: The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against Illusory Systems Inc. for failing to implement adequate data security measures, leading to a major security breach in which hackers stole $186 million from consumers. Under a proposed order settling the FTC’s allegations, Utah-based Illusory, which does business as Nomad, will be required to implement an information security program to address numerous alleged security failures and to return recovered money to affected consumers. “The FTC Act requires companies to take reasonable security measures,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “It’s important that companies live up to their security promises to consumers.” In its complaint , the FTC alleged that Nomad prominently touted its security in its advertising, claiming that it offered “security-first” services. The FTC, however, alleged that the company failed to live up to these promises by failing to: use secure coding practices; implement processes for recei[...]
: The Federal Trade Commission will prohibit data broker Kochava and its subsidiary from selling, sharing or disclosing sensitive location data without consumers’ affirmative express consent to settle allegations the companies sold location data from hundreds of millions of mobile devices that could be used to trace the movements of individuals. The FTC sued Idaho-based Kochava in August 2022 alleging that its collection, use and disclosure of precise location data invaded consumers’ privacy by revealing their movements, including visits to sensitive locations such as health facilities and places of worship. The FTC alleged that because consumers were unaware of and did not consent to this data sharing, consumers had no way of avoiding the harm resulting from its collection and disclosure. Under the proposed order resolving the FTC’s litigation, Kochava and its subsidiary, Collective Data Solutions (CDS), which has taken over Kochava’s data broker business, will be prohibited from selling, licensing, tran[...]
: The Federal Trade Commission filed an amicus brief today in support of the Department of Justice’s Revised Proposed Final Judgment (RPFJ) related to Google’s antitrust violations. In August 2024, a federal judge found that Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act by maintaining monopolies in general search services and general text advertising. As part of the RPFJ aimed at remedying these violations, DOJ proposed that Google be required to share targeted portions of its search index, user, and ads data with certain competitors for a limited period of time with suitable security and privacy safeguards. As the nation’s primary privacy enforcer, the FTC has a strong interest in ensuring that companies vigorously protect consumers’ privacy and long experience with crafting appropriate remedies to address such privacy and data security violations. “The privacy safeguards proposed by DOJ are in line with the measures the FTC has required numerous companies to take to address privacy and data security failures,[...]
: Let's Make a Seal wfg-adm109 January 12, 2011 | 5:31PM Let's Make a Seal By Lesley Fair For many people, environmental considerations play an important role in what they put in their shopping carts. But it's tough to know when green claims are credible. Seals and certifications can be a useful tool to help shoppers decide where to place their trust and how to spend their money — but only if they're backed by solid proof. The FTC’s proposed settlement with Tested Green, Nonprofit Management LLC, and Jeremy Ryan Claeys demonstrates the importance of ensuring that claims conveyed to consumers through seals and certifications are supported by sound science. According to the FTC, the company and Claeys advertised and sold a Tested Green certification, touted as “the nation’s leading certification program for businesses that produce green products or use green processes in the manufacture of goods and services.” The company’s website hyped the program as “the nation’s leading certification for green businesses[...]