Tag: ftc

FTC finalizes rule banning fake reviews, including those made with AI 

image via techcrunch.com
image via techcrunch.com

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on Wednesday a final rule that will tackle several types of fake reviews and prohibit marketers from using deceptive practices, such as AI-generated reviews, censoring honest negative reviews and compensating third parties for positive reviews. According to the final rule, the maximum civil penalty for fake reviews is $51,744 per violation. However, the courts could impose lower penalties depending on the specific case.

https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/14/ftc-finalizes-rule-banning-fake-reviews/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

The FTC moves to ban noncompete agreements

Image Credits: Saul Loeb-Pool / Getty Images

“The freedom to change jobs is core to economic liberty and to a competitive, thriving economy,” FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said. “Noncompetes block workers from freely switching jobs, depriving them of higher wages and better working conditions, and depriving businesses of a talent pool that they need to build and expand. By ending this practice, the FTC’s proposed rule would promote greater dynamism, innovation, and healthy competition.”

https://techcrunch.com/2023/01/05/the-ftc-moves-to-ban-noncompete-agreements/

NewsEpic Games agrees to pay record-breaking $520 million for privacy violations

IMAGE: ERIK MCLEAN/UNSPLASH

Epic Games, the developer of the popular video game Fortnite, agreed to pay $520 million over allegations the company violated digital privacy protections for children and used so-called “dark patterns” to trick users into making unintentional purchases, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Monday.

“As early as 2017, Epic employees urged the company to change the default settings to require users to opt in for voice chat, citing concern about the impact on children in particular,” the FTC said in its announcement. “Despite this and reports that children had been harassed, including sexually, while playing the game, the company resisted turning off the default settings.”

“Epic ignored more than one million user complaints and repeated employee concerns that ‘huge’ numbers of users were being wrongfully charged,” the FTC said. “In fact, Epic’s changes only made the problem worse… Using internal testing, Epic purposefully obscured cancel and refund features to make them more difficult to find.”

https://therecord.media/epic-games-agrees-to-pay-record-breaking-520-million-for-privacy-violations/