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You may have heard of simulation theory, the notion that nothing is real and we’re all part of a giant computer program. Let’s assume at least for the length of this blog post that this notion is untrue. Nonetheless, we may be heading for a future in which a substantial portion of what we see, hear, and read is a computer-generated simulation. We always keep it real here at the FTC, but what happens when none of us can tell real from fake? In a...

A deep dive into the technical side of FTC’s recent cases on digital health platforms, GoodRx & BetterHelp The Federal Trade Commission recently took enforcement action against GoodRx [1] and BetterHelp [2], two digital healthcare platforms, for allegedly sharing user health data with third parties for advertising. Both cases highlighted the use of third-party tracking pixels, which enable platforms to amass, analyze, and infer information about...

Millions of people in the U.S. rent their home. Their landlord could be a small mom-and-pop property owner, a large property management company, a public housing agency, or some other kind of organization. Many of these landlords buy applicants’ credit reports or use tenant screening companies to assist in evaluating prospective tenants. Tenant screening companies are consumer reporting agencies that compile information about the prospective...

There are prime numbers, irrational numbers, and Fibonacci’s numbers – but from a consumer protection perspective, no number is quite as sobering as the dollar amount that people reported losing to fraud in 2022. According to new data from the FTC , that number is almost $8.8 billion and it’s up 30% over the year before. The Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book reflects reports received through the Consumer Sentinel Network , a database of...

I am honored to announce the creation of the Office of Technology (OT) at the Federal Trade Commission, a team that will provide technical expertise across agency matters and strengthen the agency’s ability to enforce the nation’s competition and consumer protection laws. We are hiring technologists to join the team. Staying on the cutting edge of emerging technology has long been a core part of the FTC's mandate. The emergence of the radio in...

When Congress passed the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, it created minimum dollar thresholds for mandatory premerger reporting. In 2000, Congress amended the HSR statute to require an annual adjustment of these thresholds based on the change in gross national product. As a result, reportability under the Act changes from year to year as the statutory thresholds adjust. The HSR statute requires the Commission to assess and...

Romance scammers tell all sorts of lies to steal your heart and money, and reports to the FTC show those lies are working. Last year’s romance scam numbers looked a lot like 2021 all over again, and it’s not a pretty picture. In 2022, nearly 70,000 people reported a romance scam, and reported losses hit a staggering $1.3 billion. [1] The median reported loss: $4,400. [2] These scammers pay close attention to the information you share, and don’t...

“Rah, rah-ah-ah-ah. Roma, roma-ma. Gaga, ooh-la-la. Want your bad romance.” This Valentine’s Day if you find yourself gaga over an online love, the Federal Trade Commission – yes, the FTC – has advice on ways to tell if you could be caught in a “Bad Romance.” According to a new Consumer Protection Data Spotlight , in 2022 the Consumer Sentinel Network received nearly 70,000 reports of romance scams, with reported financial losses hitting a...

On December 14th, 2022, in collaboration with technologists on team CTO and attorneys in BCP, I gave a presentation at the Federal Trade Commission’s December Open Commission meeting on the systemic approach to security found in the Commission’s orders. The goal of this post is to first explain how the FTC has worked to strengthen its remedies to address the underlying causes of risk in complex systems. The post then highlights some of the...

The workplace is in transition, with people considering career changes or dealing with layoffs. But as the FTC has warned for years, scammers find a way to exploit every trend – and this time they have job seekers in their sights. Have you come across one of these placement pretenders? The FTC wants to hear about your experience. We’ll say this much about the new breed of crook: They can be very convincing. Sometimes they cast a wide net...