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

News

• US FTC calls on IoT vendors to protect privacy

  Companies developing Internet of Things (IoT) products should adopt best practices to protect the privacy and security of consumers, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has recommended.

• Security Experts React to President's Cybersecurity Proposals

  Information security experts today praised the attention U.S. President Barack Obama is lavishing on cybersecurity, but have some concerns about how proposed legislation will be implemented and enforced while others say the proposals don't go far enough.

• Obama calls for US data breach notification law, privacy bill of rights

  U.S. President Barack Obama will push Congress to pass a law requiring companies that are victims of data breaches to notify affected consumers within 30 days and a second law that gives consumers more control over their digital data, he said.

• The Upload: Your tech news briefing for Wednesday, January 7

  Beat out of a windfall?

• IoT companies should ensure consumer privacy, warns US regulator

  Internet connected devices are popping up like wildfire at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. But while this new technology has the potential to provide enormous benefits for consumers, tech companies should put more effort into protecting consumer privacy and security, a top official at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said.

• Alleged tech support scammers come up with all kinds of alibis to counter complaints

  Companies sued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Microsoft for allegedly defrauding consumers with worthless Windows technical support have spun tales involving flakey Internet connections, it's-not-us-it's-scammers, new management software and unanswered emails to counter hundreds of consumer complaints this year, Better Business Bureau (BBB) records showed.

• T-Mobile to pay $90M for unauthorized charges on customers' bills

  T-Mobile US will pay at least $90 million to settle a Federal Communications Commission suit that alleged it looked the other way while third parties charged T-Mobile subscribers for services they didn't want.

• US agency sues Sprint for alleged unauthorized charges

  The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has filed a lawsuit accusing Sprint of illegally billing mobile customers for tens of millions[m] of dollars in unauthorized third-party charges.

• 2014: The year in quotes

  From rattled airline passengers who fear the coming of smartphones to jurors who don't know a smartphone from a tablet, here are some of the colorful quotes from IT news in 2014.

• US FTC will target patent trolls, commissioner says

  The U.S. Federal Trade Commission can take action against patent trolls when the patent-holding firms engage in unfair business practices, even as the agency works to complete a study on their business model, a commissioner said.

• Academics urge FCC to enforce net neutrality on case-by-case basis

  The U.S. Federal Trade Commission should weigh in on net neutrality and encourage its sister agency, the Federal Communications Commission, to back away from calls to regulate broadband like a public utility, a group of 32 academics said.

• Google to begin contacting customers about in-app refunds

  Google will soon begin to contact customers who made in-app purchases on Android devices about potential refunds under a settlement of an unfair billing complaint by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

• FTC: Online billing service deceptively collected medical records

  An online service allowing consumers to pay their medical bills failed to adequately inform them that it would also try to collect highly detailed medical information from their pharmacies, medical labs and insurance companies, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said.

• Governments act against webcam-snooping websites

  Government officials in the US and the UK are warning people to secure their webcams after websites that broadcast the contents of those cameras have sprung up online.

• Court shuts down tech support 'scams' targeted by FTC

  A Florida court has temporarily shut down two "massive" telemarketing operations that allegedly conned tens of thousands of consumers out of millions of dollars by tricking them into fixing nonexistent computer errors, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said.