Penalty Amount
$250,000
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced a settlement with Glow, Inc., operator of a fertility-tracking mobile app, over privacy and security failures that risked exposing millions of users’ sensitive personal and medical information. The settlement includes a $250,000 civil penalty and injunctive terms requiring Glow to implement privacy and security design principles, obtain affirmative user consent for data sharing, and allow users to revoke consent. Glow was alleged to have failed to safeguard health information, allowed unauthorized access to user data, and maintained flawed password reset functions that could enable third-party access without consent.
Glow must pay a $250,000 civil penalty. It is required to incorporate privacy and security design principles into its mobile apps, obtain affirmative user consent before sharing or disclosing personal, medical, or sensitive information, allow users to revoke previously granted consent, and consider how privacy or security lapses uniquely impact women. Glow must also comply with all applicable state consumer protection and privacy laws.
In-house legal teams should review privacy, data processing, and security clauses in user agreements, vendor contracts for third-party service providers handling user data, and public privacy policies. Specifically, teams must ensure clauses require affirmative user consent prior to sharing or disclosing sensitive or health data, include clear mechanisms for users to revoke consent, mandate implementation of privacy-by-design and security principles (including secure password reset functions), and require robust safeguards for medical and personal information. Additionally, contracts with app developers or technology vendors should include specific security requirements for access controls and password functions to prevent unauthorized data access.
Entity
Glow, Inc.
Also known as: Glow
Industry
TechnologyOfficial Press Release
https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-becerra-announces-landmark-settlement-against-glow-inc-–
2020 09 17 People v Upward Labs Complaint
https://oag.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2020%2009-17%20-%20People%20v%20Upward%20Labs%20-%20Complaint.pdf
People v. Glow Final Judgment and Permanent Injunction 0
https://oag.ca.gov/sites/default/files/People%20v.%20Glow%20-%20Final%20Judgment%20and%20Permanent%20Injunction%20-%2007374856.pdf
California Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/privacy-enforcement-actions
"Glow, Inc. (Glow), a technology company that operates a fertility-tracking mobile app that stores personal and medical information"
"Thursday, September 17, 2020"
"$250,000 civil penalty"
"Failed to adequately safeguard health information;"
"Allowed access to user’s information without the user’s consent;"
"Additional security problems with the app's password change function could have allowed third parties to reset user account passwords and access information in those accounts without user consent."
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$12.8M
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