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Facebook may have scrapped talks to buy Houseparty over antitrust concerns
The Federal Trade Commission is investigating Facebook yet again, and it's said to be delving into possible antitrust practices. Critics suggest its purchases of Instagram and WhatsApp were carried out, in part, to stave off potential competitive threats. With regulators and authorities placing Facebook's business practices under the microscope, it seems it's making changes to avoid further antitrust scrutiny.
FTC may be investigating Facebook's deals for Instagram and WhatsApp
The Federal Trade Commission is said to be looking into Facebook's purchases of other companies like Instagram and WhatsApp as part of an antitrust investigation. The agency is looking to find out whether Facebook was trying to snuff out potential competitors before they could truly challenge the social media giant, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Facebook co-founder urges FTC to break up the company
Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes has joined the chorus of prominent voices calling for regulators to break up the social networking colossus. In a New York Times op-ed, he wrote that his college roommate and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had "unchecked power" and that his "influence is staggering, far beyond that of anyone else in the private sector or in government."
The FTC will hold a public workshop on loot boxes in August
The Federal Trade Commission pledged in November to investigate loot boxes, and it's set out the timeline for the first steps in the process. It will hold a public workshop on August 7th to look into consumer protection issues linked with them.
Senators demand investigation into carrier location-selling scandal
Several senators are calling on the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate how carriers share customers' real-time phone location data, following a Motherboard report this month suggesting it's a cinch for bounty hunters to snag that information. A group of 14 Democrats (including Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand, who are running for their party's presidential nomination) and independent senator Bernie Sanders signed a letter addressed to the agencies.
Marco Rubio proposes a totally uninspiring data privacy bill
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) announced Wednesday a new privacy bill aimed at protecting personal data of American consumers from being sucked up indiscriminately by tech giants, according to Axios. The American Data Dissemination Act would ask the Federal Trade Commission to recommend potential rules and regulations that Congress would finalize. The rules created under the proposed law would preempt any state laws, which runs the risk of stripping states of their power to protect citizens.
Federal Trade Commission agrees to investigate loot boxes
The Federal Trade Commission has agreed to investigate loot boxes in games, along with their impact on kids. The agency's commissioners committed to the probe after Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) raised the issue at a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation subcommittee hearing. Loot boxes offer players in-game items, but because you can often buy them with real money and the virtual goods within are awarded at random, some claim they're tantamount to gambling.
Senator Wyden wants to jail execs who don't protect consumer data
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) released a draft the Consumer Data Protection Act, which would create new protections for consumer information and strict punishments for those found to be abusing user data. The proposed bill would send senior executives to jail for 10 to 20 years if they fail to follow the guidelines for data use.
Five state attorneys general are investigating Uber breach
Uber's latest security breach, which exposed 57 million customers' and drivers' personal information, has come under more and more scrutiny since it was revealed earlier this week. The Federal Trade Commission has already confirmed that it's looking into the breach as well as how Uber handled it. A number of agencies abroad are investigating the incident as well. But it doesn't stop there. Uber is also now under investigation by at least five state Attorney General offices and has been named in multiple lawsuits.
FTC lawsuit over D-Link’s lax router security just took a big hit
In January, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) took D-Link to court over its incredibly insufficient security. The FTC claimed that the company failed to protect its routers and IP cameras from unauthorized access, exposing them to use in botnet attacks or outside viewings of camera feeds. But this week, the FTC's case against D-Link took a hit as a judge dismissed three of the commission's six complaints.
The FTC is investigating Equifax's data breach
It's been a long week for Equifax, sure, but that's to say nothing about the 143 million consumers affected by the massive financial data breach. In a move that should bode well for the latter while placing more scrutiny on the former, the Federal Trade Commission has officially announced that it's looking into the matter. "The FTC typically does not comment on ongoing investigations," spokesperson Peter Kaplan said in a statement to Reuters. "However, in light of the intense public interest and the potential impact of this matter, I can confirm that FT staff is investigating the Equifax data breach."
Lenovo will pay a $3.5 million fine for preinstalling adware on certain laptops
Lenovo came under fire a few years ago for pre-installing adware called VisualDiscovery (developed by Superfish) onto new machines. Now that the legal dust has settled, the laptop maker has agreed to pay $3.5 million in fines to a 32-state coalition "to resolve their concerns" related to the nefarious bloatware app. In 2015, the worry was that the software performed a man-in-the-middle attack on supposedly secure connections and could be used to spy on encrypted communications. The company issued a tool for removing the software at the time.
YouTube stars are blurring the lines between content and ads
Beyonce, Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian and Kendall Jenner are just some of the celebrities under the microscope for using social media to shamelessly plug sponsored products. Advertising without proper disclosures has become a growing problem with influencers that have thousands or millions of followers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And it's happening on YouTube as well, where it's often hard to tell whether videos from big-name "content creators" are paid ads or genuine reviews.
Instagram gives social media influencers the benefit of the doubt
The chaos surrounding the cancelled Fyre Festival is a perfect example of how social media influencers can misguide consumers. Instagram users were led to believe they would be rubbing shoulders with supermodels like Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid in the Bahamas, after both of them heavily promoted the event on their accounts without ever disclosing they were paid to do so. People who spent thousands of dollars to attend eventually realized this was far from reality. Instead, the promised "cultural experience of the decade" left some stranded at airports. This led to a long list of legal problems organizers have had to deal with since the Fyre Festival was shut down on its opening day in May. Celebrities have been getting away with this type of stealth shilling on social networks for years now, but that may be coming to an end soon -- at least on Instagram.
The FTC plans to block the DraftKings and FanDuel merger
Last November, fantasy sports sites DraftKings and FanDuel announced they would be merging -- a deal that was expected to finalize later this year. However, according to an Federal Trade Commission press release, the FTC will try to block the merger.
Amazon refunds $70 million your kids accidentally spent in apps
Last year, a federal judge ruled Amazon was on the hook for tens of millions of dollars worth of unauthorized in-app purchases made by kids in free-to-play apps. This week, the online retail giant officially started issuing over $70 million in refunds to eligible customers as part of its settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.
Instagram influencers fanned the flames of Fyre Festival hype
When tech entrepreneur Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule (born Jeffrey Atkins) created Fyre Festival, a music event in the Bahamas for the selfie generation, they never imagined their idea would be on the receiving end of seven fraud and negligence class-action lawsuits (including one seeking $100 million) by the end. And that end came quicker than they'd imagined: After poor planning by organizers left people stranded at airports, without lodging and eating cheese sandwiches instead of the five-star meals promised, Bahamas officials decided to shut down the festival on opening day. "The event organizers assured us that all measures were taken to ensure a safe and successful event," the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism said in a statement, "but clearly they did not have the capacity to execute an event of this scale."
Your kid's 'accidental' Amazon app spending will be refunded soon
It's finally time to put a bow on Amazon's case with the Federal Trade Commission. In 2014, the online shopping juggernaut cam under fire for not fully warning parents that free apps could still contain in-app purchases. Last year a federal judge ruled that Amazon didn't do enough to inform folks of such (or offer safeguards/speed bumps ahead of finalizing a purchase). That changes today as the FTC has ruled to end the lawsuit. This move means that the refund process for some $70 million in eligible purchases made between November 2011 and May 2016 can begin. Said refunds will be via method of purchase, not gift cards.
The government plans to crack down on sketchy advertorial
The Federal Trade Commission is going back to an old well, and possibly will actually exercise some of its authority. We're talking about the FTC's stance on sponsored editorial posts that aren't clearly labeled as such. "The FTC will soon begin holding media companies accountable for deceptive practices," fashion business publication WWD reports. "Although the FTC works with publishers, it has never penalized a media company with a fine." That could soon change given the rise of native advertising online (especially with celebrity social media accounts) and in print. As a quick refresher, native advertising is different in that it looks like an editorial piece, but is paid for by advertisers.
Trump appoints government regulation critic as FTC chairwoman
President Trump has appointed Maureen Ohlhausen as acting commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). For now, she'll be in charge of the agency that protects US consumers' safety and privacy, while guarding them from anti-competitive business practices. Ohlhausen, a Republican, has served as an FTC commissioner since 2012, and will take over from Democrat Edith Ramirez, the chairwoman since of 2013. "I will safeguard competition ... [and] work to protect all consumers from fraud, deception and unfair practices," said Ohlhausen in a statement.
