Federal Trade Commission
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Senator Schumer blasts OnStar for 'brazen' privacy violation, calls for FTC investigation
Last week, OnStar issued a privacy notice informing customers that it would continue to collect data on vehicles still connected to its servers, even for those who have already canceled their subscriptions. The move elicited a chorus of protests from Democratic privacy advocates in the Senate, including Chris Coons, Al Franken and, most recently, Charles Schumer, who wrote a letter to the FTC yesterday calling for an investigation into what he sees as a bold violation of consumer rights. "By tracking drivers even after they've canceled their service, OnStar is attempting one of the most brazen invasions of privacy in recent memory," the New York Senator said. "I urge OnStar to abandon this policy and for FTC to immediately launch a full investigation to determine whether the company's actions constitute an unfair trade practice." Find out more about OnStar's new policy, after the break.
FTC to put Google under a microscope, try to uncover anti-competitive ways?
Google's drawn the ire of the Federal Trade Commission before for failing to follow its own privacy policies. Now, however, the Mountain View crew is apparently facing a formal inquiry from the FTC as it seeks information about Google's search and advertising business. The civil investigative demands are set to be sent out within the next five days, according to the Wall Street Journal, and the commission will be looking into whether Google's search engine illegally routs all those internet eyeballs scanning its site to its own services instead of those offered by competitors. Sound familiar? It should, because Google's under investigation for similar anticompetitive accusations made in Europe -- somewhere Steve Ballmer is smiling.
FTC and DOJ monitoring Apple's new subscription policy
Both the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission are aware of the new policy Apple implemented for media companies with applications in the App Store. The new terms state "that if an app offers customers the ability to purchase books outside of the app, the same option is also available to customers from within the app with in-app purchase." A prime example is the Sony Reader app which was reportedly rejected from the App Store because its iOS app linked to its own digital store and did not use Apple's in-app purchase system to sell its eBooks. This new policy takes effect June 30 and will drive many purchases through the App Store, giving Apple a 30% cut. U.S. regulators are taking a closer look at this policy to determine if it runs afoul of any federal antitrust laws. This interest is preliminary and may not turn into a formal investigation or sanctions against the company. The European Union is also closely monitoring this situation, but is currently not taking any action either. Apple was under the microscope last year following its decision to ban iOS applications developed using third-party tools such as Adobe Flash. Both the FTC and the European Commission launched an investigation, but Apple reversed this policy before a decision could be made by either regulatory body.
Net neutrality expert Tim Wu named senior advisor to the FTC
The Federal Trade Commission just appointed outspoken anti-DRM advocate Ed Felten as its first Chief Technologist a few months ago, and it's now made another fairly bold move with the appointment of Tim Wu as a senior advisor. As any Engadget Show viewer is no doubt well aware, Wu is not only a noted net neutrality expert, he actually coined the term, and he's not exactly shy to make his opinions on the matter known. He won't strictly be dealing with net neutrality at the FTC, though -- Chairman Jon Leibowitz says that he will instead be "working on issues at the nexus of consumer protection, competition, law and technology." For his part, Wu will be taking a leave from his position at Columbia Law School to take on the new job (which he'll begin February 14th), and it seems like he'll also be a bit less outspoken on Twitter -- his most recent tweet noted that there would be "no more policy tweets" starting next week. Head on past the break to watch our full interview with Wu from last fall.
Internet Explorer 9 privacy measures to include Tracking Protection
In a nod to future FTC mandates regarding web privacy, Microsoft has announced that among its many charms, Internet Explorer 9 will introduce something called a Tracking Protective List. In essence, the TPL looks at third party elements of whichever page you may be viewing (for instance, when you're at msnbc.com and it contains elements that are hosted by another domain) and allows you to block those which track your movements. This is done by domain, and there is both a whitelist and a blacklist -- ensuring that while elements that are required for full functionality will be allowed, those which are a nuisance will be blocked. Of course, this isn't the answer to all of your security needs, but between this and properly managing your cookies it is a decent first step. IE9 will come around sometime in early 2011 -- in the meantime, check out the video after the break for more info.
FTC wants to fight tracking cookies with other cookies, create delicious sugary warfare
We're not sure that fighting fire with fire actually works outside of the metaphorical realm, but don't let us tell the FTC how to do its thing. The federal body, which recently told Google "it's all good" after the company apologized for stealing people's private infos, is now asking for social networking sites and browser developers to create a sort of "do not track" cookie system. If this cookie was present the sites would not capture a user's browsing habits and not deliver customized ads, a cookie that would be created and enabled by a simple browser button. As of now the FTC is not mandating anything, but did deliver this passive-aggressive threat: With respect to 'do not track,' we are giving companies a little time, but we'd like to see them work a lot faster in making consumer choice a lot easier. So there you have it: start playing nice, companies, or the FTC might possibly do something. Meanwhile, we might possibly eat the cute looking gingerbread man in the middle up there. He sure looks tasty. [Image courtesy of Fagles]
The true story of a hacker's brief tenure as a fed at the FTC
The Federal Trade Commission managed to turn a few heads by hiring anti-DRM advocate Ed Felten as it's first Chief Technologist earlier this month, but it turns out the agency made an even more surprising hire last year -- one that didn't last very long. As Forbes reports, the FTC hired 29-year-old hacker Chris Soghoian in 2009, along with a handful of other technologists tasked with investigating corporations suspected of violating consumers' privacy. While that name might not ring a bell, Soghoian did gain some notoriety in 2006 by building a tool that was able to print out fake boarding passes for Northwest Airlines (in an effort to expose a security flaw), and he's since engaged in number of other activities that could either be considered hacks or pranks depending on your point of view. So how did his tenure at the FTC work out? Well, he nearly quit after being forced to submit to a fingerprint scan on his first day, and last December he sparked a controversy by posting audio he secretly recorded at an industry-only security conference on his personal blog -- although that did seemingly end up influencing a Justice Department report on phone record searches. Perhaps not surprisingly, that didn't exactly lead to a long career as a fed, and the FTC chose not to renew Soghoian's contract this year, stating only that he "provided valuable service to the agency."
EU plans to end Apple antitrust investigation in light of relaxed iPhone rules
It seems like Apple's legal team is constantly embroiled in a pitched battle of some sort, but this weekend they might get to relax -- citing recent iPhone policy changes, the European Commission's decided to stop breathing down their necks. Though the EU originally joined the US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission in investigating why Cupertino chose to block third-party dev tools and ads earlier this year, the fact that Apple recently relaxed both restrictions (and created a repair program for iPhones purchased abroad) satisfied European regulators. "The Commission intends to close the investigations into these matters," it wrote earlier today. There's no guarantee that the US powers-that-be will exercise similar leniency, of course, but we wouldn't be surprised -- even inside Apple, the DoJ's got other fish to fry.
FTC makes ruling in iTunes review case
The Federal Trade Commission, of all things, has laid down a ruling in the strange case of Reverb Communications' iTunes reviews. We didn't get to this story the first time around, but a PR firm named Reverb Communications (disclaimer: I've attended their press events here in LA) was accused a while back of asking its staff to leave positive iTunes reviews on some of their clients' App Store titles. This wasn't just a request to have the staff try out and review client games -- they had an "internal user reviews" process, in which employees of the firm were paid specifically to leave positive reviews -- "not over the top" were their words -- on iTunes and online message boards. Now, the Federal Trade Commission, ruling under the recent regulations for endorsements online, has decided to settle the case. No money is changing hands, but Reverb and its executive have been asked to remove all of the reviews posted. You can read more about the agreement on the FTC's website. The FTC says that anyone endorsing a product online "should disclose the material connection the reviewer shares with the seller of the product or service," and that Reverb didn't do that. For its part, Reverb and executive Tracy Snitker would like to brush the accusations off. "Rather than continuing to spend time and money arguing, and laying off employees to fight what we believed was a frivolous matter, we settled this case and ended the discussion," she told the New York Times. But this ruling seems more important than that -- it's the FTC's first enforcement of the Internet review guidelines, and so we'll have to see what kinds of precedents this case sets.
FTC denies request for documents on Adobe complaint, confirms investigation of Apple's SDK rules?
Sure, Apple and Adobe aren't the best of friends, but their disagreement goes a little further than mild distaste. Apple moved to ban iOS apps not written through its own developer framework (SDK), which more or less killed off Adobe's iPhone Flash developer tools. Adobe in turn issued a complaint to the FTC, a complaint that Wired requested a copy of under the Freedom of Information Act. The release of that complaint was denied on the grounds that "disclosure of that material could reasonably be expected to interfere with the conduct of the Commission's law enforcement activities." That is another strong indication that the FTC is currently investigating Apple and deciding whether the company is acting properly by preventing third-party access to its iOS devices. What's next? We likely won't hear anything until the FTC makes up its mind, and even then only if it decides Apple isn't playing as nice as it should be.
Intel and FTC settle charges of anticompetitive conduct
It's been quite a stretch since the Federal Trade Commission first investigated and then ultimately sued Intel for alleged anticompetitive conduct, but the saga has now come to a close -- the two parties today announced a settlement of the charges. While that's no doubt better than some of the alternatives for Intel, it's hardly getting off easy -- the settlement prohibits Intel from paying computer makers to buy its chips exclusively or to refuse to buy chips from others, and bans it from retaliating against other computer makers if they do business with non-Intel suppliers. What's more, the settlement also requires Intel to modify its intellectual property agreements with AMD, NVIDIA, and VIA to give those companies "more freedom to consider mergers or joint ventures with other companies, without the threat of being sued by Intel for patent infringement," and it requires that Intel maintain the PCI Express Bus interface "in a way that will not limit the performance of graphics processing chips" for at least six years, among some other stipulations. For Intel's part, it notes that it hasn't admitted to any wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement, and says that the move allows it "to put an end to the expense and distraction of the FTC litigation." Head on past the break for the full FTC press release.
How nutritious is your light bulb? (in lumens, of course)
No joke -- starting mid-2011, US light bulbs will have nutrition facts of their own. Backed by Congress, the FTC has mandated that light bulbs carry the label at top, allowing buyers to clearly compare brightness, life expectancy and energy cost. Of course, many manufacturers call out these facts already, but hopefully this will keep the rest from confusing potency with power -- by advertising that a mid-range LED unit that slowly sips energy, for instance, is "equivalent to 40 watts."
FTC won't ask Intel to break up
The Federal Trade Commission may have a pretty big beef with Intel, but it looks like won't be going as far as to seek a breakup of the company. That word comes straight from the director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition, Richard Feinstein, who flatly told reporters yesterday that the FTC has "no goal of breaking up Intel." In case you missed it, this follows a lawsuit that the FTC filed against Intel earlier in the day yesterday, which alleges that the company has engaged in "anticompetitive tactics." As you can see above, NVIDIA has already responded to that development in its usual manner. [Image courtesy Intel's Insides / NVIDIA]
FTC commends ESRB and gaming industry for self-regulation practices
The Federal Trade Commission recently published a report which should simultaneously flatter the video game industry and stymie adversaries of the medium's terribly corruptive properties. In the report, the FTC says the gaming industry "outpaces" all other channels of entertainment in regards to its self-regulatory policies on marketing and advertising products which feature mature content. The report praises the ESRB's ratings system, stating that 80 percent of M-rated games sales to minors are prevented by retailers. In addition, the report found that no ads for mature games were being run before 10 p.m., adding that the Commission found little evidence of M-rated game advertisements being targeted towards minors. The only exception? That episode of Hannah Montana where Hannah traveled back in time to 15th century Italy to become a professional assassin. Admittedly, that was kind of ethically dubious.
FTC moseys into Intel / NVIDIA dispute
The dispute between Intel and NVIDIA has already reached legendary proportions, and it looks like now even the FTC is getting involved as a result of its longstanding investigation into Intel regarding another matter. While Intel just settled the antitrust fight with AMD that originally kick-started the investigation last month, the FTC is now reportedly talking to NVIDIA to see if its numerous complaints against the chipmaker actually hold water. While complete details are expectedly light and none of the parties involved are saying much on the record, some "people familiar with the matter" say that the FTC is trying to determine if a lawsuit filed by Intel earlier this year is nothing more than an effort to disrupt NVIDIA's business. Of course, things could well expand from there, considering what the FTC has waded into.
Arthur Levinson departs Google board amid FTC probe
We kind of doubt the departure of Genentech's former chief executive from Google's board of directors will close all of this out in the FTC's eyes, but if you were curious about the impact of said probe, here's your answer. Just two months after Google's Eric Schmidt peaced out from Apple's board due to a "conflict of interest," Arthur Levinson has left Google's board for presumably the same reason. Schmidt is still obviously fond of Sir Levinson, noting that he has "has been a key part of Google's success these past five years," and while he's exiting the board, he'll "always have a special place at Google." So, now that all of this is cleared up, can we finally move on without worrying that the aforementioned search giant will buy up the world's remaining inventory of dark fiber, fuse into Apple and create a telepathic iPod that would rule the world until the dawn of the Robot Apocalypse?[Via New York Times]
Apple / Google relationship being investigated for antitrust violations
The relationship between Apple and Google has always been pretty cozy -- Mac OS X and the iPhone tie into a variety of Google services, Google's developed rule-breaking iPhone apps, we've heard endless whispers of Apple meddling in the development of the G1, and on and on. In fact, the relationship between the two companies is so tight they actually share board members: Google CEO Eric Schmidt and former Genentech CEO Arthur Levinson take meetings in both Cupertino and Mountain View. That's apparently raised some hackles at the Federal Trade Commission, which has reportedly informed both companies they're being investigated for violating a rarely-enforced section of the Clayton Antitrust Act prohibiting "interlocking directorates" when it reduces competition. That sounds like someone at the FTC just noticed that Apple makes the iPhone and Google's responsible for Android, but nothing's set in stone yet -- and we've got a feeling Android's open-source codebase could throw a monkey wrench into an already-complex legal analysis. We'll obviously be tracking this one closely, keep an eye out.
FTC gives green-light for EA's Take-Two buyout
The Federal Trade Commission has stated that it will not oppose EA's pursuit of Take-Two Interactive. Following an investigation, the government agency concluded that no antitrust issue will occur, but left the door open to "take further action as the public interest may require."This means all systems are go for EA and Take-Two to come to some sort of amicable agreement over how to bring the companies together. If that doesn't work, EA will probably just go back to throwing money on the table until Take-Two is ready admit she can't deny the sugar.Source - Closing Letter to one EA attorneySource - Closing Letter to one Take-Two attorney[Via GamePolitics]
Proposed law seeks more FTC oversight of carriers
Proposed legislation currently making its way around the hallowed halls of Congress would put an end to the common carrier exemption, a shifty little clause of the FTC Act that essentially bails telecom carriers out from under Federal Trade Commission jurisdiction. In lay terms, that means carriers can engage in all manner of anticompetitive behavior and deceptive advertising and there's really not a heck of a lot the FTC can do about it. Carriers are currently reviewing the bill -- they're not really commenting on it in depth at this point -- but something tells us that by the time they get to the last spellbinding page, they're going to have an objection or two that necessitates the disposal of some lobby money. Then again, this isn't the first time congressmen have attempted to nix the common carrier exemption (an action the FTC fully supports, naturally), so there's certainly no guarantee it'll make it through to law this time, either.
Sales of M-rated games to kids declining, reveals undercover survey
According to an undercover survey conducted by the Federal Trade Commission between October 2005 and January 2006, sales of Mature-rated games to minors have decreased significantly since 2003. The results reveal that only 42% of the survey's shoppers (ages 13 to 16) were able to purchase an M-rated title without an adult — compared to 69% in 2003. In addition, only 35% of the survey's shoppers scored an M-rated game at a national retail outlet (e.g. GameStop, EBGames, etc.). Local sellers were less strict, selling to kids 69% of the time.The survey also found that 44% of stores posted ratings information, compared to a paltry 27% three years ago. And at half of the 406 stores involved in the survey, cashiers carded kids who attempted to buy M-rated games — up from 24%. Hal Halpin, president of the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association, concluded, "[With] the industry responding in such a visible and proactive fashion, it is clear that legislative efforts are simply not required." Amen.
