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Sony finally hands out free game codes for its 2011 hack
If you were one of the 70 million Sony customers affected by the 2011 Sony hack, and took the time to fill in a lengthy claim form following the intrusion, now is the time to check your inbox. Since March 2nd, Sony has been compensating PlayStation Network, Qriocity or Sony Online Entertainment account holders as a result of a class action settlement against it in 2014. On offer are free download codes for a number of PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita and PSP games, as well as a handful of themes.
Verizon can't share web activity with advertisers unless you opt in
Last spring, Verizon began offering its customers a way to opt out of the "supercookies" that track activity for advertisers to leverage. Following a settlement with the FCC, the wireless company must give customers the choice to opt in to the program rather than employing the tracking system by default. Verizon has to notify customers about its use of the unique undeletable identifiers, or UIDH, for targeted advertising. Only after users give consent is the company able to share any web browsing data with either third parties or within its corporate family.
'Happy Birthday' settlement puts the song in the public domain
Since 1988, Warner/Chappell has had an iron grip on the copyright for "Happy Birthday to You." Artists couldn't sing it on a recording without paying up, even though it's virtually ubiquitous in real life -- it's widely considered the most popular English-language song in history. At last, though, logic appears to be taking hold. In the wake of a lengthy class action lawsuit, Warner has agreed to a $14 million settlement that will put "Happy Birthday" in the US public domain well ahead of 2030, when the label expected the copyright to run out. So long as the ruling holds, you can expect to hear those very familiar strains all over music, movies and TV shows in the near future.
Uber might owe you money for charging airport fees
If you've taken an Uber ride to a Californian airport and got hit with a surprise fee, you might be owed some cash. Uber has agreed to pay a settlemement in a class action lawsuit that accuses it of charging an "airport fee toll" years before it was legally required (last November), letting drivers pocket the extra funds. The move will dish out $1.8 million between as many as 355,000 affected passengers. That's not much in practice -- just over $5, if everyone is covered -- but it's welcome if you felt burned on that trip to LAX.
Lumosity settles claims it misled you over 'brain training'
Did you see the endless wave of Lumosity brain training ads and think there was no way that a bunch of games could significantly improve your mind? You're not alone. The brand's parent company, Lumos Labs, is paying the Federal Trade Commission $2 million to settle charges that it misled customers with bogus claims about Lumosity's abilities. The FTC doesn't beat around the bush: it says there's no evidence to support talk of boosting your intellectual performance. Moreover, Lumosity doesn't disclose that many of its testimonials are solicited through contests, and its ads "preyed on consumers' fears" about aging.
Oracle settles charges that it misled you on Java security
Oracle's Java software is known for creating its share of headaches, but security is arguably the biggest. For one thing, upgrading to the latest version of Java Standard Edition didn't always remove every old version -- up until last year, it'd leave ancient copies that exposed your PC to attack. And now, Oracle is paying the price. It's settling FTC charges that it "deceived" customers by failing to warn about the security risks behind its Java SE upgrade process. Larry Ellison and crew will have to both warn users about those risks and create tools to remove those older, more vulnerable copies.
Target settles data breach lawsuit with banks for $39 million
Nearly two years after Target's massive data breach leaked customer payment info, the retailer has reached a settlement with financial institutions. The company agreed to pay $39 million to the likes of MasterCard and banks who filed claims stemming from the 2013 incident. More specifically, Target will pay $20 million to the settlement class and $19 million to MasterCard to fund its Account Data Compromise program that ties into the hack. These figures are in addition to the $10 million settlement that the retail company already agreed to with lawyers for individual victims and its $67 million settlement with Visa.
Sony reaches multi-million dollar settlement with ex-employees over hack
Nearly a year after being infiltrated and bullied by hacker group GOP (Guardians of Peace), Sony is still feeling the effects of the breach. One of the larger issues the company has had to contend with is former employees suing it claiming it didn't do enough to protect their data. According to a filing on Monday, those employees and Sony have come to an agreement. The multi-million dollar settlement includes a $2 million fund to reimburse victims that are part of the class action for any expenses they've incurred protecting themselves from identity theft as a result of the hack up to $1,000 each. Sony will also pay up to $10,000 per person for losses as a result of identity theft up to $2.5 million. Sony will also bear the costs of the suit including attorney's fees up to $3,490,000. The terms of the settlement still need to be approved by the court. [Image credit: AFP/Getty Images]
Cablevision and Viacom settle their lawsuits over channel bundling
And just like that, Cablevision's feud with Viacom over channel bundling is over. The two TV giants have settled their antitrust lawsuits with promises that they're making "mutually beneficial business arrangements." Neither side is saying what those arrangements are, however, and it's not clear whether or not Cablevision is getting a better deal than what it had in 2012. This ruckus started because Cablevision didn't like being forced to carry niche Viacom channels to get the big channels it wanted -- this whole exercise would be pointless if the company didn't get either a discount or more control. With that said, it wouldn't be shocking if Cablevision's soon-to-be owner, Altice, pushed for a hasty compromise to prevent the lawsuits (and the resulting government scrutiny) from interfering with its big purchase. [Image credit: Jin Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Add this: LinkedIn must pay $13 million to annoyed users
Networking site LinkedIn has agreed to pay out $13 million for overzealous marketing of its services on behalf of users. You've likely received one of the emails, which appear to come from a contact (below), saying something like, "Hi, I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn." That line actually makes a fine universal cartoon caption, but LinkedIn then sent several similar follow-up emails without saying it would do so in its terms of service. Many users felt that made them look needy (the email mentions your contact's name no less than five times), which is why they launched a class-action suit against the company in Lucy Koh's California court.
Mitsubishi will repair your broken LaserVue for free
You might not remember Mitsubishi's rear-projection LaserVue TVs, unless you purchased one and got stuck with a huge repair bill. If so, we hope you kept those receipts, because you may be entitled to a refund for any work done. Mitsubishi has settled a class-action lawsuit brought by consumers over picture problems, like darkened screen sections that appear after 8,000 to 10,000 hours of use. The legal firm handling the suit said that "if you spent your own money to repair certain problems with your LaserVue TV, you may be entitled to a repair, payment or reimbursement" of at least $500.
Court approves settlement over Curt Schilling's failed game studio
The longstanding battle for compensation following the death of Curt Schilling's state-backed game studio, 38 Studios, is one step closer to winding down. A Rhode Island Superior Court judge has approved a $12.5 million partial settlement with four of the defendants in the case, helping recoup some of the $75 million poured into the failed Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning creator. This definitely isn't the end -- Schilling is still fighting the lawsuit, for one thing. Between this and an earlier $4.4 million settlement, though, the tide appears to be turning against the former baseball star. [Image credit: Tony Avelar/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
'Duke Nukem' franchise ownership finally settled
A dispute that left ownership of the Duke Nukem franchise in limbo has officially been settled. In a statement, Gearbox Software affirmed that it's the "full and rightful owner of the Duke Nukem franchise." Previous rights-holder and creator 3D Realms (aka Apogee Software) relinquished all claims, saying "to secure the future of Duke, 3D realms has agreed with Gearbox that a single home serves (it) best." That's a far cry from the rancor between the parties after Gearbox launched the lawsuit in 2014, however. Gearbox assumed it had bought the full franchise rights from 3D Realms, until 3D Realms announced that it was creating a new title called Duke Nukem Survivor.
Target's data breach payout to Visa may hit $67 million
It's nearly two years since Target suffered its giant shopping data breach, and the retailer is still paying for its mistakes. In the wake of a $19 million payout to MasterCard, Target has reached a settlement with Visa over compensation for the many, many customers exposed to potential credit and debit card fraud. Neither side is revealing the specifics, but the Wall Street Journal understands that Target will pay up to $67 million. That's a significant blow for a breach, though not crushing for a company that raked in $635 million in profit last quarter. Target adds that it already factored these costs into its previous earnings reports, but this should still serve as a friendly reminder that lax security can prove costly in more ways than one. [Image credit: AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty]
T-Mobile to pay $17.5 million over last year's 911 outage
To settle a Federal Communications Commission investigation into 911 outages, T-Mobile will pay $17.5 million. The FCC investigation revealed that two separate outages occurred on the carrier's network last year, lasting around three hours total. While the incidents were separate but related, they prohibited customers from reaching emergency personnel. The outages happened last August and affected T-Mobile customers nationwide, which the FCC says would've kept around 50 million people from calling 911 with their mobile phones during that time. After the carrier also failed to provide timely notification about the outage (according to FCC guidelines), it promised to overhaul procedures to avoid a similar incident in the future as part of the settlement. "The Commission has no higher priority than ensuring the reliability and resilience of our nation's communications networks so that consumers can reach public safety in their time of need," explained FCC chairman Tom Wheeler. "Communications providers that do not take necessary steps to ensure that Americans can call 911 will be held to account." [Image credit: Photo by Steve Sands/WireImage]
FTC starts cracking down on crowdfunding fraud
Hang around the crowdfunding scene long enough and you'll hear tales of campaigns that were too good to be true, or creators who simply took the money and ran. It's scary stuff, we know -- but you'll be glad to hear that the Federal Trade Commission now has your back when the host sites' safeguards aren't enough. The government body has taken its first action against a crowdfunding fraudster, reaching a settlement with Erik Chevalier after he cancelled a Kickstarter board game project and reneged on promised refunds. The culprit won't pay restitution, unfortunately (he's allegedly unable to pay), but he's barred from any deceptive crowdfunding practices and obligated to honor whatever refund policies he sets. A slap on the wrist, then? Maybe, but it's still a shot across the bow of scammers who are only interested in padding their bank accounts. [Image credit: Getty Images]
Typo's truce with BlackBerry stops it from selling phone keyboards
Typo started fending off lawsuits from BlackBerry almost as soon as its lookalike iPhone keyboards went on sale, but it's at last getting a break... well, sort of. The Ryan Seacrest-backed company has reached a settlement with BlackBerry that ends all lawsuits, but requires that it "permanently discontinue" selling keyboards for any device with a screen 7.9 inches or smaller (that is, phones). Effectively, the crew in Waterloo is asking Typo to drop its very reason for being -- it was formed by executives who wanted to ditch their BlackBerrys for iPhones without having to type on glass. While Typo will stick around and sell iPad keyboards, there's no doubt that it's a shell of its former self.
Apple close to settling with EV battery-maker over poaching lawsuit
If Apple still keeps a "hands-off" list of companies it promised never to poach employees from, (probably not, though) then EV battery-maker A123 is likely not included. The two companies are close to reaching a settlement, after A123 filed a lawsuit against the iDevice manufacturer in February. If you recall, it accused Apple of poaching the company's top-level engineers in the process of forming its own battery division. That reportedly forced the battery maker to cancel its main projects. Apple tried to get the lawsuit dismissed, but according to Reuters, A123 has recently filed court docs saying the two are just working out the final details of their settlement. Seeing as the case might still be moved to California and how secretive Apple is, though, we'll have to wait a bit more to know if Cupertino's truly developing an electric car.
Sprint and Verizon to pay $158 million over bogus texting charges
No, Sprint and Verizon* aren't going to escape the FCC's bid to punish carriers for letting shady text message services bill their customers. The two providers are respectively paying $68 million and $90 million to settle FCC claims that they not only turned a blind eye to this bill cramming, but frequently denied refunds when subscribers complained. About $120 million of this total payout will compensate victims, while the rest will go to both state governments and the US Treasury.
FCC fines AT&T $25 million for data breach affecting 280,000 customers
After employees at its call centers swiped personal info of nearly 280,000 customers, AT&T has to pay $25 million to settle with the FCC. The fine is a result of the carrier's "consumer privacy violations" at call centers in Mexico, Colombia and the Philippines, where employees nabbed names, social security numbers and account info without proper authorization. Stolen data was used to request unlock codes, which were then provided to a third party dealing in stolen and "secondary market" handsets. "As today's action demonstrates, the Commission will exercise its full authority against companies that fail to safeguard the personal information of their customers," said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. In addition to the hefty fine, AT&T must notify all affected customers, in addition to providing credit monitoring services for those included in breaches in both Colombia and the Philippines. It must also appoint a senior compliance manager to keep an eye on things and file regular security reports with the FCC. [Image credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
