Blog

By now, you’ve read about the FTC’s settlement with HTC — the agency’s first law enforcement action against a mobile device manufacturer. According to the complaint, when HTC customized the operating systems used on many of its products, it introduced security vulnerabilities that put users’ sensitive information at risk. In addition to requiring implementation of a comprehensive security program, the proposed order includes a first-of-its-kind...

HTC America is a leading manufacturer of smartphones and tablets using the Android, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phone operating systems. The company’s motto is “quietly brilliant.” But based on an FTC lawsuit challenging the company's security practices, consumers might be surprised to find out their devices have also been “quietly vulnerable.” To settle the case — the FTC’s first against a device manufacturer — HTC has agreed to a far-reaching...

In the few years it’s been up and running, Path has billed itself as a different kind of social network. According to a description of its "Values," "Path should be private by default. Forever. You should always be in control of your information and experience." It’s a lovely sentiment. Except that according to an FTC law enforcement action, it wasn’t private by default. It wasn’t private forever. Users weren’t in control of their information and...

You spend a good portion of your time trying to protect sensitive information on your network from high-tech hijackers. That’s important, of course. But don’t let it take your eye off the risks posed by good old-fashioned — make that bad old-fashioned — theft. That’s the message businesses can take from the FTC’s settlement with cord blood bank, Cbr Systems, Inc. New parents have a lot of things to buy — cribs, car seats, and the like. But some...

You know that phrase “If it quacks like a duck. . . “? It’s applicable in the Fair Credit Reporting Act context, too. If a company meets the legal definition of a “consumer reporting agency,” it’s a consumer reporting agency. Including a disclaimer that says, in effect, “But we’re not a CRA!” won’t change that. That’s one important takeaway tip from the FTC’s settlement with Filiquarian Publishing, the agency’s first FCRA case involving mobile...

Bamboo: It’s not just for tiki huts anymore. Consumers are seeing more items, especially clothing and textiles, labeled or advertised as “bamboo.” But according to FTC lawsuits, Amazon.com, Leon Max, Macy’s, and Sears claimed that products were made of bamboo when they were really made of rayon. In addition, some bamboo wannabes were promoted as environmentally friendly. But manufacturing rayon — even when it’s made from bamboo — is far from a...

Not too long ago, talking on the phone, listening to music, and playing games required three clunky pieces of equipment. Manage that wirelessly? Fuhgeddaboutit. But now we can do all that — and more — with a device smaller than a chocolate bar. That took phenomenal feats of technology. But it also took some ground rules to make sure companies had incentives to innovate and consumers could be assured what they bought would work glitch-free with...

Some sports fans spend Saturdays on the field. For the rest of us, raising a Big Foam Finger is exertion enough. But we’ve all read stories about the dangers that head injuries pose to participants in contact sports. That’s why the FTC is continuing to raise concerns about possibly unsubstantiated claims for products advertised to reduce the risk of sports concussions. The FTC just finalized a settlement first announced in August against...

Every business generates paper destined for the circular file. But if documents contain sensitive information, don’t toss them out in a way that could invite unauthorized access. According to the FTC’s lawsuit against PLS Financial Services, PLS Group, and The Payday Loan Store of Illinois, loan applications, credit reports, and other confidential paperwork found their way into dumpsters near the defendants’ locations. The settlement applies just...

Call them contrepreneurs — marketers who use hyped-up promises to sell business opportunities to people eager to be their own boss. As part of a federal-state blitz on bogus bizopps, the FTC announced seven law enforcement actions and developments in five other cases against outfits the agency says used illegal tactics to take more than half a billion dollars from two million Americans trying to make ends meet in a challenging economy. The...