: COPPA Guidance for Ed Tech Companies and Schools during the Coronavirus lschifferle April 9, 2020 | 8:18AM COPPA Guidance for Ed Tech Companies and Schools during the Coronavirus By Lisa Weintraub Schifferle “Social distancing,” “shelter-in-place,” “virtual happy hour”— these are some of the new expressions on everyone’s lips the past few weeks. For many, add “remote learning” to the list. Because of school closures, millions of students are now using online, education technology (or “ed tech”) services to engage in remote learning from home. And while this fills a vital need, it’s important to keep in mind that many of these ed tech services collect and use student’s personal information. So, it’s a good time to remind ed tech providers and schools about the continued need to protect student’s privacy and safeguard their personal data. To help, here are some FAQs. What is the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)? Importantly, COPPA does not impose obligations on schools. Instead, COPPA spells ou[...]
: The AI Index Report developed at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence at Stanford University in California is an interesting resource to help track developments in the field . It tracks worldwide trends in private AI investments, the number of incidents related to the ethical misuse of AI, as well as the state of AI regulation and legislation across the world. Chapter 6 on Policy and Governance shows that there has been an explosive increase in the level of attention that legislators are paying to issues relating to AI: "An AI Index analysis of the legislative records of 127 countries shows that the number of bills containing 'artificial intelligence' that were passed into law grew from just 1 in 2016 to 37 in 2022. An analysis of the parliamentary records on AI in 81 countries likewise shows that mentions of AI in global legislative proceedings have increased nearly 6.5 times since 2016." There has been a rapid growth in commentary on artificial intelligence and its impact on [...]
: New toolkit for retailers to help stop gift card scams lfair December 21, 2020 | 2:18PM New toolkit for retailers to help stop gift card scams By Lesley Fair In many ways, gift cards ushered in a win-win era. Better gift-giving (and getting) for consumers and increased sales for retailers. But leave it to scammers to try to mess up a good thing. According to an FTC Data Spotlight , gift cards are now the top method of payment favored by many fraudsters. For years, the FTC has warned consumers about gift card grifters. Now there’s a new Stop Gift Card Scams Toolkit to help retailers do their part to prevent this form of fraud. Back in the olden days – say, four or five years ago – wire transfers were con artists’ favorite. Many still use that method, but according to the Data Spotlight , since 2018, people have reported losing almost $245 million to gift card scams, with a median individual loss of $840. The scam may start with a call from an imposter claiming to be from the IRS or other government agency and[...]
: Root, root root for the regions lfair September 24, 2018 | 2:03PM Root, root root for the regions By Andrew Smith, Director, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection T his year eight major league baseball teams are celebrating milestone anniversaries – and so are the FTC’s regional offices. In 1918, the Commission opened the first three of its regional offices. Today, eight regional offices continue to knock it out the park on behalf of America’s consumers. So it’s only fitting that on this momentous day we acknowledge the regional offices’ century of pennant-winning performances. According to the Commission’s 1918 Annual Report, “In order to expedite the greatly increased work of the Commission . . . small branch offices were established in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.” Over time, the FTC has added other locations for a current total of eight offices in seven regions. Regional staff work with the Bureau of Consumer Protection and the Bureau of Competition on investigations and litigation. But they are in [...]
: FTC recaps consumer complaint data for 2017: Who’s on the list? lfair March 1, 2018 | 5:17PM FTC recaps consumer complaint data for 2017: Who’s on the list? By Lesley Fair Once bitten, twice shy. That fundamental principle of human behavior is why reputable businesses that work hard to earn consumers’ confidence should support the FTC’s ongoing efforts to fight fraud. According to the FTC’s 2017 Consumer Sentinel Data Book , consumers reported losing a total of $905 million to fraud last year. That’s close to a billion bucks people won’t be able to spend on legitimate products and services from credible companies. That figure is up $63 million from last year, although the total number of reports received from consumers is down from 2.98 million in 2016 to 2.68 million in 2017. Topping the list that no industry wants to be on is debt collection, making up 23% of the total number of complaints. But there are two caveats: 1) that number is down from 2016; and 2) the high number of debt collection reports was du[...]
: The Federal Trade Commission will require Synopsys, Inc. and Ansys, Inc. to divest certain assets to resolve antitrust concerns surrounding their $35 billion merger. The FTC’s proposed divestiture order will preserve competition across several software tool markets that are critical for the design of semiconductors and light simulation devices, which are used in a wide range of products. The proposed order will help protect consumers from higher input prices for cars, smartphones, cameras, televisions, and other critical products. “The FTC’s action today protects Americans from higher costs for the countless everyday products that use computer chips, LED screens, fiber optic cables, and many other high-tech components,” said Daniel Guarnera, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “The FTC’s divestiture order ensures that competition can thrive across software markets that are critical to designing the digital products that power Americans’ daily lives.” Synopsys is a leading developer and supplier of [...]