Business Blog

Delivery by drone? We thought the Jetsons’ personal jetpack was the height of futuristic fantasy, but drone technology is bringing benefits like that closer to reality. But what about the consumer protection implications, especially when it comes to privacy? That’s on the agenda at the second installment of the FTC’s Fall Technology Series on drones on October 13, 2016.

Researchers report that 72% of American adults now own a smartphone and when they’re on their phones, 89% of their time is spent on apps. An analysis of how app developers generate revenue raises some interesting issues that touch on consumer privacy.

As the old saying goes, “The job’s not finished until the paperwork is done.” But since the enactment of the FTC’s Disposal Rule, the job’s not finished until the paperwork – in this case, consumer reports or information derived from them – is securely destroyed.

Ransom notes used to come in the form of pasted letters clipped from newspapers. Now datanappers gain entry through a weak spot in a company’s network, lock the business out of its own system, and hold files – including sensitive health or financial information – for ransom. Would you know how to react if your business is the next victim? And are you taking reasonable steps to reduce the risk of that happening?

Gary Numan sang, “Here in my car, I can only receive.” Well, those days are in the past. More and more vehicles are outfitted with the latest communications technologies like Bluetooth, GPS navigation, roadside assistance, streaming music, and web browsing. With mobile technologies in rental cars, consumers’ personal information can stay with the car long after the consumer has returned it. If you’re a car rental company, it’s important to think about protecting consumer privacy in connected rental cars. 

If a disclosure is intended to inform consumers – and isn’t that pretty much the job description of a disclosure? – it should accomplish that task effectively. A “disclosure” that fails that fundamental test is no disclosure at all. That’s FTC 101. So what can be done to improve the testing and evaluation of disclosures? Leading academics and testing professionals will gather at the FTC on September 15, 2016, to explore that topic.

We’re not being overdramatic when we describe it as a business executive’s nightmare: a shadowy contact from a hacker who has infiltrated a company’s network, encrypted the data, and now demands ransom for a key to access the files.

The FTC’s recent action against Volkswagen focused on the company’s “clean diesel” claims, which were rendered false by VW’s installation of a defeat device that cheated on emissions tests. The history-making $10 billion settlement will offer eligible car owners choices to compensate them for the deception.

“It’s a dog’s life,” they say – and according to Mars Petcare, its Eukanuba brand of dog food could extend dogs’ lives by 30%. But the FTC alleges that Mars made misleading representations about the products’ life-extending benefits and falsely claimed that scientific tests supported what the company said.