Can FTC Bring "Unfairness" Claims In Alleged Data Security Breach Cases?

That's the important question currently before a federal appeals court - a question with huge implications for advertisers and other custodians of sensitive customer data. How did the question arise?

In 2013, the FTC sued Wyndham Worldwide Corporation ("Wyndham") over security breaches of the Wyndham computer systems that allegedly leaked 619,000 customers' personal information, including payment card account numbers, expiration dates, and security codes. The FTC alleged that, after discovering two previous security breaches of its systems by outside hackers, Wyndham "failed to take appropriate steps in a reasonable time frame" to prevent a third compromise of its network, failed to employ reasonable and appropriate measures to protect consumers' personal information against unauthorized access, and that such failures constituted practices that were not only "deceptive" but also "unfair" under Section 5 of the FTC Act.