ftc

Data broker Acxiom to reveal what it knows about you

Consumer data broker Acxiom plans to introduce a service that will reveal to people what it knows about them, according to a Financial Times report.

The company, which is based in Little Rock, Ark., bills itself as an enterprise data, analytics, and software-as-a-service company. It serves 47 of the Fortune 100 companies, more than 7,000 in all, and counts more than a trillion data transactions each week from 700 million consumers worldwide.

Even though the company probably has a file on you, that data has never before been available to you. The FT's Emily Steel reports that, in … Read more

Hate robocalls? FTC hopes these guys have an answer

If there's one Washington topic of conversation that's guaranteed to win plaudits from both sides of the partisan aisle, it's what to do about robocalls.

Despite rules banning most commercial robocalls, the Federal Trade Commission still receives tens of thousands of consumer complaints each month. Indeed on a Web page it operates, the FTC acknowledges that current laws have not stopped companies from "using autodialers that can send out thousands of phone calls every minute for an incredibly low cost."

So if Uncle Sam can't do it alone, the thinking is: turn to the … Read more

FTC places new rules on celebrity tweeters

The Federal Trade Commission has updated its consumer protection rules for online activities, and has specifically taken aim at celebrity tweeters.

The agency released the rules yesterday (PDF), and outlined how celebrities who want to promote a product on Twitter should do so. To illustrate its point, the FTC used a fictional celebrity it called Juli Starz. The original tweet shows her endorsing a "Fat-away" pill that helped her lose 30 pounds in six weeks. That tweet was accompanied by a URL to the product's site.

According to the FTC, that kind of endorsement is now illegal. … Read more

Feds crack down on mobile-phone spammers

The U.S Federal Trade Commission said today that it is cracking down on marketers that are allegedly bombarding consumers with hundreds of millions of unwanted spam messages on their cell phones in the hopes they will give away personal information on bogus Web sites.

The 29 defendants listed in the complaint sent 180 million unwanted text messages to consumers promising them free gift cards worth as much as $1,000 to retailers like Best Buy, Target, and Walmart, the FTC said in a press release.

Consumers who clicked on the links in the messages found themselves caught in a … Read more

HTC settles with FTC over software security vulnerabilities

Mobile handset maker HTC has agreed to settle a complaint filed against it by the Federal Trade Commission accusing the company of failing to take "reasonable steps" to patch a security flaw in software running on its smartphones.

As part of this settlement, HTC has agreed to patch handsets that were left vulnerable to the security risks. And the company has agreed to develop a security program to address future security issues on its handsets.

HTC has already begun rolling out the patches to devices in the U.S., according to the FTC.

In its complaint, the commission … Read more

Path to pay $800,000 to settle privacy issues with FTC

Path, the social-networking startup, has agreed to pay $800,000 to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and take other actions to settle charges that Path deceived users by collecting personal information from their mobile device address books without their knowledge and consent.

Along with the fine, the company also will establish a "comprehensive privacy program" and obtain independent privacy assessments every other year for the next 20 years. The fee is to settle charges that Path illegally collected personal information from children without their parents' consent.

The issue stems from a year ago when it was discovered … Read more

FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz resigns

Jon Leibowitz announced today that he is resigning from his post as the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. His announcement comes after presiding over both the investigation and settlement of Google's antitrust probe.

Leibowitz plans to leave his position by mid-February, according to The New York Times.

"I felt like this was a good time to leave because we got through a number of things that I wanted the commission to address," he told the newspaper.

President Obama appointed Leibowitz, who was formerly an FTC commissioner, to lead the agency in 2009. Leibowitz was said to … Read more

Congressman touts draft bill aimed at mobile app privacy

A new draft bill published today aims to increase privacy for mobile app users.

Led by U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), the bill aims to legally require app developers to publicize how they gather information and also let users request deletion of their stored data.

To create the draft language for the bill, Johnson and his Web-based initiative, AppRights, held meetings with members of the Internet community, public-interest groups, app developers, and other industry stakeholders. Dubbed "The Application Privacy, Protection, and Security Act of 2013," or the APPS Act, the bill "addresses the public's growing … Read more

Senator blasts leaks in FTC's Google investigation

LAS VEGAS -- A U.S. senator today blasted leaks from the Federal Trade Commission during its antitrust pursuit of Google, saying he intends to find out who was responsible for the disclosures.

"I'm determined to get to the bottom of this," Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat with a

Last week, the FTC said it had finished its investigation -- which had been encouraged by Microsoft and other rivals -- into possible unlawful activities by Google and had decided against filing a lawsuit.

"All parties deserve to know that there's not that kind of … Read more