Privacy and data security experts are closely watching a case that for the first time challenges the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) authority to sue companies on behalf of consumers for cybersecurity breaches and lax or misleading data security policies.
In Federal Trade Commission v. Wyndham Worldwide Corporation, the FTC alleges that Wyndham and its hotel subsidiaries violated Section 5 of the FTC Act, which forbids “unfair or deceptive” practices by not maintaining “reasonable and appropriate” data security protections.
