U.S. Federal Trade Commission - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• Seller of melanoma detection apps settles FTC complaint

  Smartphone users might be better off seeing a doctor than relying on a family of mobile apps to diagnose whether moles on their skin are cancerous.

• Ad group urges FTC to reject right to be forgotten in US

  The U.S. Federal Trade Commission should reject a privacy group's push to extend the E.U.'s controversial right to be forgotten rules to the U.S. because such regulations would have a "sweeping" negative effect on many U.S. companies, a trade group said.

• FTC sues identity protection service LifeLock again

  Identity protection service LifeLock said Tuesday it is prepared to go to court after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed a fresh lawsuit alleging the company has failed to protect its users' data and deceptively advertises its services.

• Nest, Amazon and their IoT ilk spark privacy concerns

  Privacy concerns might throw a wrench into companies' plans to make Internet-connected devices mainstream fixtures in the home.

• The Upload: Your tech news briefing for Tuesday, July 7

  Privacy group wants Google to forget more... Programmer escapes vampire squid... Self-driving cars evade human menace... and more tech news

• Privacy group files FTC complaint to push Google to extend right to be forgotten to US

  Google's refusal to implement the EU's controversial right to be forgotten rules in the U.S. amounts to an unfair and deceptive business practice, a frequent critic of the search engine giant said.

• FTC settles with developers of sneaky cryptocurrency mining app

  The developers of a mobile app called Prized that secretly mined cryptocurrencies on people's mobile phones have settled with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission after being accused of deceptive trade practices.

• Florida telemarketer, under FTC watch, suffers data breach

  A Florida-based computer tech support call center has suffered a data breach, with customer records being abused by fraudsters trying to get access to online bank accounts.

• The Upload: Your tech news briefing for Tuesday, June 23

  Privacy group demands Uber probe... Europol hunts Isis online... Oracle goes all-in on the cloud... and more tech news.

• US privacy group complains about Uber data collection

  Uber Technologies' new data collection policy, allowing the ride-hailing company to access a user's location even when the smartphone app is not actively in use, violates the privacy rights and personal safety of U.S. customers, according to a complaint filed Monday by a privacy group.

• FTC charges game developer with misusing money raised on Kickstarter

  A project developer who raised more than US$122,800 on Kickstarter to create a new board game has been charged by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission with using the money for personal equipment, moving expenses, rent and licenses for a separate project.

• RadioShack, US states reach agreement on sale of customer data

  RadioShack has reached agreement with U.S. states over the sale of customer data, by consenting to limit the number of email addresses to be sold, and giving customers the opportunity to be removed from the list.

• FTC recommends conditions for sale of RadioShack customer data

  The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has weighed in on the contentious issue of the proposed sale of consumer data by bankrupt retailer RadioShack, recommending that a model be adopted based on a settlement the agency reached with a failed online toy retailer.

• US man pleads no contest to operating revenge porn site

  The operator of a so-called revenge porn website has pleaded no contest to criminal charges, including extortion, in a California court.

• FTC complains retail tracking firm didn't notify customers

  A company that tracked retail store customers through their smartphones without notifying them and without giving them a chance to turn off the tracking has settled a U.S. Federal Trade Commission complaint that it didn't live up to its privacy promises.