Legal Library: Cases and Proceedings

The FTC alleged that Twitter’s deceptive use of user email addresses and phone numbers violated the FTC Act and the 2011 Commission order.

Everalbum settled Federal Trade Commission allegations that it deceived consumers about its use of facial recognition technology and its retention of photos and videos of users who deactivated their accounts.

A federal judge has ordered Credit Bureau Center, LLC and its owner, Michael Brown, to pay more than $5.2 million to return to consumers, to resolve FTC charges that they deceived people with fake rental property ads and deceptive promises of “free” credit reports, and then tricked them into enrolling into a costly monthly credit monitoring service.

The FTC reached a settlement with WW International, Inc., formerly known as Weight Watchers, and a subsidiary called Kurbo, Inc., over allegations they marketed a weight loss app for use by children as young as eight and then collected their personal information without parental permission.

A lead generation company that collected sensitive information from millions of consumers under the guise of connecting them with lenders will pay $1.5 million in civil penalties and face restrictions on their operations as a result of a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit.

The FTC’s complaint alleges that since at least 2012, ITMedia Solutions LLC, a number of affiliate companies, and their owners and officers have operated hundreds of websites that were designed to entice consumers into sharing their most sensitive financial information—including their Social Security numbers and bank account information. The defendants sold that information to marketing companies and others without regard for how the information would be used, according to the complaint.

Ascension will be required to implement a comprehensive data security program as part of a settlement resolving FTC allegations that the firm failed to ensure one of its vendors was adequately securing personal data about tens of thousands of mortgage holders.

The FTC approved a proposed order banning SpyFone and its CEO Scott Zuckerman from the surveillance business over allegations that the stalkerware app company secretly harvested and shared data on people’s physical movements, phone use, and online activities through a hidden device hack.

The Department of Justice on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission sued MyLife.com, Inc. and its CEO Jeffrey Tinsley over allegations they deceived consumers with “teaser background reports” that often falsely claimed to include information about arrest, criminal, and sex offender records, and also engaged in misleading billing and marketing practices.

Under an order with the FTC, OpenX Technologies, Inc. will be required to pay $2 million over allegations that the company collected personal information from children under 13 without parental consent. The FTC also alleged that the company collected geolocation information from users who specifically asked not to be tracked.

Kuuhuub Inc., Kuu Hubb Oy and Recolor Oy settled FTC allegations that they violated a children’s privacy law by collecting and disclosing personal information about children who used the app without notifying their parents and obtaining their consent.