On January 18, the Federal Trade Commission released its annual Privacy and Data Security Update, highlighting its enforcement efforts in 2017.  The report discusses significant enforcement efforts in the areas of privacy, data security, credit reporting and financial privacy, international enforcement, children’s privacy, and telemarketing.  The report also highlights the FTC’s efforts in advocacy, rulemaking, guidance, reports, workshops, and international engagement.

The report indicates that the FTC remains extremely active in its enforcement efforts, across various sectors. The report highlights enforcement actions against large high-profile companies, small businesses, and individuals.  As for workshops and guidance, FTC seemed most active in the areas of internet of things, financial privacy, and artificial intelligence.

Finally, the report notes that, in 2017, the FTC brought its first actions to enforce the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework, which became operational in August 2016.