Business Blog

When it comes to older consumers, the usual anti-identity theft advice still applies.  But as we get older, we’re more likely to receive government benefits, visit the doctor regularly, or ponder a move to Del Boca Vista Phase 3 — lifestyle changes that may present different kinds of ID theft concerns.  Sure, it's an important topic for older consumers and their families.  But if you have clients in the financial services, healthcare, or residential care sector, an upcoming FTC workshop will help them focus on what this means for businesses, too.

When the topic turns to debt collection, some people assume the only thing that changes hands is money.  But there’s another important consideration:  the life cycle of consumer information as it flows through the debt collection process.  That's the subject of Life of a Debt: Data Integrity in Debt Collection, a June 6, 2013, roundtable co-hosted by the FTC and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

A lot has been happening on the COPPA front.  A few years ago, the FTC announced it was taking a fresh look at the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule to make sure it was keeping up with the times.  Hundreds attended a national workshop to offer their candid assessment of what could be done to improve the Rule.  Then came more than 400 written comments from consumer groups, industry, educators, and parents.  You suggested sensible steps to keep Moms and Dads in the driver's seat about the information companies collect from their kids online while also streamlining compliance for busin

We can’t figure out why Hollywood hasn’t returned our call, but here's a great idea for an action movie.  FTC attorneys go to court to stop a company from illegally billing people for text message-based subscription services they never asked for and didn’t authorize.  We even have a can’t-miss title:  Crambo.

It’s time for the FTC to recap the past year for The Boss. (We mean taxpayers, not Bruce Springsteen.) The FTC’s Annual Highlights is in an online format this time — be sure to check out the message from FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez — but it’s still packed with stats 'n' charts to show what we’ve been doing to protect America’s consumers.

Funny thing about the Fair Credit Reporting Act:  It’s been around since 1970, it’s broad in scope, and yet a lot of businesses with obligations under the law may not be focusing on compliance.  Warning letters the FTC just sent to six companies in a particular line of work underscore the need to double-check your FCRA responsibilities.

Consumers have made it clear: They want to know what their apps are up to.  And when it comes to apps for kids, italicize that, put it in ALL CAPS, and multiply by 10.  That’s why the FTC has released a new way of letting parents know just what their kids’ apps may be doing.  Savvy app developers will want to take a look, too.

Fair Guide.  Is it a list of consumer protection laws?  With summer coming, maybe ratings of the best funnel cakes and Ferris wheels?  Forgive the flight of fancy, but we see it as a great title for a compendium of blog posts about business compliance.  But that’s not what it is — not by a longshot.

The mobile apps market is thriving and lots of app developers are striving to be players in the game. If you’re developing apps for smartphones, tablets or other mobile devices, there are some basic truth-in-advertising standards and privacy principles that apply to you.