Wired: Yelp Claims Google Broke Promise To Antitrust Regulators. “YELP IS ACCUSING Google, its longtime rival in local search, of scraping photographs of local businesses from Yelp and other sites for use in Google search results, violating promises that Google made in 2012 as part of a settlement to end a Federal Trade Commission investigation.”
FTC
National Law Journal: FTC’s First Action Against a Social Media ‘Influencer’ Might Not Be Last
National Law Journal: FTC’s First Action Against a Social Media ‘Influencer’ Might Not Be Last. “This week, the FTC brought its first enforcement action against an influencer—and took the opportunity to issue new guidance for disclosing the business relationships behind promotional social media posts. The FTC targeted Trevor ‘TmarTn’ Martin and Thomas ‘Syndicate’ Cassell, co-owners of the online gambling service CSGO Lotto, who allegedly endorsed the company without disclosing their joint ownership of it. According to the FTC, Martin and Cassell enjoy wide followings in the online gaming community and paid other well-known influencers thousands of dollars to promote their online gambling service on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook without requiring them to disclose the business deals behind the posts.”
Washington Post: Google’s new program to track shoppers sparks a federal privacy complaint
Washington Post: Google’s new program to track shoppers sparks a federal privacy complaint. “A prominent privacy rights watchdog is asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate a new Google advertising program that ties consumers’ online behavior to their purchases in brick-and-mortar stores. The legal complaint from the Electronic Privacy Information Center, to be filed with the FTC on Monday, alleges that Google is newly gaining access to a trove of highly sensitive information — the credit and debit card purchase records of the majority of U.S. consumers — without revealing how they got the information or giving consumers meaningful ways to opt out. “
FTC: FTC and Federal, State and International Partners Announce Major Crackdown on Tech Support Scams
FTC: FTC and Federal, State and International Partners Announce Major Crackdown on Tech Support Scams. “The Federal Trade Commission, along with federal, state and international law enforcement partners, today announced ‘Operation Tech Trap,’ a nationwide and international crackdown on tech support scams that trick consumers into believing their computers are infected with viruses and malware, and then charge them hundreds of dollars for unnecessary repairs. As part of this coordinated effort, the FTC and its partners are announcing 16 new actions, including complaints, settlements, indictments, and guilty pleas, against deceptive tech support operations. This brings to 29 the number of law enforcement actions brought by Operation Tech Trap partners in the last year to stop tech support scams.”
WWD: The Federal Trade Commission to Scrutinize Media Companies
WWD: The Federal Trade Commission to Scrutinize Media Companies. “Sponsored content: It has become the lifeblood of media companies looking to bolster anemic print and digital revenue streams. But just as bloggers came under federal government regulations to ensure that consumers knew when these e-correspondents were being paid to write about a brand or product, now WWD has learned that the concept of sponsored content has caught the attention of the Federal Trade Commission.”
FTC: FTC Releases New Report on Cross-Device Tracking
From the FTC: FTC Releases New Report on Cross-Device Tracking. “The Federal Trade Commission has released Cross-Device Tracking: An FTC Staff Report that describes the technology used to track consumers across multiple Internet-connected devices, the benefits and challenges associated with it, and industry efforts to address those challenges. The report concludes by making recommendations to industry about how to apply traditional principles like transparency, choice, and security to this relatively new practice.”
WaPo: Google facing FTC scrutiny over privacy — yet again
Washington Post: Google facing FTC scrutiny over privacy — yet again. “Consumer advocates have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission charging that Google violated user privacy through a policy change that gives the company more leeway to build profiles of people as they browse the Web and use Google services.”
