: 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 [...]
: Global payment processor Nuvei will pay $4.85 million to settle the Federal Trade Commission’s charges that the firm opened and maintained payment processing accounts for merchants that it knew or should have known were engaged in deception, including tech support scams that took millions of dollars from consumers. In its complaint, the FTC alleges that Canada-based Nuvei Corporation and its subsidiaries, Nuvei International Group Limited, Nuvei Limited, SafeCharge Digital Limited and Nuvei Technologies Inc., processed payments for scammers, including tech support scams targeting U.S. consumers. Specifically, Nuvei processed more than $30 million in consumer payments for Reimage, an offshore tech support scam, from 2017 to 2023, according to the FTC’s complaint. “Today’s action underscores the Commission’s commitment to ensuring that our payments system operates free of fraud,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Our enforcement work reinforces the transparency[...]
: The Federal Trade Commission today issued warning letters to seven companies that appear to have misrepresented certain products as “Made in the USA,” and one company that appears to have misrepresented certain products as “Made in Texas,” despite indications that such products were imported, in whole or in significant part. “When Americans spend their hard-earned dollars on goods marketed as ‘Made in the USA,’ they deserve to have confidence that these products were all or virtually all made in this country,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We will hold accountable any company that undermines Americans’ trust with misleading or outright false U.S. origin claims.” The letters were issued to companies selling products such as drums, industrial laser machinery, coordinate measuring machines and e-cigarettes. Today’s action furthers the Commission’s ongoing work to ensure products claimed to be made in the United States are actually supporting American workers, [...]
: The Federal Trade Commission testified today before the Joint Economic Committee about the agency’s ongoing work to combat fraud and protect consumers from scammers and other bad actors. Testifying on behalf of the Commission , Lois Greisman, Associate Director of the FTC’s Division of Marketing Practices, said that fighting fraud is the core of the FTC’s consumer protection mission. The agency fulfills this mission by pursuing aggressive law enforcement actions against those that perpetrate or facilitate fraud and through consumer education and outreach. In Fiscal Year 2025, the FTC brought 40 law enforcement actions involving fraudulent schemes such as business opportunities, investment or other money-making schemes, unlawful robocalls, technical support scams, government or business impersonation frauds, and unfair or deceptive fees, among other consumer protection concerns, according to the testimony. Through this work the FTC obtained more than $1.8 billion in redress for consumers affected by deceptive[...]
: 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 [...]
: Today, the Federal Trade Commission took action to protect Americans from rising food prices by requiring 365 Retail Markets LLC (365 Retail)—the nation’s largest provider of micromarket kiosks—to divest a competing business to complete its $848 million acquisition of Cantaloupe Inc. 365 Retail, which is controlled by Garage Topco LP, seeks to acquire Cantaloupe in a deal that would combine the two largest providers of micromarket kiosks as well as related software and services. Micromarkets are small unattended convenience stores often found in offices and breakrooms that provide access to affordable, freshly prepared food that is not available in vending machines. Under the FTC’s proposed consent order , 365 Retail will be required to divest Cantaloupe’s Three Square Market business—a competing micromarket kiosk provider—to Seaga Manufacturing Inc. (Seaga). With current offerings in unattended foodservice retail that do not compete with micromarkets, Seaga is well-positioned to acquire the Three Square Mar[...]
: 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[...]
: 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[...]