Tag: FTC

Google reached a historic settlement with the Federal Trade Commission yesterday, bringing an end to the FTC's investigation into Google Buzz -- the social network that has mired the company in allegations of privacy violations. Under the settlement, Google will have to implement a "comprehensive privacy program," and will be subject to independent audits for the next two decades. Yesterday's ...

Facebook has issued a lengthy response to the Federal Trade Commission's plan to protect online privacy, outlining the social network's long-term philosophy on the issue and its plans for the future. In its response, Facebook admitted that the government should play a role in protecting user information on the Web, but argued that online companies should be allowed some freedom to regulate ...

Earlier this week, Apple unveiled its new App Store subscription plan, and immediately caught flak from journalists, developers, and even some consumers. The policy requires that companies offering subscriptions through the app store offer the same service, at the same price they do elsewhere -- but Apple skims 30-percent off the top for itself. Of course, this could force some developers to ...

The father-son team behind a massive 'scareware' scam will have to pay $8.2 million to the Federal Trade Commission, in order to settle a complaint filed by the government agency. Marc D'Souza and his father Maurice were allegedly at the center of the scam, which tricked Internet users into buying fake security software to combat computer infections that didn't really exist. The operators ...

Yesterday, both Mozilla and Google introduced new browser features capable of preventing third-party advertisers from tracking Firefox and Chrome users, respectively. And, while both services aim to give users greater control over their online information, they operate in noticeably different ways. Mozilla's new system alerts third-party advertisers and companies whenever a Firefox user doesn't ...

Share Have you ever wondered how much of your personal information is out there on the Internet for all the world to read? Head over to a site called Spokeo, and find out for yourself. The site, which launched in 2007, markets itself as an online white pages, but warns that it's definitely "not your grandma's phonebook." And that much, at least, is true. Spokeo stores information on your age, ...

The Obama administration is pushing for the creation of a new 'Privacy Policy Office,' which would be charged with the task of putting together an online "privacy bill of rights" for all Americans. The proposals were outlined in a report from the Department of Commerce, which called for the development of a new "framework" to protect consumers from data-gathering, third-party companies. The ...

Share The next version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer will come with a new feature that allows users to block third-party companies from tracking their online behavior. The new tool, called Tracking Protection, will be included in Internet Explorer 9, which will be released next year. Users will be able to create their own lists of targeted sites. The browser will then automatically block these ...

The FTC's 'Do Not Call' registry already protects more than 190 million people from invasive telemarketers. Now, the federal commission is looking to expand that concept to the Internet, with a proposed 'Do Not Track' list, unveiled yesterday. According to the AP, the new list would allow Web surfers to evade the radar of marketers who are trying to collect data on their online habits, and ...

A few weeks ago, Google publicly admitted that its Street View cars had inadvertently collected personal data from unprotected Wi-Fi networks, and promised to implement tighter security measures to prevent future breaches. The company's mea culpa was enough to satisfy the Federal Trade Commission, which closed its investigation into the incident shortly after the announcement. The FCC, on the ...

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Commerce are both preparing reports on online privacy that could lead to a showdown between the two agencies, the Obama administration, Internet companies and Congress. According to the New York Times, the Commerce Department favors a more business-friendly modification to current privacy regulations, building upon the current system of ...

The investigation by attorneys general across the U.S. into Google Street View vehicles' voracious data gobbling will continue, as will investigations by authorities in Britain, France, Germany and Spain, among other governments. But the Internet giant just received some good news; in a letter sent to Google Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) stated that it was putting an end to its ...

Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines.... Apple claims to have created a fix for the iPhone 4's PDF vulnerabilities (sparked by JailbreakMe), saying its patch "will be available to customers in an upcoming software update." [From: Engadget] According to a new Nielsen survey, the U.S. surprisingly ranks 36th in the world's online video usage, but that could be part ...

Back in 2003, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) put the clamps on the telemarketing industry by creating a nationwide Do Not Call registry. This list faced some stiff opposition at the time (from telemarketing companies, of course), but today the proof's in the pudding. Seven years later, according to Ars Technica, the list now totals 200 million phone numbers. If a telemarketing company ignores ...

Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines.... Facebook garners constant criticism for various privacy issues, but the FTC just publicly reprimanded and punished Twitter for a lackadaisical approach toward security. Twitter's flaws resulted in hacks on both celebrity and employee accounts, prompting the FTC to forbid Twitter from "misleading consumers" about privacy protection ...