pdf
California Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/privacy-enforcement-actions
The California Privacy Protection Agency announced that the California State Legislature approved the Expanding Privacy Rights Act (SB 923), which expands the CCPA's right to delete to cover all non-exempt personal information a business holds about a consumer, including data originally collected from third parties. The bill also requires online-only businesses with a direct relationship to consumers to provide online methods, such as webforms, for submitting access, deletion, and correction requests, and expressly permits businesses to retain suppression lists so deleted information stays deleted. The bill, authored by Senator Becker and sponsored by CalPrivacy, now goes to the Governor for consideration.
A bipartisan coalition of 33 state attorneys general, led by Minnesota AG Keith Ellison, began trial against Meta Platforms, Inc., alleging the company knowingly designed and deployed harmful features on Facebook and Instagram that drive children and teens to use the platforms compulsively, while falsely assuring parents and the public that its platforms were safe for young users. The states also allege Meta illegally collected personal information from children under 13 without parental consent, violating COPPA. The trial opened before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, with the states seeking monetary penalties and injunctive relief.
A coalition of 12 state attorneys general, led by Colorado AG Phil Weiser, obtained a temporary restraining order from a federal court in California to halt the proposed $110 billion merger of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. by Paramount Skydance Corporation. The lawsuit alleges the merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act by substantially lessening competition in film distribution, anticipated blockbuster film distribution, and licensing cable TV channels.
The California Privacy Protection Agency (CalPrivacy) joined a coalition of 18 Attorneys General and state agencies in opposing the proposed SECURE Data Act, a federal privacy bill that would preempt stronger state privacy laws like the CCPA. The coalition argues the bill would weaken consumer privacy protections, limit enforcement remedies, and undermine California's Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP).
A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general began trial against Meta Platforms, Inc., alleging the company knowingly designed addictive features on Facebook and Instagram that harm children and teens, deceived parents about platform safety, and illegally collected personal information from children under 13 without parental consent in violation of COPPA. The states seek monetary penalties, an injunction to stop unlawful practices, and other relief. The trial is being litigated in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
$12.8M
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with multiple district attorneys and the California Privacy Protection Agency, announced a $12.75 million settlement with General Motors for illegally selling hundreds of thousands of Californians' location and driving data to data brokers Verisk and LexisNexis without notice or consent. The settlement includes the largest CCPA penalty to date, a five-year ban on selling driving data to consumer reporting agencies, and requirements to delete retained data and implement a robust privacy program.