The fight against robocallers is just getting started, and the wheel of justice turns slowly, but the FTC just took down a handful of major operations responsible for billions of unwanted calls, some of them adding additional fraud to the mix. The money coming out of the cases is surprisingly small, however — but there’s a reason for that.
View More FTC smacks down robocallers, but the penalties don’t match their heinous crimesCategory: Ftc
FTC tells ISPs to disclose exactly what information they collect on users and what it’s for
The FTC, in what could be considered a prelude to new regulatory action, has issued an order to several major internet service providers requiring them to share every detail of their data collection practices. The information could expose patterns of abuse or otherwise troubling data use against which the FTC — or states — may want to take action.
View More FTC tells ISPs to disclose exactly what information they collect on users and what it’s forTikTok gets fined $5.7 million for collecting children’s data, announces new kid-friendly version
Success often comes at a price. For the company behind the video clip app TikTok, that price just so happens to be in the form of a record fine.
According to a Feb. 27 Federal Trade Commission statement, the app formerly known as Musical.ly illegally collected data from children under the age of 13, and as a result was hit with a $5.7 million civil penalty.
“The operators of Musical.ly, now known as TikTok, knew children were using the app but they still failed to seek parental consent before collecting names, email addresses, and other personal information from users under the age of 13,” FTC Chairman Joe Simons said in a statement. Read more…
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View More TikTok gets fined $5.7 million for collecting children’s data, announces new kid-friendly versionFTC fines company for fake Amazon reviews in first case of its kind
The U.S. government is taking on fake Amazon reviews.
On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it had reached a settlement in the agency’s first ever case against fraudulent Amazon reviews.
In the FTC’s complaint, it claimed that defendant Cure Encapsulations, Inc. and the company’s owner, Naftula Jacobowitz, paid a third-party website called “amazonverifiedreviews.com” to post fake reviews for its weight loss supplement on Amazon. Along with the falsified reviews purporting to be from actual customers, the FTC also alleged that the company made “false and unsubstantiated claims” for the pills known as Quality Encapsulations Garcinia Cambogia. Read more…
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View More FTC fines company for fake Amazon reviews in first case of its kindFTC creates antitrust task force to monitor tech industry
The field of technology and the business practices within it tend to advance faster than regulators can keep up. But the FTC is making a concerted effort with a new 17-lawyer tech task force dedicated to ensuring “free and fair competition” and watching for anticompetitive conduct among technology companies.
View More FTC creates antitrust task force to monitor tech industryFTC assembles new task force focused on the tech industry’s anti-competitive practices
A new government task force has been assembled to monitor anti-competitive behavior in the tech industry.
On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that its Bureau of Competition is forming a Technology Task Force dedicated to monitoring competition among the U.S. technology industry.
This new task forced will investigate any anti-competitive conduct among the tech market, including online platforms, and have the authority to take enforcement action when necessary.
“The role of technology in the economy and in our lives grows more important every day,” said FTC Chairman Joe Simons in a public statement. “It makes sense for us to closely examine technology markets to ensure consumers benefit from free and fair competition.” Read more…
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FTC finalizes settlement with student loan refinancer SoFi over deceptive advertising
The FTC announced this morning its has approved the final consent order with online student loan refinancer SoFi, which resolves the allegations around the SoFi’s deceptive advertising practices. Last October, the FTC issued a complaint stating that SoFi had been misrepresenting how much money student loan borrowers could save in its online, TV and direct […]
View More FTC finalizes settlement with student loan refinancer SoFi over deceptive advertisingFacebook might have to pay billions of dollars in fines to FTC for privacy violations
Facebook may soon set a new record, just not the kind it likes to brag about.
The social network is facing a multibillion-dollar fine from the Federal Trade Commission over privacy violations, according to a new report in The Washington Post.
The FTC previously confirmed it had opened an investigation into the social network last March, following the Cambridge Analytica debacle. Last month, The Washington Post reported Facebook’s potential fine could be “record-setting,” and significantly higher than the $22.5 million Google was fined in 2012 — the current record-holder for biggest FTC fine against a tech company. Read more…
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View More Facebook might have to pay billions of dollars in fines to FTC for privacy violationsFacebook may face a record-setting multi-billion-dollar fine from the FTC
The Washington Post is reporting that Facebook’s row with the FTC could result in fines an order of magnitude larger than any levied against a tech company by the regulatory body before. While the talks appear to be ongoing, The Washington Post spoke with two people familiar with the situation who said the FTC is […]
View More Facebook may face a record-setting multi-billion-dollar fine from the FTCRomance scams cost more money than any other type of consumer fraud, says the Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission has released data that shows romance scams cost more money than other types of consumer fraud reported to the agency last year—and the problem is getting worse. Romance scammers target people through dating sites and apps or social media, often using fake profiles and sob stories to convince victims to send […]
View More Romance scams cost more money than any other type of consumer fraud, says the Federal Trade CommissionFacebook fears no FTC fine
Reports emerged today that the FTC is considering a fine against Facebook that would be the largest ever from the agency. Even if it were 10 times the size of the largest, a $22.5 million bill sent to Google in 2012, the company would basically laugh it off. Facebook is made of money. But the […]
View More Facebook fears no FTC fineThe government says smartphones are too expensive
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It’s no secret that premium smartphones are selling for fatter and fatter stacks of cash these days. Now, the government is saying that’s a problem — but not for the reason you might think.
The Federal Trade Commission brought an antitrust suit against chip-maker Qualcomm in 2017, and it’s just now playing out in court. Per CNET, the suit alleges that Qualcomm took advantage of a non-competitive marketplace to overcharge Apple and other smartphone makers for use of its chips, technology, and intellectual property.
So while yes, the latest iPhones carry a premium price because Apple keeps tricking them out with more premium features and ever crazier cameras, there are other reasons smartphones have hit hard-to-swallow new pricing plateaus. Across the entire market, smartphones might be more affordable if Qualcomm hadn’t demanded such a sizable cut of manufacturer revenue as a royalty for using its tech. Read more…
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View More The government says smartphones are too expensive