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FTC finds 'Shark Tank' connected breathalyzers are inaccurate
Accuracy is a big issue with wearables and all sorts of connected devices. Despite marketing claims of "government-lab grade testing," the Federal Trade Commission found that Breathometer's app-connected breathalyzers weren't as accurate as the company promised. Government regulators said the company didn't have the scientific evidence to back the claims it was pitching to consumers who were looking for a way to stay safe after drinking.
CBS and Paramount settle lawsuit with 'Star Trek' fan film
It's been a wild ride for the folks behind the Axanar Star Trek fan film, but it's finally over -- the fan production group has settled its lawsuit with CBS and Paramount. The terms of the agreement aren't completely clear, but both parties have announced that the deal will allow Axanar productions to finish and release its fan film for free as long as a certain number of undisclosed "substantial changes" are made. Even better? According to Ars Technica, the settlement doesn't require the fan group to pay damages, either.
Ashley Madison settles charges over its massive data breach
Ashley Madison is paying the price for the hack that exposed the info of 36 million customers, and we don't just mean through executive departures. The owners of the cheat-on-your-spouse site, Ruby Corp, have settled charges from both the US Federal Trade Commission and 13 states alleging that it both misled users and didn't do enough to protect their info. The actual fine is small -- Ashley Madison was intended to pay a total of $17.5 million, but can only afford to pay just over $1.6 million. However, the reforms may go a long way toward solving some of the underlying problems that led to both the breach and shady business practices.
Hyperloop One settles lawsuit with former employees
As Hyperloop One continues its attempt at building the future of public transportation, it's moving on without the baggage of a messy lawsuit. The company announced today that it has reached a settlement with former employees, including co-founder and former CTO Brogan BamBrogan. No terms were disclosed, however, the lawsuit contained allegations of financial mismanagement, harassment and threats, which Hyperloop One had responded to with a $250 million suit of its own, claiming the exec had tried to lead a coup within the company.
VW will begin buying back diesel vehicles in mid-November
Volkswagen's ongoing diesel emissions scandal puttered forward again today as a US federal judge finally approved the $14.7 billion settlement between the automaker and owners of some 475,000 diesel vehicles. According to Reuters, Volkswagen will start buying back those fraudulent vehicles around the middle of November.
DraftKings and FanDuel settle with New York for $12 million
Just because New York state has legalized daily fantasy sports doesn't mean that DraftKings and FanDuel are off the hook just yet. The two sites have settled with New York's Attorney General over charges of misleading customers about their chances of winning. Each company will pay $6 million, and they'll have to institute "sweeping reforms" to their marketing. They'll have to explicitly disclose the expected odds and winnings in contests, as well as the terms for any promotions. Both will also have to offer resources for players who might succumb to addiction, and host a page detailing the success rates for users -- particularly for top players who might use scripts and advanced theories to get an edge.
Original PS3 owners can file claims in the 'Other OS' lawsuit
After more than six years, Sony agreed to pay out millions to settle the class-action lawsuit surrounding its removal of the "install other OS" feature from the PS3 in 2010. Now owners of the original version of that console can file claims. A settlement notice sent out this week states that PS3 "Fat" owners who made the purchase between November 1, 2006 and April 1, 2010 are eligible to do so.
Websites settle with New York over online child tracking
Some of the biggest child-oriented websites are learning a hard lesson about the importance of respecting kids' privacy. New York state has reached settlements with Hasbro, JumpStart Games, Mattel and Viacom for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting personal information from kids under 13. They'll all have to reform their sites (such as those for Hot Wheels, Neopets and Nickelodeon) to honor COPPA's safeguards and screen third-party trackers. JumpStart, Mattel and Viacom will also have to pay a collective $835,000 in penalties and provide regular reports on their scan results. Hasbro is dodging those bullets only because it's part of an FTC-sanctioned safe harbor program.
Qualcomm settles gender discrimination suit for $19.5 million
Qualcomm will pay $19.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by female employees who claim they were paid less and denied promotion opportunities that were given to men. The deal stipulates that the company must implement policies ensuring that women get more promotion opportunities in science and engineering positions. Lawyers for the group told the Associated Press the settlement was a "giant leap forward toward leveling the playing field and can serve as a model of best practices for other technology companies."
VW agrees to $14.7 billion settlement over US diesel claims
After news of a settlement broke yesterday, Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal settlement will indeed hit $15 billion in the US. The official paperwork was filed with the Justice Department today, the automaker will shell out $14.7 billion in two separate settlements -- one with the United States and the state of California and another with the Federal Trade Commission. Figures have continued to rise since the initial reports of $5,000 per vehicle in April rose to $10,000 each. That money, which totals just over $10 billion, will be used to buy back affected vehicles at their pre-cheating scandal price. The actual payouts will range from $5,100 to $10,000 plus the value of the car before news of the emissions test first broke.
Expect a settlement in the Volkswagen emissions fiasco tomorrow
A federal judge has given Volkswagen until Tuesday, June 28th, to present a plan aimed at making amends in the diesel emissions scandal that's been dogging the company for nearly a year. Reuters and Bloomberg report that the settlement will cost VW $15 billion. In September, regulators discovered VW was using emissions-concealing software in roughly 500,000 of its diesel vehicles sold since 2008.
Microsoft sued for $10,000 after unwanted Windows 10 upgrade
Microsoft's pushy and occasionally misleading Windows 10 update process has had some tangible backlash. According to the Seattle Times, a small business owner from California has successfully sued Microsoft for $10,000 in "compensation for lost wages and the cost of a new computer" after an unwanted and unauthorized update allegedly left her primary work PC slow, crash-prone and unusable.
4K copy protection removal shop settles for $5.2 million
Intel and Warner Bros. are still very much embroiled in a war on companies stripping copyright protection from 4K and Blu-ray videos. Hardware seller Ace Deal has agreed to pay the two industry giants $5.2 million to settle a lawsuit over alleged violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Supposedly, Ace Deal knowingly aided in piracy by selling devices that remove HDCP anti-copying measures, making it relatively easy to bootleg the latest 4K movie extravaganza. The shop has already pulled the offending gear from its online store and is barred from selling similar devices in the future, but the small outfit still faces a relatively big, potentially crippling payout.
ESPN and Verizon settle lawsuit over customizable FiOS TV plans
It's been more than a year since ESPN sued Verizon over Custom FiOS TV, a channel bundle that allows subscribers to make à la carte selections. But today, the companies announced they have settled their lawsuit, which was filed in New York's Supreme Court in 2015. Back then, ESPN argued that while it embraced "innovative ways to deliver high-quality content to consumers on multiple platforms," it simply wanted Verizon to abide by its terms of contracts. Verizon, on the other hand, denied any wrongdoing.
Uber settlement protects travel with your guide dog
Uber has made some effort to accommodate passengers with special needs, but it certainly hasn't been perfect: in 2014, the National Federation of the Blind's California branch sued Uber for denying rides to poor-sighted passengers with guide dogs and other service animals. However, it might soon make amends. The ridesharing company has proposed a settlement in that lawsuit that would protect your ability to take service animals with you on trips. Drivers would get in-app pop-ups and emails reminding them of their duty to carry your companion, and there would be a formal policy that bans drivers if they're caught rejecting passengers with animal helpers.
Don't bank on Volkswagen paying you $5,000 just yet
Well, this is awkward. Yesterday, German newspaper Die Welt claimed that every American with one of Volkswagen's dodgy diesels would receive $5,000 in compensation. Today, Reuters is offering up a contradictory report saying that the terms of the proposed settlement are substantially different. According to sources, VW's as-yet-confidential deal with regulators means it'll buy back 500,000 of the vehicles that cheated emissions tests. In addition, $1 billion is being set aside as an apology fund for affected owners who will need to buy a new ride. Simple division means that you'd be getting your money back on the car, plus an extra two grand as a mea culpa.
Apple agrees to pay $24.9 million to settle Siri patent lawsuit
Apple has agreed to settle yet another lawsuit from the ever-growing list of litigations it's battling to the tune of $24.9 million. This particular case, filed back in 2012 by a company called Dynamic Advances, alleges that Siri infringes on a patent owned by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a private research university in Troy, New York. Rensselaer's patent application was granted in 2007, years before Siri was released, and Dynamic Advances holds the exclusive license to it. The lawsuit was supposed to go to trial next month, but the settlement terms require the plaintiff to drop the case completely.
Uber settles background check lawsuit in California
Uber promises never to describe its service as the "safest ride on the road" or call its background check process "the gold standard" again. That's one of the terms it agreed to when it hashed out a settlement agreement with the San Francisco and Los Angeles District Attorney's offices. They filed a lawsuit against Uber back in 2014 over "false and misleading statements to consumers," specifically its claims that it conducts very thorough background checks. Unlike taxi operators, the company doesn't vet its drivers' fingerprints. If the ridesharing provider is caught breaking the DAs terms within the next two years, it will be legally obligated to pay $15 million on top of the $10 it has to hand over in 60 days.
Lyft drivers would make more as employees, estimates show
Critics claim that ridesharing companies stiff drivers by labeling them as contractors rather than full employees, but how much are they losing out on, really? Quite a bit, if you ask those drivers' lawyers. In the wake of Lyft's proposed lawsuit settlement over worker statuses, the attorneys have produced a court-ordered estimate showing that the average driver would have made an additional $835 in expense reimbursements over the past 4 years if treated as full-fledged staff. That may not sound like much, but most of the drivers covered in the lawsuit worked just 60 hours over those years -- that's a lot of money for relatively little effort. Particularly busy drivers would have earned considerably more, according to the calculations.
College athletes in EA lawsuit will receive an average of $1,600
Back in July, a judge approved a $60 million settlement between Electronic Arts and a number of college athletes over the use of their likeness in games. Athletes with a valid claim, all 24,819 of them, will finally get their share of the settlement. The average player will receive $1,600 after lawyers for the class action take their 30-percent cut. Of course, the lead plaintiffs (Ed O'Bannon, Ryan Hart and Sam Keller) will get the most at approximately $15,000 each. A group of 21 players will receive $5,000 each for their role as representatives in the class action.
