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A new FTC staff report takes a second look at kids’ apps
sold in the Google Play and Apple App stores. According to the follow-up
report, most apps still don’t say anything about the information they collect.
And many share kids’ personal info like geolocation or phone numbers with other
companies — without telling parents. A lot of apps also include interactive
features like advertising, the ability to make purchases within the app, and
links to social media without disclosing. Since a lot of apps send the data
they collect to relatively few companies, those companies could develop
detailed profiles of kids as well, the report says. |
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A big online
advertising network that allegedly tracked people’s interest in sensitive medical and financial issues has agreed to
settle FTC charges it used “history sniffing” to secretly gather data from
millions of people. According to the FTC, people who visited any of Epic
Marketplace Inc.’s sites received a cookie supposedly to track which Epic sites
they visited and what ads they viewed so the company could target ads to their interests.
Despite promising to stick to its own sites, Epic tracked people to sites on
topics including fertility, impotence, incontinence, disability insurance,
credit repair, and personal bankruptcy. As a result, people were assigned
interest segments like “Incontinence” or “Pregnancy-Fertility Getting Pregnant,”
the FTC alleges, and sent targeted ads.
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Looking
for consumer information from the FTC? It’s at consumer.ftc.gov
(consumidor.ftc.gov). The refreshed site includes videos and
games, better search results, a blog, and streamlined articles that highlight
actionable, practical tips about a wide range of topics — from getting your
free credit reports, buying a car, and protecting your personal information to
evaluating claims for weight loss products, judging potential business
opportunities, and dealing with illegal robocalls. For info on the latest
scams, visit the Scam
Alerts page, or comment on the blog
about what topics interest you. To be the first to know about the newest
information, sign
up for email updates.
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The FTC has warned 22 online hotel
reservation sites that not including mandatory “resort fees” in
the prices they quote online may be deceptive. Resort fees might be for
newspapers, fitness facilities, pools, or internet access, but what’s key is
that they’re not optional — you pay the fees even if you don’t use the services.
People who have complained to the FTC said they often didn’t know about the
fees — which can run as high as $30 a night — until after they arrived at their
hotels. For more on what to do if you find yourself facing an unexpected resort
fee, read Hotel Fees That Are More Than You
Bargained For. |
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The FTC has
stopped a California-based auto loan modification operation that allegedly lied
when it promised people it could lower their monthly car loan payments and stop
repossession. According to the FTC, Hope for Car Owners, LLC, charged people
hundreds of dollars for its supposed help, even telling people to stop paying
their auto lenders. But once people paid the company, the defendants did
nothing to get the customers the loan modifications they promised and denied refunds
to customers who asked, the FTC says. For more on auto loan modification scams,
watch a new video from the FTC. The message: if you have
trouble making your monthly car payments, contact your lender directly.
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The real FTC has shut down a robocall operation that allegedly claimed it could help people get refunds from the
agency.
According to the complaint, the company spoofed the FTC’s toll-free phone
number and used the website address ftcrefund.com to make people think it had a
connection to the FTC. The scammer’s goal: trick people into turning over
their bank account numbers and other personal information by saying a refund
would be deposited directly into their accounts. The truth is, the FTC never
asks for your bank account information and issues redress only by check. For
more on the FTC’s redress process, read Getting Your Money Back.
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“While
we think most companies have the best intentions when it comes to protecting
kids’ privacy, we haven’t seen any progress when it comes to making sure
parents have the information they need to make informed choices about apps for
their kids. In fact, our study shows that kids' apps siphon an alarming
amount of information from mobile devices without disclosing this fact to
parents. All of the companies in the mobile app space, especially the
gatekeepers of the app stores, need to do a better job. We'll do another
survey in the future and we will expect to see improvement.”
— Jon Leibowitz,
FTC Chairman
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When drug companies make minor,
non-therapeutic changes to brand-name drugs to obstruct generic competitors and
preserve monopoly profits on a patented drug, it may violate U.S. antitrust
laws, the FTC has
explained in an amicus brief filed before a federal court in Pennsylvania. For example,
using a tactic called “product switching” or “product hopping,” a brand drug
company withdraws its original product and then offers a reformulated brand
drug that offers patients little or no therapeutic benefit. Because no
generic substitute is available for the reformulated drug, consumers have to
switch to the reformulated brand drug.
The FTC
has approved a final order settling
charges against mouthguard marketer Brain-Pad, Inc., for making allegedly
deceptive claims that its mouthguards can reduce the risk of concussions. The agency also sent warning letters
to 18 other sports equipment manufacturers that may be
making deceptive claims that their mouthguards, headbands, or other devices can
reduce the risk of concussions. For more on concussions, visit cdc.gov/concussion.
At the FTC’s
request, a federal court has
found a credit repair operation in contempt for continuing to pitch
bogus credit repair services in violation of a prior court order. The court has ordered defendants Kevin Hargrave and
Latrese Hargrave, working under company names including BFS Empowerment
Financial Services Inc. and Help My Credit Now Credit Services Inc., to pay
$6.4 million to the FTC within 30 days and permanently shut down their credit
repair business.
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IN OTHER NEWS:
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SHARE THIS:
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Do you use online reviews and recommendations when you
shop? A new FTC video looks at what to consider before you do: http://go.usa.gov/gUYj
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Having
trouble making your car payments? Don’t get caught by an auto loan modification
scam: http://go.usa.gov/gUxP
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Do your kids use
apps? Of course they do. The FTC has 6 Timely Tips for Using Mobile Apps with
Kids: http://go.usa.gov/gUcx
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Still
have some last-minute holiday shopping to do? Read these 12
tips to help you shop wisely: http://go.usa.gov/gUY5
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