United States: Wyndham Seeks Immediate Appeal Over Whether FTC Has Authority To Regulate Data Security

We have written previously about FTC v. Wyndham Worldwide Corp., currently pending in federal district court in New Jersey, and its potential significance for data security class actions. A recent opinion in that case has brought it back into the news—and made clear that the stakes are as high as ever.

Over the FTC's opposition, the district court certified an interlocutory appeal to the Third Circuit regarding its earlier denial of Wyndham's motion to dismiss. Specifically, the district court certified two questions of law for appellate review: (1) whether the FTC has the authority under Section 5 of the FTC Act to pursue an unfairness claim involving data security; and (2) whether the FTC must formally promulgate regulations before bringing such an unfairness claim. Here is a copy of Wyndham's petition to the Third Circuit to accept the certified appeal.

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