Yelp reached a settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over the violation of child privacy law. The company had enabled kids under 13 (some even 9 and under reportedly) to sign up for its service, collecting their email addresses…
FairSearch Shares Panel Videos About Google Probe
The FairSearch coalition convened this week in Washington D.C. for a panel to discuss U.S. and EU competition policies, and the next steps in the European Google investigation. The panel criticized the FTC’s investigation, which led to a settlement with…
FTC Files Suit Against Amazon Over In-App Charges
The United States Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit seeking a court order requiring Amazon to refund consumers for unauthorized charges from in-app payments made by kids without parents’ knowledge. The suit alleges that Amazon billed parents and other…
WhatsApp Hits 500 Million Users, 700 Million Photos Shared Daily
Messaging app WhatsApp has just announced a huge milestone–they’ve topped half a billion “regular, active” users. And those users are sharing more than 700 million photos and 100 million videos every day. “Thanks to all of you, half a billion…
FTC to Facebook: Don’t Screw with User Privacy After WhatsApp Acquisition
Today, Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan and WhatsApp General Counsel Anne Hoge received a diplomatic, but pointed letter from Jessica Rich, the Federal Trade Commussion’s Bureau of Consumer Protection head. And the TL;DR version is this: don’t screw with…
FTC Has Seen 2,046 Complaints About Yelp In Recent Years
The FTC disclosed this week that there have been 2,046 complaints filed against Yelp dating from 2008 to March 4th, 2014. While that may seem like a lot, it’s not incredibly shocking given that we see businesses complaining informally about…
Identity Theft on the Rise this Tax Season, IRS Warns
Identity theft is on the rise this tax season as millions of Americans file tax returns and claim their refunds. In February, the Internal Revenue Service placed identity theft at the top of their “Dirty Dozen” tax scams list. Criminals…
Identity Theft is Top Complaint of Consumers in 2013
Each year, the Federal Trade Commission collects data on consumer complaints and analyzes said data in order to improve consumer experiences in the United States. And for the 14th consecutive year, identity theft tops the charts as the most reported…
Google’s Nest Acquisition Gets FTC Approval
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has granted Google permission to acquire Nest Labs. Google and Nest announced the deal last month. Google is acquiring the company, which makes smart home devices like smoke detectors and thermostats, for $3.2 billion in…