Federal Trade Commission
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The FTC is taking Amazon to court over its in-app purchase policies
Earlier this summer, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned Amazon that if it didn't adopt a more Apple-like policy about in-app purchases, it might wind up in court. Now, it has. Today the FTC announced that it's seeking a court order requiring the online retailer to issue refunds to parents whose children ran wild with in-app purchases -- unauthorized charges, the FTC says, that racks up into the millions. Much of the alleged blame is focused on Amazon's past. According to the FTC, Amazon had almost no protection against unwanted in-app purchases in 2011, and has only implemented adequate consent framework recently. The government's concern seems to lie squarely on customers left in the lurch: Amazon's official policy says that all in-app purchases are non-refundable, and the exceptions to that policy are "unclear and confusing."
Amazon refuses to bend to the FTC's demands over in-app purchases
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wants Amazon to update some of its policies regarding in-app purchases, but the retail giant is having none of it. According to documents obtained by the Wall Street Journal the company is facing a lawsuit that would require it to pay hefty fines and dramatically alter its record keeping and disclosure practices. In particular the government is concerned about purchases being made by children, but Amazon thinks its approach is sound. In fact, not only is the company refusing to change its rules, it said in a letter (PDF) that it's prepared to go to court.
FTC calls Motorola's bid for Apple product injunction 'inappropriate'
On December 5, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) stated in a filed brief that it felt a previous district court decision to deny Motorola's bid for an injunction of several Apple products was correct. Motorola had claimed that Apple's iPhone and iPad allegedly infringed on wireless patents, and requested that the courts block Apple from selling iPhones and iPads in the United States. The FTC brief said that a court-ordered injunction is inappropriate when the holder of a patent has licensed it under fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory (FRAND) terms. The FTC felt that Motorola might have been using the threat of an injunction in what is called "patent hold-up." When a patent is considered standard-essential (SEP), the patent owner sometimes threatens legal action to get higher than usual royalty rates and licensing terms. For budding Apple lawyers, the brief can be found here in its entirety.
FTC offers $50,000 prize for stopping illegal robocalls, we could have used this a few months ago
Robocalling is considered a plague in the modern phone world, especially during an election year -- and while you likely won't get rid of all the pitches from political candidates anytime soon, most of the commercial calls are outright illegal. The Federal Trade Commission has devised a unique contest to help cut back on those law-breakers without having to chase down every shady debt relief offer. It's offering a $50,000 reward for the cleverest solution to blocking the banned variety of robocalls. The only requirement is that you be an adult US resident: if you can invent a surefire remedy in your basement, the FTC wants to hear from you. Entries will be open between October 25th and January 17th, with word of a winner around April 1st. We're hoping that the champion has a truly effective cure in use before long, because we'll undoubtedly have reached our breaking point on robocalls by... oh, around November 6th. [Image credit: SarahNW, Flickr]
FTC closes investigation into Facebook's buyout of Instagram, filtered photo fans rejoice
While the financials for Mark Zuckerberg and his minions hasn't been the best of late, Facebook got some good news today when the FTC closed its investigation of the social network's acquisition of Instagram. That means that the merger now has the green light to be completed, and filtered photographs will be joining all those pokes, likes and Spotify songs in Timelines sooner rather than later. You can get the good news straight from the government's mouth at the source below.
FTC considering new settlement process so companies can't deny wrongdoing
Google recently paid the FTC $22.5 million and Facebook was ordered by the commission to change the way it handles data, but you might be surprised to hear that both companies did nothing wrong. Well, not exactly, but by settling their privacy violation cases, the internet giants are entitled to deny any misconduct. The New York Times reports that J. Thomas Rosch, a commissioner who voted against both settlements, feels that current rules will invite "denials of liability in every case in the future." Rosch wants the policy changed so companies can't deny responsibility when settling, much like the way the SEC handles similar indiscretions. Most of his colleagues weren't in a hurry to back his opinions, but three did say that refining the process could "avoid any possible public misimpression" of how the FTC strikes such deals. The commission is expected to look at the issue in the near future, but until then, we're sure you're more than able to separate the reality from the legalese.
FTC and Facebook settle privacy dispute, skip the fine
Well, Mark Zuckerberg is finally trying to make things right after admitting to a "bunch of mistakes" when dealing with user privacy on his juggernaut of a social network. The FTC and Facebook had agreed to settle the dispute in November, and now the final details of the deal have been ironed out. Noticeably missing from the list of concessions is cash. The government isn't asking Facebook to cough up any dough as part of the settlement -- avoiding the sort of hefty fine that Google recently found itself on the wrong end of. The company will, however, have drastically revamp how it handles user data and subject itself to privacy audits every two years for 20 years. Customers will now be provided with "clear and prominent" warnings any time information is shared. And, before anything can be shared, users must give express consent to for that information to be distributed. Ideally, these measures would have been in place on day one, but we'll take what we can get at this point. For more details, check out the FTC's press release after the break.
Google to pay $22.5 million to settle FTC charges over tracking cookies in Apple's Safari browser
Google has agreed to pay a $22.5 million penalty to settle its dispute with the FTC, over the company's role in bypassing browser settings in Apple's Safari web browser. Although it stated that it wouldn't use tracking cookies or targeted ads in the web browser, a loophole was discovered, violating a previous privacy settlement between the FTC and Google. According to the commission, the company exploited an exception in the browser's default settings, adding a temporary cookie that could temporarily open up access to all cookies from the DoubleClick domain. While the exploit was patched by Google, for a limited time, it was able to track Safari users that had explicitly opted out. The FTC's full statement is right after the break.
Google could pay $22.5M fine for violating Apple users' privacy
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is on the verge of fining Google for the record amount of US$22.5 million as a settlement for violating the privacy of users of Apple's Safari browser. The fine comes after the Wall Street Journal contacted Google about a practice it discovered where special code was used to trick Safari into letting Google monitor users who had blocked tracking. Google said that the tracking of Apple users was inadvertent, but the actions of the firm were contrary to statements published in Google help documents that assured Apple users that Safari's privacy settings could be used to block undesired tracking. The Journal wrote about the practice in February, and Google has since disabled the code. While the fine is just a drop in the bucket to Google, the FTC isn't the only government organization looking into whether or not the search engine giant has violated computer users privacy in the past or is currently doing so. The European Union -- led by France's Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et Libertés -- is looking into the Safari case as part of a larger privacy investigation, and a number of state attorneys general are also investigating the situation. [via Apple Insider]
FTC urges ITC not to ban iPhone, iPad and Xbox
The Federal Trade Commission took on the growing problem of injunctions in a letter addressed to the US International Trade Commission, according to a report by CNET. The letter was meant to dissuade the federal agency from approving import bans in patent and trademark infringement cases that involve industry standards like 3G. The FTC warns such injunctions against products like the iPhone, iPad and Xbox could harm consumers and stifle innovation. The FTC writes, "Hold-up and the threat of hold-up can deter innovation by increasing costs and uncertainty for other industry participants, including those engaged in inventive activity. It can also distort investment and harm consumers by breaking the connection between the value of an invention and its reward -- a connection that is the cornerstone of the patent system." The ITC has been the focus of several high-profile patent infringement cases, including the recent battle between Apple and HTC, which led to the ban of select HTC Android phones. Last month, the HTC One X and the EVO 4G LTE were held temporarily at the border by US Customs, which inspected the phones for patent infringement. A bigger issue brought up in this letter is the use of standards-related patents in litigation. Companies that own patents on standards, like those that govern 3G and 4G wireless communications, are supposed to be license these patents to other companies on fair and reasonable terms (FRAND). Now that competition is heating up, patent owners are reluctant to license their intellectual property and are using them to sue their rivals instead. You can read an excellent analysis of this issue by Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents. He describes in detail how Samsung and Motorola are abusing the principles of FRAND licensing in their litigation with Apple.
FTC tells ITC that bans over standards-based patents aren't kosher, looks warily at Motorola and Samsung
Most of the scrutiny over abuse of standards-based patents has come through European Union investigations of Motorola and Samsung. That attention might come to the US if the Federal Trade Commission has its way. It just sent a letter to the International Trade Commission arguing that companies should be blocked from landing bans if they base their disputes on standards. These kinds of blockades "deter innovation" and spur companies to try for much more of a cash windfall from a patent than it's really worth, the FTC argues. The letter doesn't directly accuse anyone of getting their fingers dirty, but there's little doubt that it's referring to Motorola (now part of Google) and Samsung: their varying ITC disputes against Apple and Microsoft are often based around standards patents for technologies like 3G and H.264 video, which aren't supposed to demand legal action except as a last resort. An angry FTC missive doesn't constitute a formal investigation that would actively worry either Motorola or Samsung, but it certainly fires a warning shot across the bow.
Korean government raids Blizzard over alleged Diablo III wrongdoing
Blizzard is on the hot seat as the Korean Fair Trade Commission raided the studio's Seoul office to gather evidence as to whether or not Blizzard violated the country's law. The FTC performed the raid due to allegations that Blizzard is refusing to refund players who purchased and were attempting to return Diablo III. Dissatisfied customers who couldn't log into the game were denied a full refund by Blizzard, which said that it was under no obligation to do so under the game's contract. The studio claims that it has a strict policy of "no refunds" in the country if a product is used. The players turned to the FTC for help, and the commission responded by launching an investigation. The investigation will sort through the seized documents and evidence to see if there is a possible violation of Korea's electronic commerce and commercial contracts law. The FTC confirmed that it had received "many complaints" from Diablo III players but did not comment further on the investigation. Blizzard has since vowed to increase server capacity but is not budging on the refunds.
Twitter teams up with Mozilla to help you opt-out of tracking
What better place to announce Twitter's embrace of do not track policies than during a privacy panel at New York Internet Week? Federal Trade Commission CTO Ed Felten let the news slip today -- a fact later confirmed by Twitter and Mozilla. The service has been added to Firefox's Do Not Track feature, letting users opt-out of data-tracking cookies in the browser. More information on the feature can be found in the Mozilla source link below.
WD grits teeth, hands over the goodies to Toshiba to regulators and dentists' delight
Western Digital has completed its FTC-ordered handover of assets to Toshiba in order to buy Hitachi's HDD business Viviti. The wedding of the year was halted when regulators, citing monopoly concerns, demanded WD hand over a bundle of IP, R&D materials and production line gear to Tosh. In exchange, Western Digital will take over Toshiba Storage Device (Thailand), the arm of the company that was devastated in the recent flooding. It's WD's aim to integrate the remaining assets into its own local operations -- you can read the official line in the land of pure imagination below.
Rumored FTC probe could delay Facebook / Instagram deal, Toaster filter will have to wait
If you were hoping that Facebook's buyout of Instagram would wrap up quickly and let you directly integrate your heavily filtered photos into Timeline, you might be disappointed. Citing the ever-present "people familiar with the matter," the FT believes the Federal Trade Commission is orchestrating a competition probe. These kinds of investigations are common for most deals over $66 million -- we suspect the $1 billion Instagram pact qualifies -- but could add six months to a year to Facebook's originally planned spring closure date. The deal is still expected to go through, and you can keep tilt-shifting your photos to death in the meantime; just don't expect those shots to blanket friends' Facebook walls anytime soon.
FTC wants new privacy framework: asks for simple controls, transparent policies
There's plenty of people bothered by the dossiers of data companies like Facebook and Google can (and do) compile on their users, particularly in places across the pond. Now, the Federal Trade Commission has come up with a privacy framework to help address consumer concerns and provide companies with best practices to proliferate better privacy policies. This new plan is articulated in the FTC's recently released privacy report, and seeks to persuade companies to adopt a Privacy by Design ethos. Companies can do this by building in simplified privacy controls throughout product development and making info collection and practices transparent to users.In order to meet these goals, the FTC came up with a five-pronged approach. First up is the widespread implementation of a Do Not Track system -- for which the W3C is currently creating an international standard -- that has already made its way into Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome to make it easy to opt out of targeted ads. Mobile services are also a priority, as the FTC wants concise, meaningful privacy disclosures to make them easy to digest when on smaller screens. Next, the FTC wants consumers to be able to easily find what personal info is held by data brokers, and is pushing those data brokers to create a centralized website to that end. ISPs, social networks, operating systems, and other so-called "large platform providers" are also under scrutiny for their ability to comprehensively track consumers, and the FTC will have a public workshop later this year to "further explore" issues related to that capability. Lastly, the Commission is working with the Department of Commerce to create business sector-specific codes of conduct, and pledges to continue to take action against companies that don't abide by their own policies.In order to assuage fears that its framework puts too big of a financial burden on small businesses, the FTC made clear that it doesn't apply to companies that collect data from less than 5,000 customers and don't share that data with third parties. Sounds like a good plan, fellas, but we won't get too excited until we see the big boys actually implementing it.
FTC: Western Digital and Hitachi must give assets and IP rights to Toshiba (update: sale approved)
Thought everything was looking rosy for the hard drive hitch of the year? Well, it looks like Federal Trade Commission reckons the union of Hitachi and Western Digital isn't quite there just yet, ordering that the new company would have to shed some of its assets to Toshiba. The FTC wants to ensure a competitive climate in the 3.5-inch hard drive market and avoid Western Digital and Seagate -- the two largest HDD manufacturers -- carving up the whole sector between them. According to the FTC's proposals, Toshiba has to receive the production assets needed to equal Hitachi's current HDD market share, alongside access to Western Digital's research and development resources and licenses to its intellectual property. Regulators had previously stated that WD could expect to sell on some of its production assets in order to get the tie-up okayed. Western Digital now has 15 days to hand over these assets to Toshiba -- who, presumably, aren't complaining -- once the deal with Hitachi is finally inked. Update: Looks like all the FTC wrangling was worth it, because WD and Hitachi have announced that all the necessary approvals have been obtained and the deal is due to close on March 8th. PR's after the break.
Carrier IQ VP says software poses no threat to user privacy, backs up his argument with metaphor
The final chapter of the Carrier IQ saga has yet to be written, but at this juncture, even the rosiest of rose-tinted observers would be hard pressed to find a silver lining. The specter of federal investigation looms larger by the day. Implicated carriers and manufacturers are washing their hands with Macbethian fury. Al Franken is on the verge of going Al Franken. And at the epicenter of all this sits Carrier IQ -- a California-based analytics company that has already gone to great lengths to defend its innocence. First, it sought to discredit Trevor Eckhart's ostensibly damning research with a cease-and-desist letter. Then, CEO Larry Lenhart flatly denied Eckhart's findings with an impassioned YouTube address. In recent days, the company has markedly softened its stance, arguing that its apps are only designed to meet operator demands and to "make your phones better." Now, Carrier IQ has elaborated upon these arguments with a more detailed breakdown of how its software functions, and a more substantive defense of its practices. Head past the break to read more.
FTC asked to open an investigation into Carrier IQ
It was only a matter of time, we suppose, before this whole Carrier IQ thing started drawing the attention of lawmakers. The saga has quickly spiraled out of control, with carriers being forced to declare which side they're on and Senator Stuart Smalley Al Franken demanding the company provide details about what data it collects and how it's used. Well, Massachusetts congressman Edward Markey has even less patience than his esteemed colleague and has already asked the FTC to open an investigation into Carrier IQ. Markey wants the Federal Trade Commission to look into whether or not the rootkit and its creators have violated the privacy of millions of cellphone users and federal wiretap laws -- an accusation the company vehemently denies. We hope you're not tired of this epic tale yet, 'cause we're just getting started.
Facebook, FTC reach settlement, Zuckerberg confesses 'a bunch of mistakes'
Facebook and the Federal Trade Commission have reached a settlement over consumer deception charges dating back to 2009. The commission claimed that the social networking giant made public information it promised to keep private, thanks to changes in site terms. According to the terms of the deal, user feedback will be required before the site makes changes to policies for sharing data. Mark Zuckerberg addressed his company's on-going privacy issues, admitting to "a bunch of mistakes," adding, In particular, I think that a small number of high profile mistakes, like Beacon four years ago and poor execution as we transitioned our privacy model two years ago, have often overshadowed much of the good work we've done. Zuckerberg assured users that Facebook is making a "clear and formal long-term commitment" to privacy tools.
