Balough
November 11, 2020
(November 11, 2020) The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) confirmed what Zoom users who have been Zoombombed already know—the videoconferencing provider’s security was less than as hyped. The FTC alleged in a five-count complaint that Zoom Video Communications, Inc. mislead users about the security surrounding the use of its software that provides video online meetings either […]
Balough
December 7, 2019
(December 7, 2019) The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) is exploring whether there is sufficient legal basis and economic support to restrict the use of non-compete clauses in employer-employee contracts. The FTC has scheduled a workshop for January 9, 2020 and will accept public comments until February 10, 2020. The FTC’s interest in banning non-compete clauses […]
Balough
March 29, 2019
(March 29, 2019) Just check one of four boxes on the Office Depot/OfficeMax PC Health Check Program and it will find malware on your computer, even though the result is not linked to any scan. Confused? The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) found this practice deceptive, too. To settle the case, the company and the program […]
Balough
December 14, 2016
(December 15, 2016) The website designed to help adults have discrete affairs agreed to settle charges concerning its lack of adequate data security that exposed 36 million of its accounts to hackers in 2015. AshleyMadison.com and its operating companies settled charges that they deceived consumers by claiming their data was secure and, that if they […]
Balough
October 25, 2016
(October 25, 2016) Need guidance when your business suffers a data breach? The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released Data Breach Response: A Guide for Businesses both as a pamphlet and a video. It outlines the steps a business should take after a data breach. The booklet also includes a model notification letter to send when […]
Balough
October 7, 2016
(October 7, 2016) In its report of a new study on patent assertion entities (PAEs), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) carefully avoids the term patent troll while finding that “Litigation” PAEs account for 96 percent of patent infringement lawsuits but generate only about 20 percent of patent license revenues of those PAEs studied. The report, […]
Balough
February 5, 2016
(February 5, 2016) Users who downloaded a browser extension game were the ones who got played, according to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) action. General Workings, Inc., d/b/a Vulcun purchased the Running Fred online extension game from its founders and replaced the game with its own extension, called Weekly Android Apps. An extension is a […]
Balough
January 5, 2016
(Jan. 5, 2016) It was a no brainer for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to charge the owner and marketer of the Lumosity brain-training program with deceiving customers through unsupported claims. Lumos Labs, Inc. d/b/a Lumosity, along with its co-founder and its chief scientific officer, agreed to pay $2 million in penalties and will notify […]
Balough
December 28, 2015
(December 28, 2015) Online users must be clearly warned when viewing “native advertising.” If not, the advertiser may be engaging in prohibited deceptive advertising, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns. In a new “Native Advertising A Guide for Businesses,” the FTC notes that “advertisers are responsible for ensuring that native ads are identifiable as advertising […]
Balough
November 17, 2015
(November 17, 2015) The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is continuing its crackdown on dietary supplement marketers who cannot substantiate their health claims. The latest target is Sunrise Nutraceuticals, LLC. The company markets supplements that “purportedly increase the likelihood that a person will complete opiate withdrawal successfully and overcome opiate addiction.” However, the FTC alleges in […]
