Tag Archives: Federal Trade Commission

After all of the trouble Google has encountered in its attempts to monetize its users’ information, you would think the company had learned its lesson. Think again – consumer groups are angry that Google has reportedly been improperly sharing app purchasers’ info with third-party developers.   ‘Play’ For Keeps Third-party developers of applications made to run on Android phones and tablets sell their products through Google’s app store, Google Play. Google stores users’ purchasing information through its Wallet program, allowing …

Think your salary is a closely kept secret between you, your boss and your tax attorney? Think again. Equifax, one of the three major credit reporting companies, has created a massive database that contains workers’ salaries and employment information — some of which is sold to debt collectors, according to an NBC News report. The personal disclosures come through the Work Number, an Equifax company that solicits employers for human resources information like employment history, compensation and other data. The …

After violating a 2011 privacy settlement it had made with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Google has been ordered to pay a $22.5 million fine over its use of cookies on users of Apple’s  Safari web browser. The FTC dragged Google back to court after discovering that despite promises to the contrary, it had not given Safari users a way to opt out of its policy of using information gathered via cookies to target ads at them. Safari is used …

As anyone who’s ever used Facebook knows, it’s not exactly a bastion of the private: Users voluntarily cough up unbelievable amounts of personal information about themselves on a daily basis. Everyone has read a post by a friend and thought, “I would never put that on Facebook!” But when it comes to what Facebook itself does with all that information, it’s a whole other ball game, and now the feds are watching. Facebook settled charges on August 10 brought by …

Debtors and their attorneys in California have contributed over the last seven years to a fivefold increase in lawsuits alleging illegal debt collection practices, according to an analysis recently published by the Sacramento Bee. The surge in suits against collection agencies has intensified as the economy struggles to recover, suggesting that collectors are increasingly pushing the envelope to extract payments from debtors. “You’re seeing more debt collection going on as the recession continues, particularly when it comes to credit card …