FTC Fines Office Depot $25 Million in Deceptive Practices Case
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Wednesday that Office Depot agreed to pay $25 million to settle allegations that the company “tricked customers into buying millions of dollars’ worth of...
View ArticleFTC Needs Authority to Rein in Data Brokers, Intel Exec Hoffman Says
David Hoffman, Intel’s associate general counsel and global privacy officer, said in a blog post on April 22 that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) needs to be given more authority to rein in the...
View ArticleSen. Hawley Preps ‘Do Not Track’ Bill for Online Data
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said today he plans to introduce a bill that would prohibit online service providers from collecting data from consumers “any data that is beyond what is necessary for the...
View ArticleFCC, FTC See Budget Increases in Proposed Approps Bill
Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee released a draft of the fiscal year 2020 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) funding bill that would see the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)...
View ArticleDraft Budget Bill Includes Election Security, IRS Modernization, & FTC Tech...
The House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Subcommittee proposed a total of $24.5 billion for FSGG discretionary budget authority in fiscal year 2020, which includes...
View ArticleDoJ, FTC Fine Facebook $5B Over Data Privacy
The Department of Justice (DoJ), along with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), announced today that Facebook has agreed to pay a $5 billion fine regarding data privacy claims. The fine is the largest...
View ArticleSenators Debut Robocall Protection Bill
Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., on July 31, introduced a bill to combat illegal robocalls. To accomplish that aim, the Protection from...
View ArticleFederal Data Privacy Law Unlikely This Year, Bill Sponsor Says
Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., a long-time advocate for stronger data privacy rules and current sponsor of the Information Transparency and Personal Data Control Act, said today it’s unlikely that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
OIG Flags Information Security as Top FTC Management Challenge
An Office of Inspector General (OIG) report released today says that one of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) top management challenges is securing its information systems and networks from...
View ArticleHouse Bill Would Protect Americans From Online Fraud
Reps. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., and Cathy McMorris, R-Wash., introduced the US SAFE WEB Extension Act on Oct. 22, which would enable the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to protect Americans from fraud, spam,...
View ArticleSens. Booker, Wyden Target Biased Healthcare Algorithms
Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and five major healthcare companies to “provide...
View ArticleHouse E&C Releases Draft Privacy Legislation
The House Energy and Commerce Committee (E&C) released an initial draft of a bipartisan Federal privacy bill on Dec. 18. The draft legislation, a summary of which was obtained by MeriTalk, covers a...
View ArticleFTC Chairman: Federal Privacy Regulator Would Be ‘Huge Mistake’
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Joseph Simons said at the Consumer Electronics Association’s CES event on Jan. 7 that creating a new Federal privacy regulator would be a “huge mistake.” During...
View ArticleVoice Cloning Provides ‘Fertile Grounds’ for Cybercrime, DoJ Official Says
Mona Sedky, an attorney in the Justice Department’ Computer Crime and Intellectual property section, billed herself today as the “voice of doom,” and lived up to that title in describing the potential...
View ArticleClik here to view.
EPIC Petitions FTC for Regulations on AI Use
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a petition with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today seeking regulations for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. EPIC – a...
View ArticleFTC Sets Ten-Year Review of Big Tech’s Smaller Acquisition Deals
The Federal Trade Commission said today it will take a ten-year look-back at acquisition activities of five U.S. tech giants to “deepen its understanding” of large tech company acquisition activity....
View ArticleFTC has “Record Year” for Protecting Consumer Privacy and Data Security
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released its 2019 Privacy and Data Security Update that highlighted “a record year for enforcement actions aimed at protecting consumer privacy and data security.”...
View ArticleFTC Sets Workshop on Financial Institution Cyber Defense Rules
The Federal Trade Commission announced it will hold a public workshop on May 13 in Washington to hear testimony and review research on proposed changes to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act’s Safeguards Rule...
View ArticleFTC Working to Combat COVID-19 Scams
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Joe Simons said that the agency is “doing our part” to recognize and overcome the challenges faced by consumers and businesses during the COVID-19 coronavirus...
View ArticleCOVID-19 News: DoD Health Pledge, Space Exercise Cancelled, FTC Fights...
The Federal government and other entities are adjusting to and planning for the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Here’s a quick look at some of the top developments of interest to the Federal IT...
View ArticleFTC Cracking Down on False Coronavirus Advertising
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it will send 10 additional letters of warning to companies to cease making unsupported claims that their products can treat or prevent coronavirus....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Heightened Demand for Federal Privacy Legislation, FTC Commissioner Says
Federal privacy legislation that has stalled in Congress for months has a new impetus, as questions about the use of location and health data during the pandemic are bringing privacy considerations to...
View ArticleFTC Delivers Reports on Consumer Privacy Work
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has delivered two congressionally-requested reports on the agency’s consumer privacy work as part of the fiscal year 2020 spending bill that funds FTC and other...
View ArticleFTC, SBA Warn of Misleading Marketing for COVID-19 Relief Loans
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Small Business Association (SBA) aimed warnings this week at six companies to cease potentially misleading marketing geared toward small businesses seeking...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Former FTC Commissioners Warn of Consequences of Not Passing Federal Privacy Law
Several former commissioners of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the consequences of delay in passing a Federal privacy...
View ArticlePresident Signs ‘SAFE WEB’ Bill Protecting Against Overseas Fraud
President Trump this week signed the US SAFE WEB Extension, which reauthorizes a 2007 law that permits the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to take action to protect U.S. consumers against cross-border...
View ArticleNew FTC Fraud Reporting Site Helping Victims, Law Enforcement With Better Data
There’s nothing more important in the Federal Trade Commission’s mission than consumer protection. A recent upgrade to the agency’s consumer fraud reporting site that focuses on eliciting more precise...
View ArticleFTC Warns of Vaccine-Related Scams
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is warning consumers about scams related to the rollout of a COVID-19 vaccine, which could see distribution authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)...
View ArticleClik here to view.
FTC Names Petrizzi Acting Head of Competition Bureau
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has named Maribeth Petrizzi as the acting head of the commission’s Bureau of Competition, Politico reported Jan. 25. Petrizzi will now be the lead on enforcing the...
View ArticleBeware of an Imposter Website Posing as FTC
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) posted an alert warning that a “US Trading Commission” website is a scam and not associated with the FTC. While the imposter website uses the FTC’s seal and address,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sen. Schatz Reintroduces Data Care Act
Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, reintroduced the Data Care Act in the Senate on March 23, leading a pack of 17 senators looking to protect user data from hacks and hold companies liable for misuse. It is...
View ArticleRep. McNerney Introduces Bill to Study Blockchain Tech
Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Calif., introduced a bill that, if passed, would commission a study on blockchain technology and digital currency, and another on how artificial intelligence (AI) can aid the...
View ArticleFTC Report Warns About Over Relying on Artificial Intelligence
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released a report that warns against the usage of artificial intelligence (AI) to fight against online problems and relying on it as a policy solution. The report...
View ArticleFTC Appoints Stephanie Nguyen as New CTO
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) this week announced the appointment of Stephanie Nguyen as the agency’s new chief technology officer (CTO). Nguyen has served in the CTO role in an acting capacity...
View ArticleFTC Launches New Office of Technology
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched a new Office of Technology today that will strengthen the agency’s capacity to protect Americans in the digital economy. The Office of Technology will have...
View ArticleFTC Hones its Authorities for Deeper Dives Into AI
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said this week that its three commissioners unanimously approved a resolution that will give agency staff sharper tools for digging into non-public investigations of...
View Article
