Tag: FTC

Have you ever wondered exactly how "healthy" a light bulb is for your energy bill? If so, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is here to help. According to an FTC press release, every light bulb manufactured after the halfway-point of 2011 will feature a "Lighting Facts" label on its packaging. This label, which is a clear nod to the Nutrition Facts label on food products, will provide information ...

Much of the recent news surrounding online privacy rights has focused on Facebook, which has come under fire for its controversial approach to automatically spreading user information across the Web. According to a recent report from the Wall Street Journal, though, Facebook's not the only social network surreptitiously sharing information with third-party sites and corporations. As the Journal ...

When you ask most 8- to 12-year-olds what kinds of video games most appeal to them, "advertising" usually isn't named. Yet that's exactly the demographic that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is targeting with a new online game called Admongo. In the game, students are confronted with ads at every turn throughout a virtual city, whether they're plastered on bus stops, on TV, or even on a video ...

Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines.... Apple moved 300,000 iPads during the gadget's first Saturday on the market, and sales have certainly remained steady since. This past Friday, a mere 28 days after the device's release, Apple claims a consumer officially nabbed the millionth iPad. By comparison, the iPhone didn't reach that milestone until its 74th day of ...

When it comes to financial regulatory reform, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer may be caught between a rock and a hard place. But when it comes to Facebook reform, the New Yorker finds himself spearheading a movement that, if successful, would enhance the transparency of the social networking site's data-sharing practices. According to a press release from Schumer's office, the Senator has written ...

A consumer's right to privacy represents one of the primary dilemmas of the Information Age. The revelation that search engines, particularly Google, can track and store every key stroke, query and page hit, and then turn that information over to advertising firms for so-called "targeted" ads is outraging concerned citizens. The demands for legislative action and advertising transparency have ...

It's debatable whether the CAN-SPAM act of 2003 really has had any impact on the volume of unwanted e-mails received -- our inboxes are as cluttered as ever. So, forgive us if we weren't exactly hopeful when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) effectively made robocalls, automated messages from political parties and other unwanteds, illegal a few months ago. But, there is hope, with the FTC filing ...

The Federal Trade Commission has been gently pressuring the Internet advertising industry to reveal more information to consumers about how it collects data and targets ads. Part of that push to be more transparent includes using a symbol to identify targeted ads that would then link to a privacy policy. The search for such a symbol has been difficult. Finding an icon that clearly denotes ...

A retooled set of guidelines released yesterday by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will force bloggers to be more transparent when reviewing products. According to Mashable, the new version of the "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising" forces writers to reveal any payments or products they may have received from advertisers when endorsing a product on a ...

Bothersome and intrusive robocalls, particularly of the auto warranty variety, have become such an annoyance that phone wielders everywhere, including politicians, have been speaking out and fighting back against automated telemarketers. Heeding the public's call for action, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reportedly amended its one-year-old Telemarketer Sales Rule to completely outlaw ...

After Feds decided to step up their monitoring practices of Web ad companies that use behavioral advertising (which narrows ad content based on search terms, age ranges, and interests), a group of Web and media advertisers decided to launch new guidelines on privacy. USA Today reports that more than 5,000 companies, along with the Better Business Bureau and the American Association of National ...

Next time you buy a roll of toilet paper, an automobile, or a USB hard drive based on the "environmentally friendly" marketing claims of its manufacturer, keep these six words in mind: they are all lying to you. Well, maybe not all of them. But, there is currently very little U.S. regulation to ensure the veracity of green marketing -- companies' promotion of products with claims of ...

The FTC and a California district court judge are doing their parts to make sure the Internet is a safer place by last week shutting down the ISP and Web-hosting company Pricewert LLC -- also known by the aliases 3FN, Triple Fiber Network, APS Telecom and APS Communications. Pricewert has made its mark in the Web site hosting world by allegedly soliciting business from and shielding criminals ...

What you search for, what you write in e-mails, and which keywords you use all tend to stick with you, especially if you use mega-search engines like Google. Picking up terms from your Internet "footprint," search engines then target you with ads -- a practice the Feds are beginning to investigate, according to Wired. Jessica Rich, the Assistant Director of the Federal Trade Commission's ...

We all need to remain constantly aware of the new and more ingenious ways that cyber-criminals are phishing for our personal information. Taking advantage of the current economic climate and the new government stimulus package, con artists are now offering promises of increased and expedited stimulus earnings. Hustlers lure their hopeful prey with messages directing the target to a Web site ...