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What you say in your home, what you do in your home. It doesn’t get more private than that. But, according to two recent FTC complaints, Amazon and Ring used this highly private data – voice recordings collected by Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant and videos collected by Ring’s internet-connected home security cameras – to train their algorithms while giving short shrift to customers’ privacy. These matters, the first announced since the FTC’s new...

According to reports in the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel database, text message scams took consumers for $330 million in 2022. The latest Consumer Protection Data Spotlight focuses on this form of fraud. With reported losses more than doubling in 2021 and nearly five times what people reported in 2019, would you be able to spot the five most common text message scams? What about your employees? First, some background about what may be behind the...

Care About COPPA Compliance may not be the coolest Xbox gamertag, but an FTC action against Microsoft for alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule suggests it might be a good choice nonetheless. Filed by the Department of Justice on the FTC’s behalf, the $20 million proposed settlement will require Microsoft to bolster privacy protections for kids who use its Xbox gaming system. The order also makes it clear that...

“Stop it!” Moms and Dads may have to repeat that instruction to their kids, but when parents said it to Amazon in an effort to get the company to delete children’s voice data obtained through its Alexa voice assistant, Amazon should have honored those requests immediately. But according to a complaint filed by the Department of Justice on the FTC’s behalf, Amazon responded by deleting files in some databases while maintaining them elsewhere –...

Love at first sight may (or may not) be a real thing, but when it comes to investing your money, it’s unwise to fall for a franchise without first subjecting it to tough-minded scrutiny. The third in the FTC’s Franchise Fundamentals blog series walks through an essential part of that evaluation: an in-depth review of the Financial Disclosure Document (FDD) required by the FTC’s Franchise Rule . You must receive the Franchise Disclosure Document...

Educational technology hasn’t totally overtaken chalk dust and penmanship, but ed tech certainly has found its way into schools. A proposed settlement with Edmodo, LLC, alleges the ed tech company violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule and the FTC Act by collecting personal information from school kids without their parents’ consent, using that data for advertising purposes, and unfairly requiring schools and teachers to...

Texting is cheap and easy, and scammers are counting on the ding of an incoming text being hard to ignore. [1] In 2022, they were right to the tune of $330 million in losses to text scams, as reported to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network, with a median reported loss of $1,000. That’s more than double the 2021 reported losses and nearly five times what people reported in 2019. [2] In fact, reports about text scams spiked in the first six months...

No one would try to run a marathon with just a few days of preparation. It takes months of rigorous training before you can step up to the starting line with confidence. Of course, the process of studying, selecting, opening, and operating a franchise can make a marathon feel like a stroll in the park. In the second of our Franchise Fundamentals blog series, we take a closer look at the extensive research “road work” prospective franchisees...

For many people, buying a franchise has proven to be a good choice, but like any other financial decision, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question “Is a franchise right for me ?” Buying a franchise involves a major financial outlay and owning one often requires an “all in” lifestyle commitment. If you’re thinking about whether your future could be in a franchise, follow the FTC Business Blog for a series we’re calling Franchise...

Using their own colorful vocabulary, motocross devotees do their best to distance themselves from flat landing, roosting, and whiskey throttle. Something else many motocross, motorcycle, and all-terrain vehicle fans want to avoid: parts and equipment made in other countries, but imported into the United States already packaged with false “Made in USA” labels. That’s what the FTC alleges that North Carolina-based Cycra did , in violation of the...