FTC

Facebook could be hit with massive fines by the Federal Trade Commission for failing to protect users’ data. According to a report by the Washington Post, the fines would be “record-setting,” and could have a major impact on the popular social media site. According to three people close to the discussions, who were not authorized […]

Federal Trade Commission chairman Joe Simons announced Tuesday that the agency would be investigating the use of micro-transactions, commonly referred to as loot boxes, in video games. According to NBC, there has been growing concern around the use of these loot boxes, which some view as a form of gambling designed to be addictive that […]

One of those blanket-like garments with sleeves called a Snuggie might have kept you warm all winter and depending on where you purchased that product; it could give you some spring shopping money. If you happened to purchase one of those magical mesh doors marketed on TV, you might get a refund check as well, […]

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) just slapped Lenovo with a $3.5 million fine for risking users’ security with third-party adware pre-installed on its devices. Lenovo has been in a dispute with the FTC for two and a half years over this issue. The laptops that came with pre-installed adware were sold from late 2014 until […]

This June, Amazon announced that it was purchasing Whole Foods for a whopping $13.7 billion dollars, the internet retailer’s biggest deal ever, with the price tag also including all debts that the supermarket chain held. The deal meant that Amazon would gain control over all 465 Whole Foods stores across North America and the United […]

Disney has been sued. A lawsuit filed against the Walt Disney Company alleges that several dozen of its smartphone apps are illegally tracking and spying on children. A new report claims that the Walt Disney Company (or simply “Disney”) is facing a class-action lawsuit for allegedly dishonoring the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, […]

On Monday, the privacy rights watchdog organization Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, accusing Google of misleading customers about the extent of surveillance involved in Google’s new Store Sales Measurement program. In May, Google unveiled a tool that would enable advertisers to track the effectiveness of advertisements in encouraging […]

The biggest daily fantasy companies, Draft Kings and Fanduel, are currently fighting a bid to block their merger. The Federal Trade Commission launched proceedings to halt the deal stating that it violated anti-trust laws and would create a near monopoly of the daily fantasy sports market. The two companies vigorously defended their merger, saying that […]

Net neutrality is a buzz word that has been in the news a lot lately. There could be big changes coming to the internet very soon, so let’s make sure we all understand exactly what it is and what changes we could be facing. Net neutrality is when our ISP (Internet Service Providers) allow all […]

While Apple is battling Qualcomm for $1 billion in royalties, Nokia’s litigation filed in December of last year is finally progressing. It seems Apple may have another business to worry about, and this one is just as important as the Qualcomm case. The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) confirmed on Tuesday, January 24 that it […]

Apple is suing one its most important chip suppliers, Qualcomm. According to records witnessed by Business Insider, the Cupertino-based tech behemoth is “accusing Qualcomm of withholding $1 billion in rebates under a deal [the two] had struck to keep Qualcomm modems in Apple products, including the iPhone and iPad.” As such, Apple is seeking approximately […]

Lumosity, the “brain training” program by Lumos Labs, has landed the company in hot water after the FTC determined that they were participating in false advertising. According to a report from CBC, the FTC said that Lumosity “preyed on consumers’ fears” in claiming that playing their games a few times a week could improve work […]

Herbalife officially owes $200 million after agreeing to a settlement that will end a two-year FTC investigation into allegedly deceptive business practices. The settlement marks a massive victory for Herbalife despite the $200 million price tag, since the supplement company will walk away from the investigation without the FTC labeling it a pyramid scheme. In […]

A quick Google search for “PewDiePie” will yield a slew of editorials with some variation of the headline, “Warner Bros. Pays Off PewDiePie And Other YouTubers For Positive Game Reviews.” A quick Twitter search for “PewDiePie” will present a plethora of mentions, tweets, and articles that either slam him with scathing ferocity, defend him with […]

Lumosity’s much-hyped brain training exercises are a bunch of bunk, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has ruled. And if Lumosity wishes to continuing marketing is so-called “brain training” program, the company that owns it — Lumos Labs — will have to unearth some compelling scientific evidence that their cute games actually keep the mind sharp […]

Lumosity has been fined by the FTC for “deceptive” ads that promised “brain workout.” The company offers subscription based mental games to improve memory and cognitive ability. Online consumer company Lumosity has agreed to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The company has been fined $2 million for its claims about improving memory […]

LifeLock has been asked to deposit $100 million for a settlement claim by FTC. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had charged the company for making deceptive claims about identity theft protection capabilities. The agency even charged the company for failing to take adequate measures to protect customers’ personal data under a previous court order. LifeLock […]

YouTube has long dominated the online video market and might seem to many internet users as impregnable, much as Yahoo! once was, however the Xbox One advertising scandal couldn’t have come at a worse time due to competition for views and stars (many “significant” ones were involved in the Xbox One scandal) from Facebook’s burgeoning […]

A recent FTC report has found that the prominent YouTubers were paid for positive coverage of Microsoft’s Xbox One system without disclosure. According to the FTC, the payments were part of a lucrative advertising deal with Machinima, a popular media and game streaming company. Multiple YouTubers were paid to be a part of an advertising […]

A federal court in Arizona has shut down Vemma Nutrition, a company that many say duped college kids out of hundreds of millions while paying them little or nothing. According to the Associated Press, the shutdown came after the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against Vemma, claiming the company was little more than a […]

In February, Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) and Office Depot, Inc. (NYSE: ODP) proposed a merger than would see the companies combine in a deal that then valued Office Depot for $6.3 billion. Shares of both Staples and Office Depot initially soared on the news, only to face a continued slow slide over the following months. […]

The video game Dead Realm by Section Studios launched on Steam sometime ago and has been a major success. The multiplayer horror game even temporarily made Steam’s top sellers list. Dead Realm is especially popular among YouTubers because it was designed to be fun to watch. “We developed this game to not only be fun […]

Identity theft occurs on a daily basis and is everywhere. Doing a quick Google search about it, will yield millions of results on how to prevent it from happening. And there are even movies like Identity Thief, which paints the picture of how horrible it is to be in this situation. Although some helpful sites […]

Kim Kardashian received a stern letter from the FDA last week after she shared a photo of herself holding a bottle of Diclegis morning sickness pills. Kardashian, 34, was so excited to tell her 42.6 million followers that her morning sickness was gone thanks to the pills, which were prescribed by her doctor. But she […]

Chatter about possible intervention on the part of the Federal Trade Commission in the proposed merger between Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) and Office Depot, Inc. (NASDAQ: ODP) first announced in February, continues. The proposed deal, initially valued at $6.3 billion, received broad approval from Office Depot shareholders. Staples had been the subject of lobbying by […]

Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has succeeded in forcing TracFone, a Mobile Service provider to refund its customers’ money over ‘Unlimited Data Plans’, which had throttling enabled. The FTC has reached a settlement with TracFone. This landmark breakthrough could be the first of many refunds for screwed-over customers with so-called unlimited data plans. The US regulator […]

The Federal Trade Commission cannot stop AT&T from throttling unlimited data customers, says AT&T. The carrier claimed in a motion to dismiss an FTC lawsuit that the FTC has no jurisdiction over AT&T’s data service because of the company’s status as a common carrier. Previously reported by the Inquisitr, the lawsuit against AT&T began early […]

The United States Government announced on Tuesday, that it is suing AT&T for misleading customers in regards to the unlimited data plans that it sold to customers. The lawsuit claims that customer’s data was throttled when a certain level of data was reached. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the throttling was deceptive, claiming that […]

A US Court has okayed a lawsuit that the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) was mulling against Wyndham Worldwide Corp. (WYN). The case apparently involves poor data security measures which were easily comprised to gain access to data on more than 619,000 consumer credit-card accounts. U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark today rejected the company’s […]

Robocalls might have been zapped for good after a Long Island inventor came up with a cunning system that hangs up on automated calls. “Nomorobo,” the creation of 34-year-old Aaron Foss, can terminate robocalls before they even reach your home. As Foss told The New York Daily News: “I know how annoying they are, how […]

HTC America is being forced to address widespread security vulnerabilities with various devices. According to the FTC, the security issues affect millions of HTC devices throughout North America. As part of a settlement, HTC will be subject to third party security assessments every other year for the next 20 years. According to HTC spokesperson, Sally […]

Helena, MN – A $70 million phone charge is part of a police investigation into a Montana family that falsely charged their customers extra phone charges in order to line their pockets. A Federal Trade Commission civil complaint says Steven Sann, his wife Terry, son Nathan, and accountant Robert Braach run a maze of nine […]

Harry Reid denies role in scheme to end a federal investigation into a Utah businessman. St. George businessman Jeremy Johnson, who’s accused of running a $350 million software scheme, allegedly sent software to consumers for a supposedly risk-free trial but billed them anyway. Jeremy Johnson was arrested at a Phoenix airport in 2011, carrying more […]

Google has been under the scrutiny of the Federal Trade Commission and the European Commission for several years now, but the agencies’ antitrust investigations are expected to finally come to a close early this year — and Microsoft is worried that the search giant will walk away with nothing more than a slap on the […]

The FTC announced today that they have adopted final amendments in the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule. The rule was modified in response to growing privacy concerns involving children online. The revision of the COPPA Rule is intended to ensure that the rules evolve along with technological progression. The main concern addressed was a growing […]

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is asking that the US government file an antitrust lawsuit against Google. In a staff report, the agency claims that Google demanded sales embargoes against products that use patents required to be licensed under fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory (FRAND) terms. The FTC claims that Google attempted to use those embargoes […]

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is sick and tired of receiving complaints regarding robocall marketing campaigns and it’s finally doing something to stop the madness. The agency on Friday placed a $50,000 prize up for grabs. The winner of the prize will be the first person or business to come up with a smart and […]

The US Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit against Dish Network, claiming the company has violated telemarketing regulations by contacting consumers who submitted their names to the National Do Not Call Registry. According to Reuters, the violations date back to 2007, and number in the millions. FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz is understandably troubled by […]

The Federal Trade Commission working alongside seventeen different child advocacy groups have teamed up against several corporations who have been collecting children’s information without parental consent. Other companies included in the lawsuit are Subway, General Mills, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon. The groups claims that all firms included in their complaint have directly and maliciously violated […]

In a move that sent shock waves through the Multi Level Marketing Industry, the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) shut down Zeekler.Com and its affiliate website, ZeekRewards, on Friday, August 17, 2012. The SEC claimed the company was a $600 million Ponzi scheme, built on a pyramid that paid older affiliates from the revenues of […]

Search giant Google has just been hit with a whopping $22.5 million fine for violating a privacy settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and tracking the activity of Safari users. The penalty, which was announced Thursday, matches the figure reported by The Associated Press and other media outlets last month. It’s the highest ever single […]

The Federal Trade Commission has handed out $800,000 in fines to data collector Spokeo, alleging that the web platform violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by marketing consumer profiles without giving the assurance that those profiles would be used for legal purposes. Essentially Spokeo gathered information from social networking sites and then sold that information. […]

When Google announced its proposed changes to its privacy policy, it sparked nothing short of an uproar from your privacy advocates to your casual internet user. It even recently drew attention from the European Union, with regulators calling on Google to halt the changes. Google still hasn’t backed down, and very likely won’t, but that […]

Last year, the FTC started their antitrust investigation of Google. Since then, the company has launched their social network, Google+ and just recently changes to search where Google+ is highlighted. This has sparked more concerns and the FTC is said to be adding the social network to it’s investigation of possible antitrust practices. Via Businessweek: […]

Facebook tracking has come under FTC and Senate committee fire in recent times as rumors circulate in which Facebook tracks not only logged in users but also non-users who access any Facebook page for any number of reasons. It was just one week ago that the FTC offered Facebook a settlement over a complaint which […]

Two years ago the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) accused Facebook of using “deceptive behavior” in an attempt to have site users accept privacy settings that benefited the company but left user accounts open to public scrutiny and now the federal organization is said to be nearing a deal with the world’s largest social network. Under […]

The FTC haven’t changed their rules for advertising in eleven-years and now the agency is welcoming public opinion to determine how they can change those rules to better adapt to the online environment. FOC staff are busy updating the “Dot Com Disclosures: Information About Online Advertising” rules which they believe have become outdated with the […]

After ruling that Google Buzz violated it’s own privacy policy the FTC today announced long reaching privacy audits for the company that span more than two decades. According to the Official Google Blog the company will now “ask users to give us affirmative consent” before they make any changes towards how information is shared. Google […]

Adobe Flash is used on 98% of computers around the world and now the FTC has taken an active interest in how the programs cookies are installed and uninstalled on user computers. If you’re familiar with Flash cookie tracking you are probably aware that cookies are not deleted via standard practices, such as deleting browser […]

Well this one caught me right off guard, especially coming from the FTC but is seems that the agency has made a rather interesting decision in its choice of their Chief Technologist. In a press release this morning Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz has named Ed Felten, Professor of Computer Science and Public Affairs […]