Federal Trade Commission

You may have heard about it in the news: reports that Russian hackers have stolen more than a billion unique username and password combinations, and more than 500 million e-mail addresses, grabbed from thousands of websites. What should you do about it?

• Once you have strong passwords, you need to keep them safe. Think twice when you’re asked to enter usernames and passwords, and never provide them in response to an email.
• If you see charges that you don’t recognize, contact your bank or credit card provider right away and speak to the fraud department.
• By taking these steps, you can lessen the odds scammers will get a hold of your information, and also minimize the consequences if they do.

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved the Safe Harbor Program of iKeepSafe, also known as the Internet Keep Safe Coalition, as a safe harbor oversight program under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the agency’s COPPA Rule.

The FTC’s COPPA Rule requires operators of online sites and services directed at children under the age of 13 to provide notice and obtain permission from a child’s parents before collecting personal information from that child.

The COPPA safe harbor provision promotes flexibility and efficiency by encouraging industry members and others to develop their own COPPA oversight programs, known as “safe harbor” programs.

A new staff report issued by the Federal Trade Commission finds that many mobile apps for use in shopping do not provide consumers with important information -- such as how the apps manage payment-related disputes or handle consumer data -- prior to download.

The report, “What’s the Deal? An FTC Study on Mobile Shopping Apps,” looked at some of the most popular apps used by consumers to comparison shop, collect and redeem deals and discounts, and pay in-store with their mobile devices. The report makes a number of recommendations to companies that provide mobile shopping apps to consumers:

• Apps should make clear consumers’ rights and liability limits for unauthorized, fraudulent, or erroneous transactions.
• Apps should more clearly describe how they collect, use, and share consumer data.
• Companies should ensure that their data security promises translate into sound data security practices.
• Beyond recommendations for companies, the report also urges consumers to closely examine the apps’ stated policies on issues like dispute resolution and liability limits, as well as privacy and data security and evaluate them in choosing which apps to use.

The Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA) is a new law that makes it illegal to charge a consumer for goods or services sold in an Internet transaction through any negative option method -- including trial conversions, continuity plans, or automatic renewals -- unless the business:

1. clearly and conspicuously discloses all materials terms of the transaction before getting consumers’ billing information;
2. gets consumers’ express informed consent before charging their accounts; and
3. offers simple ways for people to stop the recurring charges.

Mobile Cramming: A Federal Trade Commission Staff Report suggests five best practices for the payment option known as “carrier billing.”

• Consider giving consumers the option to block third-party charges.
• Honor long-standing truth-in-advertising principle.
• Charges shouldn’t be placed on consumers’ bills unless they’ve given their express, informed consent.
• Charges for third-party services should be clearly shown on consumers’ bills.
• Carriers should set up effective ways for consumers to dispute charges.

The Federal Trade Commission accused T-Mobile of making hundreds of millions of dollars by charging mobile phone customers for "premium" SMS subscriptions that, in many cases, the consumers never authorized.

It was an all-too-common occurrence. People’s mobile phone bills included unexplained -- and unauthorized -- monthly charges. It’s called cramming and the Federal Trade Commission has brought a series of cases against companies that had fees for ringtones, horoscopes, “love tips,” etc., placed on cell phone bills without consumers’ consent. The crammers took a chunk of the cash, but you might be surprised to learn who the FTC says pocketed a 35-40% piece of the action.

A just-filed lawsuit pulls back the curtain on the role the FTC alleges that mobile phone carrier T-Mobile USA played in deceptive and unfair billing. Furthermore, according to the complaint, T-Mobile didn’t respond well to consumer complaints. In many cases, the company flat-out refused to give refunds for unauthorized charges or offered only partial refunds.

Count I of the lawsuit alleges that T-Mobile violated Section 5 of the FTC Act by making deceptive representations about charges on consumers’ phone bills. Count II focuses on allegedly unfair billing practices. What's the FTC asking for? A court order to prevent T-Mobile from engaging in mobile cramming, refunds for consumers, and disgorgement of T-Mobile’s ill-gotten gains.

After a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved final orders that settle charges against 14 companies for falsely claiming to participate in the international privacy framework known as the US-EU Safe Harbor.

Three of the companies were also charged with similar violations related to the US-Swiss Safe Harbor.

The FTC previously announced the settlements in January, February and May of 2014 with the following companies: American Apparel, Apperian, Atlanta Falcons Football Club, Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, BitTorrent, Charles River Laboratories International, DataMotion, DDC Laboratories, Fantage, Level 3 Communications, PDB Sports, d/b/a Denver Broncos Football Club, Reynolds Consumer Products, Receivable Management Services Corporation, and Tennessee Football.

Under the settlements, the companies are prohibited from misrepresenting the extent to which they participate in any privacy or data security program sponsored by the government or any other self-regulatory or standard-setting organization.

Snapchat, the developer of a popular mobile messaging app, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it deceived consumers with promises about the disappearing nature of messages sent through the service.

The FTC case also alleged that the company deceived consumers over the amount of personal data it collected and the security measures taken to protect that data from misuse and unauthorized disclosure. In fact, the case alleges, Snapchat’s failure to secure its Find Friends feature resulted in a security breach that enabled attackers to compile a database of 4.6 million Snapchat usernames and phone numbers.

According to the FTC’s complaint, Snapchat made multiple misrepresentations to consumers about its product that stood in stark contrast to how the app actually worked. “If a company markets privacy and security as key selling points in pitching its service to consumers, it is critical that it keep those promises,” said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. “Any company that makes misrepresentations to consumers about its privacy and security practices risks FTC action.”

Touting the “ephemeral” nature of “snaps,” the term used to describe photo and video messages sent via the app, Snapchat marketed the app’s central feature as the user’s ability to send snaps that would “disappear forever" after the sender-designated time period expired. Despite Snapchat’s claims, the complaint describes several simple ways that recipients could save snaps indefinitely.

The complaint also alleges that Snapchat collected iOS users’ contacts information from their address books without notice or consent.

Finally, the FTC alleges that despite the company’s claims about taking reasonable security steps, Snapchat failed to secure its “Find Friends” feature.

The Federal Trade Commission would like to hear your health questions -- your questions about consumer generated and controlled health data, that is.

That’s the topic of an FTC seminar on May 7, 2014, and you’re invited to participate. The seminar -- part of the FTC’s spring privacy series – will examine how consumers are taking a more active role in managing and generating their own health data through websites, devices, apps, etc. What are the potential benefits and privacy implications of these new technologies?

Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez welcomed Terrell McSweeny as she began her official duties as an FTC Commissioner.

President Barack Obama named McSweeny to a term that ends on September 25, 2017. She was confirmed by a 95-1 vote in the US Senate on April 9, 2014.

Before joining the FTC, McSweeny served as Chief Counsel for Competition Policy and Intergovernmental Relations for the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division. She joined the Antitrust Division after serving as Deputy Assistant to the President and Domestic Policy Advisor to the Vice President from January 2009 until February 2012, advising President Obama and Vice President Biden on policy in a variety of areas, including health care, innovation, intellectual property, energy, education, women’s rights, criminal justice and domestic violence.

McSweeny’s government service also includes her work as Senator Joe Biden’s Deputy Chief of Staff and Policy Director in the US Senate, where she managed domestic and economic policy development and legislative initiatives, and as Counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she worked on issues such as criminal justice, innovation, women's rights, domestic violence, judicial nominations and immigration and civil rights. She also worked as an attorney at O'Melveny & Myers LLP. Commissioner McSweeny is a graduate of Harvard University and Georgetown University Law School.