Security News
Children's app developer HyperBeard has agreed to pay $150,000 after being accused by the Federal Trade Commission of illegally collecting children's data without parental consent. A recent complaint filed by the Department of Justice claims that the app developer allowed third-party ad networks to collect personal data from children using its apps - without notifying parents or obtaining verifiable parental consent.
The Federal Trade Commission has approved a settlement with Canadian smart lock maker Tapplock, which allegedly falsely claimed that its devices were designed to be "Unbreakable." Toronto-based Tapplock, Inc. is an Internet of Things technology company that provides smart security solutions for both business and end-users alike.
The complaint alleged that TikTok violated a previous agreement with the FTC, where it had vowed to remove all videos previously uploaded by children under the age of 13 and make stronger efforts to request parental consent when collecting children's personal data. TikTok's previous agreement came after it was slapped with a $5.7 million FTC fine for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which sets privacy rules for operators of websites or online services directed to children under 13 years of age.
The Federal Trade Commission has slapped Tapplock, the maker of smart padlocks that it bills as "Unbreakable," with an official complaint that could lead to fines down the road. The agency alleges that the company engaged in false and deceptive claims about its security practices, after the lock was shown to be hackable. The $100 Tapplock smart locks are internet-connected and use fingerprint biometrics for security.
Since the charges are civil and not criminal, all five defendants remain free, according to the FTC. "The FTC has established a likelihood of success in showing that defendants have deceived consumers by misrepresenting the services they offer, thus inducing consumers to pay money or divulge personal information under false pretenses," according to the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Florida, which issued the order authorizing shuttering of the sites. Over the years, the FTC has closed down other websites that falsely claimed to offer government services.
December 2019: the FTC sued a VoIP service provider in FTC v. Educare, where it alleged that defendant Globex Telecom Inc. facilitated a bunch of telemarketers allegedly selling sham credit card interest rate reduction services. Three VoIPs allegedly provided autodialers used to place billions of illegal robocalls, as well as allegedly supplying the technology used by robocallers in at least eight prior FTC cases.
Six months after Facebook agreed to a landmark privacy settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that included a record $5 billion fine, a federal judge is still considering objections from advocacy groups that claim the deal doesn't go far enough. Judge Timothy J. Kelly has given Facebook and the FTC until Jan. 24 to respond to objections raised by several privacy and consumer advocacy groups, including the Electronic Privacy Information Center, which raised concerns about whether the settlement does enough to protect users' data and address privacy concerns, according to court documents filed in the case.
Thinking of giving a young person an internet-connected ‘smart’ toy this Christmas? You may want to think again.
Delete the data, and don't do any of that again, the FTC told the data analytics company, which already filed for bankruptcy in 2018.
MIA: Checks on Voter Microtargeting and Nation-State Information OperationsThe U.S. Federal Trade Commission has sanctioned data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica for misusing Facebook users'...