Notice2023-25690
Global Tel*Link; Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
November 21, 2023
Issuing agencies
Federal Trade Commission
Abstract
The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices. The attached Analysis of Proposed Consent Order to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the complaint and the terms of the consent order--embodied in the consent agreement--that would settle these allegations.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 223 (Tuesday, November 21, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 223 (Tuesday, November 21, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81081-81082]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25690]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
[File No. 212 3012]
Global Tel*Link; Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public
Comment
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Proposed consent agreement; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged
violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or
practices. The attached Analysis of Proposed Consent Order to Aid
Public Comment describes both the allegations in the complaint and the
terms of the consent order--embodied in the consent agreement--that
would settle these allegations.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 21, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file comments online or on paper by
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Please write ``Global Tel*Link
Corporation; File No. 212 3012'' on your comment and file your comment
online at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> by following the instructions on
the web-based form. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, please
mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission,
Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Mail Stop H-144
(Annex I), Washington, DC 20580.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robin Wetherill (202-326-2220),
Attorney, Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, Bureau of
Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave.
NW, Washington, DC 20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 6(f) of the Federal
Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Sec. Rule 2.34, 16 CFR
2.34, notice is hereby given that the above-captioned consent agreement
containing a consent order to cease and desist, having been filed with
and accepted, subject to final approval, by the Commission, has been
placed on the public record for a period of 30 days. The following
Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes the terms of the consent
agreement and the allegations in the complaint. An electronic copy of
the full text of the consent agreement package can be obtained at
<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/commission-actions">https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/commission-actions</a>.
You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before December 21,
2023. Write ``Global Tel*Link Corporation; File No. 212 3012'' on your
comment. Your comment--including your name and your state--will be
placed on the public record of this proceeding, including, to the
extent practicable, on the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website.
Because of heightened security screening, postal mail addressed to
the Commission will be subject to delay. We strongly encourage you to
submit your comments online through the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>
website. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write ``Global
Tel*Link Corporation; File No. 212 3012'' on your comment and on the
envelope, and mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Mail
Stop H-144 (Annex I), Washington, DC 20580. If possible, submit your
paper comment to the Commission by overnight service.
Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible
website at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, you are solely responsible for
making sure your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential
information. Your comment should not include sensitive personal
information, such as your or anyone else's Social Security number; date
of birth; driver's license number or other state identification number,
or foreign country equivalent; passport number; financial account
number; or credit or debit card number. You are also solely responsible
for making sure your comment does not include sensitive health
information, such as medical records or other individually identifiable
health information. In addition, your comment should not include any
``trade secret or any commercial or financial information which . . .
is privileged or confidential''--as provided by Section 6(f) of the FTC
Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule Sec. 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR
4.10(a)(2)--including competitively sensitive information such as
costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices,
manufacturing processes, or customer names.
Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is
requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled
``Confidential,'' and must comply with FTC Rule Sec. 4.9(c). In
particular, the written request for confidential treatment that
accompanies the comment must include the factual and legal basis for
the request and must identify the specific portions of the comment to
be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule Sec. 4.9(c). Your
comment will be kept confidential only if the General Counsel grants
your request in accordance with the law and the public interest. Once
your comment has been posted on the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>
website--as legally required by FTC Rule Sec. 4.9(b)--we cannot redact
or remove your comment from that website, unless you submit a
confidentiality request that meets the requirements for such treatment
under FTC Rule Sec. 4.9(c), and the General Counsel grants that
request.
Visit the FTC website at <a href="http://www.ftc.gov">http://www.ftc.gov</a> to read this document
and the news release describing the proposed settlement. The FTC Act
and other laws the Commission administers permit the collection of
public comments to consider and use in this proceeding, as appropriate.
The Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments
it receives on or before December 21, 2023. For information on the
Commission's privacy policy, including routine uses permitted by the
Privacy Act, see <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy">https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy</a>.
Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment
The Federal Trade Commission (the ``Commission'') has accepted,
subject to final approval, an agreement containing a consent order from
Global Tel*Link Corporation, which also operates under the name Viapath
(``Viapath''); Telmate, LLC (``Telmate''); and TouchPay Holdings, LLC
(``TouchPay'') (collectively, ``Respondents''). The Proposed Order has
been placed on the public record for 30 days for receipt of comments
from interested persons. Comments received during this period will
become part of the public record. After 30 days, the Commission will
again review the agreement and the comments received, and it will
decide whether it should withdraw from the agreement and take
appropriate action
[[Page 81082]]
or make final the agreement's Proposed Order.
Viapath is one of the largest providers of inmate telephone
services in the United States. In combination with subsidiaries such as
Telmate and TouchPay, Viapath also provides a host of additional
communications, technology, and financial services to incarcerated
consumers, their friends and family, and other outside contacts of
incarcerated individuals, and to jails, prisons, and other carceral
institutions (``Facility'' or ``Facilities'').
In August 2020, a third-party contractor engaged by Telmate left a
database containing consumers' personal information publicly exposed on
the internet (the ``Incident''). The exposed database contained the
personal information of thousands of people who used Respondents'
products and services, including GettingOut, VisitNow (also known as
VisitMe), Command, Telmate Inmate Telephone service, and Guardian.
The exposed personal information included the full text of messages
exchanged using Respondents' services, grievance forms submitted by
incarcerated people to jails and prisons, and information about
incarcerated and non-incarcerated users such as names, dates of birth,
phone numbers, usernames or email addresses in combination with
passwords, home addresses, driver's license numbers, passport numbers,
payment card numbers, financial account information, Social Security
numbers, and data related to telephone services (like the dates and
times of calls, called numbers, calling numbers, station used, and
location information, like certain individuals' latitude and longitude
at particular points in time). One or more unauthorized individuals
accessed the exposed database and downloaded personal information from
it. At least some of the exposed information was made available for
sale on the dark web, where other people could also access or buy it.
The Commission's proposed six-count complaint alleges Respondents
violated Section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act by: (1)
unfairly failing to employ reasonable data security measures (Count I);
(2) unfairly failing to notify consumers affected by the Incident in a
timely manner (Count II); (3) deceptively misrepresenting that
Respondents implemented reasonable and appropriate measures to protect
consumers' personal information against unauthorized access; (4)
deceptively misrepresenting that Respondents had no reason to believe
that consumers' sensitive personal information was affected by the
Incident; (5) deceptively misrepresenting that Respondents would timely
notify affected consumers; and (6) deceptively 2 misrepresenting that
Respondents had never experienced a data security breach or that they
had not experienced a data security breach within a particular
timeframe that included the dates of the Incident.
The Proposed Order contains provisions designed to prevent
Respondents from engaging in the same or similar acts or practices in
the future. The Proposed Order also contains provisions designed to
provide products to consumers affected by the Incident. Provision I of
the Proposed Order requires Respondents to establish and implement, and
thereafter maintain, a comprehensive data security program that
protects the security, confidentiality, and integrity of consumers'
Personal Information, as that term is defined in the Proposed Order.
Provision II of the Proposed Order requires Respondents to obtain
initial and biennial data security assessments by an independent third-
party professional (``Assessor'') for 20 years, and Provision III
requires Respondents to cooperate with the Assessor in connection with
the assessments required by Provision II. Provision IV of the Proposed
Order requires that a senior corporate manager or senior office of
Respondents certify Respondents' compliance with the Proposed Order.
Provision V of the Proposed Order requires Respondents to provide
consumers affected by the Incident with two years of enrollment in a
credit monitoring and identity protection product. This provision
includes requirements that are designed to help incarcerated consumers
affected by the Incident access the product. Provision VI of the
Proposed Order requires Respondents to notify consumers and relevant
Facilities of any future incident that results in Respondents
notifying, pursuant to a statutory or regulatory requirement, any U.S.
federal, state, or local government entity that Personal Information of
or about an individual consumer was, or is reasonably believed to have
been, accessed or acquired, or publicly exposed without authorization
(``Covered Incident''). Provision VII of the Proposed Order requires
Respondents to notify the Commission of any future Covered Incident.
Provision VIII of the Proposed Order prohibits Respondents from
misrepresenting: (1) Respondents' privacy and security measures to
prevent unauthorized access to Personal Information; (2) the
occurrence, extent, nature, potential consequences, or any other fact
relating to a Covered Incident actually or potentially involving or
affecting Personal Information within the ownership, custody, or
control of one or more Respondents; (3) the extent to which Respondents
have notified or will notify affected parties in connection with a
Covered Incident; (4) the extent to which Respondents meet or exceed
industry-standard security or privacy practices; and (5) the extent to
which Respondents otherwise protect the privacy, security,
availability, confidentiality, or integrity of Personal Information.
Provision IX of the Proposed Order require Respondents to provide
notice of the Incident by: (1) posting notice on each of Respondents'
websites and the home screen of each of Respondents' mobile
applications that has been used to provide Telmate products and
services; and (2) sending notice to each consumer affected by the
Incident that did not previously receive notification of the Incident.
Provision X of the Proposed Order requires Respondents to provide
relevant Facilities with notice of the Incident.
Provisions XI-XIV of the Proposed Order are reporting and
compliance provisions, which include recordkeeping requirements and
provisions requiring Respondents to provide information or documents
necessary for the Commission to monitor compliance. Provision XV states
the Proposed Order will remain in effect for 20 years.
The purpose of this analysis is to aid public comment on the
proposed order. It is not intended to constitute an official
interpretation of the complaint or proposed order, or to modify in any
way the proposed order's terms.
By direction of the Commission.
April J. Tabor,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-25690 Filed 11-20-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on November 21, 2023.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.