Federal Trade Commission

Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez announced her resignation from the FTC, effective February 10, 2017. Ramirez became Chairwoman on March 4, 2013, and has served as an FTC Commissioner since April 5, 2010, following her appointment by President Barack Obama. Chairwoman Ramirez prioritized protecting consumers and promoting competition in the technology and healthcare sectors, safeguarding consumer privacy and data security in the online world, and protecting diverse communities from deceptive and unfair practices and scams.

Under her leadership, the FTC brought nearly 400 law enforcement actions covering a range of consumer protection issues and approximately 100 enforcement actions challenging anticompetitive mergers and business conduct in major sectors of the economy, including the healthcare provider, pharmaceutical, retail, and energy markets. A priority for Chairwoman Ramirez has been expanding the FTC’s role in studying markets and emerging trends, and issuing reports that provide best practice recommendations to companies. For example, the FTC has issued reports on a wide range of key topics, including patent assertion entities, the sharing economy, the Internet of Things, and big data, among other topics.

The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against Taiwan-based computer networking equipment manufacturer D-Link Corporation and its US subsidiary, alleging that inadequate security measures taken by the company left its wireless routers and Internet cameras vulnerable to hackers and put US consumers’ privacy at risk.

In a complaint filed in the Northern District of California, the FTC charged that D-Link failed to take reasonable steps to secure its routers and Internet Protocol (IP) cameras, potentially compromising sensitive consumer information, including live video and audio feeds from D-Link IP cameras. The complaint filed is part of the FTC’s efforts to protect consumers’ privacy and security in the Internet of Things (IoT), which includes cases the agency has brought against ASUS, a computer hardware manufacturer, and TRENDnet, a marketer of video cameras.

The Federal Trade Commission announced that it is challenging the public to create an innovative tool that will help protect consumers from security vulnerabilities in the software of home devices connected to the Internet of Things. The agency is offering a cash prize of up to $25,000 for the best technical solution, with up to $3,000 available for up to three honorable mention winner(s). The FTC is asking IoT Home Inspector Challenge contestants to develop a tool that would address security vulnerabilities caused by out-of-date software in IoT devices. An ideal tool might be a physical device that the consumer can add to his or her home network that would check and install updates for other IoT devices on that home network, or it might be an app or cloud-based service, or a dashboard or other user interface. Contestants also have the option of adding features such as those that would address hard-coded, factory default or easy-to-guess passwords. Submissions will be accepted as early as March 1, 2017 and are due May 22, 2017 at 12:00 p.m. EDT. Winners will be announced on or about July 27, 2017.

The defendants who operated a Florida-based tech support scheme that the Federal Trade Commission and State of Florida charged deceived thousands of consumers, will pay $10 million for consumer redress to settle the action. According to the complaint, defendant Inbound Call Experts, doing business as Advanced Tech Support along with other defendants, used high-pressure sales pitches to telemarket tech support products and services falsely claiming to find viruses and malware on consumers’ computers. The stipulated final court order prohibits the defendants from misrepresenting that they have identified performance or security issues on consumers’ computers and from making any other misrepresentations while selling a product or service.

Turn Inc, a Redwood City (CA) company that enables sellers to target digital advertisements to consumers, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it deceived consumers by tracking them online and through their mobile applications, even after consumers took steps to opt out of such tracking. “Turn tracked millions of consumers online and through mobile apps even if they had taken steps to block or limit tracking,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The FTC’s order will ensure the company honors consumers’ privacy choices.”

According to the FTC’s administrative complaint, Turn’s privacy policy represented that consumers could block targeted advertising by using their web browser’s settings to block or limit cookies. In fact, the complaint alleges that Turn used unique identifiers to track millions of Verizon Wireless customers, even after they blocked or deleted cookies from websites. In addition, the agency charged that Turn’s opt-out mechanism only applied to mobile browsers, and did not block tailored ads on mobile applications as the company claimed.

The Federal Trade Commission announced the agenda for its second PrivacyCon, a public forum that will continue and expand collaboration among leaders from academia, research, consumer advocacy, and industry on the privacy and security implications of emerging technologies.

PrivacyCon 2017 will take place in Washington (DC) on Jan. 12, 2017 and include opening remarks from FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. The conference will feature 18 presentations of original research on important consumer privacy and security issues and a closing panel moderated by Jessica Rich, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. The event will cover five major topic areas: the Internet of Things (IoT) and big data; mobile privacy; consumer privacy expectations; online behavioral advertising; and information security. During each session, panelists will present their privacy research and then participate in a discussion addressing the broader issues raised by the research.

The Federal Trade Commission issued the National Do Not Call Registry Data Book for Fiscal Year 2016. Consumers can use the National Do Not Call Registry to choose not to receive telemarketing calls. Now in its eighth year of publication, the Data Book contains a wealth of information about the Registry for FY 2016 (from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016), including:
The number of active registrations and consumer complaints since the Registry began in 2003
FY 2016 complaint figures by month and type
FY 2016 registration and complaint figures for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, by population
Rankings of the number of Do Not Call registrations, by state population
The number of entities accessing the Registry by fiscal year
An appendix with registration and complaint figures organized by consumer state and area code.
According to the Data Book, at the end of FY 2016, the Do Not Call Registry contained just over 226 million actively registered phone numbers, up from the 223 million at the end of FY 2015. In addition, the number of consumer complaints about unwanted telemarketing calls received increased from just under 3.6 million during FY 2015 to just over 5.3 million during FY 2016.

The Federal Trade Commission is providing over $88 million in refunds to more than 2.7 million AT&T customers who had third-party charges added to their mobile bills without their consent, a tactic known as “mobile cramming.” The refunds to consumers relate to 2014 settlements with AT&T, and the companies behind two of the cramming schemes, Tatto and Acquinity. The refunds represent the most money ever returned to consumers in a mobile cramming case.

Through the FTC’s refund program, nearly 2.5 million current AT&T customers will receive a credit on their bill within the next 75 days, and more than 300,000 former customers will receive a check. The average refund amount is $31. According to the FTC’s complaint, AT&T placed unauthorized third-party charges on its customers’ phone bills, usually in amounts of $9.99 per month, for ringtones and text message subscriptions containing love tips, horoscopes, and “fun facts.” The FTC alleged that AT&T kept at least 35 percent of the charges it imposed on its customers.

A Federal Trade Commission staff report provides an in-depth assessment of evolving business models that rely on Internet and app-based “sharing economy” platforms used by millions of Americans. The report summarizes a June 2015 FTC public workshop and highlights a number of competitive benefits and potential consumer protection challenges posed by disruptive business models in markets such as for-hire-transportation and short-term lodging.

The report, The “Sharing” Economy: Issues Facing Platforms, Participants, and Regulators, details how buyers and sellers are increasingly using internet-connected devices – smartphones and tablets – to access a matchmaking platform that allows them to search for new services, secure a price point, and complete a transaction. It discusses several “trust mechanisms,” such as reputation rating systems or money-back guarantees, which help build trust between buyers and sellers, as well as providing confidence that a transaction will proceed as agreed online. The report summarizes concerns expressed by state and local regulators and stakeholders that sharing economy platforms enable new entrants to evade regulations designed to protect consumers and promote public safety. In exploring the tension between the potential competitive benefits that sharing economy business models may provide and the potential consumer harms that they may pose, the report draws on the FTC’s expertise as both a competition and a consumer protection agency.

Smart TVs, streaming devices, game consoles, apps and set-top boxes may track consumers’ viewing habits in one way or another. The benefits of tracking technology are apparent anytime a person follows a “Viewers who watched The Night Manager also enjoyed The Last Panthers” recommendation. But what about the privacy implications? That’s just one of the topics on the playlist at the Federal Trade Commission’s third Fall Technology Series on Smart TV, scheduled for December 7, 2016.

According to the agenda, Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Jessica Rich will set the stage with opening remarks at 1:00 ET. She’ll change the channel to Justin Brookman, Policy Director of the FTC’s Office of Technology, Research, & Investigation, who will discuss the Smart TV ecosystem. The first panel will discuss New Frontiers in Media Measurement and Targeting – how Smart TVs provide key metrics, how the technology can target consumers across devices, and how companies and self-regulatory groups are addressing the challenges of providing consumers with transparency and choice. The second panel will focus on Consumer Understanding and Regulatory Framework. What do consumers know about the new world of smart entertainment – and what do they think about it? What information is collected about them, with whom is it shared, and how can consumers find out more about what goes on behind the scenes? The speakers also will consider the legal protections or regulatory structures relevant to how the information is collected and used.