FTC

FTC launches inquiry into AI chatbot companions from Meta, OpenAI, and others

Government & Policy /

The FTC announced on Thursday that it is launching an inquiry into seven tech companies that make AI chatbot companion products for minors: Alphabet, CharacterAI, Instagram, Meta, OpenAI, Snap, and xAI. The federal regulator seeks to learn how these companies are evaluating the safety and monetization of chatbot companions, how they try to limit negative […]

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Match to pay $14M to the FTC due to false advertising and other deceptive practices

Government & Policy /

Back in 2019, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued the dating app giant Match Group, accusing it of deceiving Match.com users into purchasing subscriptions through misleading means. Now, after six years, the company— which operates popular dating apps Match, Tinder, OkCupid, Hinge, and Plenty of Fish—has agreed to a $14 million settlement, as announced

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Serial spyware founder Scott Zuckerman wants the FTC to unban him from the surveillance industry

Security /

The founder of a spyware company who was banned from the surveillance industry following an earlier data breach is now seeking to undo the ban, according to the Federal Trade Commission.  In a notice on Friday, the federal watchdog said Scott Zuckerman sought to rescind or modify the 2021 ban imposed by the FTC on

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US appeals court blocks FTC’s ‘click-to-cancel’ rule for subscriptions

Government & Policy /

A U.S. appeals court has blocked the Federal Trade Commission’s “click-to-cancel” rule that would have required companies to make it as easy to cancel a subscription as it was to sign up. The rule was set to take effect on July 14. Reuters reports that the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis

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New court filing shows that Meta execs agreed that Facebook was losing to TikTok

Social /

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram head Adam Mosseri, and other Meta execs thought that TikTok was beating Meta at its own game. That’s according to a new filing in the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against the tech giant, published on Monday. The document, dated February 2022, includes conversations among a number of Meta

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Mark Zuckerberg really wants to make Facebook cool again

Apps /

In an ongoing antitrust case, the Federal Trade Commission says that Meta has a monopoly on “personal social networking services” and should have to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp. Throughout the proceedings, there have been several internal messages and plans that have come to light. In one, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg considered wiping all Facebook

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Mark Zuckerberg once suggested spinning out Instagram as a solution to its ‘cannibalization’ of Facebook

Social /

In an internal email surfaced as part of the Meta antitrust trial, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg fretted about the potential that the company’s Instagram acquisition may cannibalize Facebook. Were that to happen, it could lead to the “network collapse of the more engaging and profitable product,” a worried Zuckerberg told other Meta executives in a

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Feds accuse Uber of charging customers for subscriptions without consent

Government & Policy /

The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit Monday against Uber, alleging the ride-hail and delivery giant charged customers for its Uber One subscription service without their consent. The lawsuit also claims Uber failed to deliver the savings promised in its subscription service and made it unreasonably difficult for users to cancel despite its “cancel anytime”

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