On April 3, 2013, the Federal Trade Commission issued a press release that marks yet another step in its continuing trend of actions involving data brokers and data providers. As we have noted in earlier blog posts, the agency is making a concerted effort on a number of fronts to enforce the laws that protect [...]

The Federal Trade Commission recently approved nine final orders that settle charges against seven rent-to-own stores and a software design firm and its principals. The charges stemmed from shocking allegations that the companies spied on consumers using computers that the consumers had rented from them. Among other things, the Commission’s complaint alleged that the computers [...]

“Cramming” – while it sounds like the experience of being in the middle row of a cross-country flight – actually refers to unauthorized charges on phone bills. Residential and business telecommunications customers have experienced cramming on their wireline bills for years, particularly for premium and other pay-per-call services. And the FTC has brought nearly two [...]

Some lawyers who deal regularly with the Federal Trade Commission in investigations of allegedly false and deceptive online advertising have noticed that the agency is beginning to take steps in these investigations that are unprecedented and draconian – and that judges seem to be going along. Below is a set of questions and answers with [...]

The increasing difficulties faced by internet providers and data gatherers in the international realm have yet again come to the fore. Privacy regulators in France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Italy have banded together to investigate whether to fine Google for what they perceive to be violations of European Union privacy laws. [...]

Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission released a staff report outlining key issues facing consumers and companies as they adopt mobile payment services, entitled “Paper, Plastic . . . or Mobile? An FTC Workshop on Mobile Payments.” The report is based on a workshop held by the FTC in 2012 to examine the mobile [...]

Google recently agreed to a settlement after a three-year investigation conducted by 38 state attorneys general stemming for allegations that it had violated individuals’ privacy rights when it collected information from unsecured wireless networks while Google was engaged in its Street View mapping project. Full text of the settlement is available here. Google used special [...]

This week, the FTC released updated guidance to its 2000 “Dot Com Disclosures,” a guide covering disclosures in online advertising. The online world has certainly changed in 13 years, and the new guidelines, available here, cover advances in online advertising, including mobile advertising. One central theme still prevails: existing consumer protection laws and rules apply no [...]

The Federal Trade Commission recently announced that it has approved a final order settling charges against Compete, Inc., a Boston-based web analytics company. Compete, Inc. sells reports on consumer browsing behavior to clients looking to drive more traffic to their websites and increase sales. Compete, Inc. obtained the information by getting consumers to install the [...]

According to a recent NBC News report, Equifax, one of the three largest American credit reporting agencies, has assembled an enormous database containing employment and salary information for more than 190 million U.S. adults. Very few people knew of the existence of the database, but the information in it allegedly is being sold to third [...]