Penalty Amount
$500,000
The FTC finalized an order against CafePress for failing to secure consumer data and covering up a data breach. The company must implement comprehensive security measures, and its former owner must pay $500,000 in redress to victims.
CafePress and its owners must implement a comprehensive information security program including multifactor authentication, data minimization, encryption of SSNs, and third-party security assessments. Residual Pumpkin must pay $500,000 for victim redress, and PlanetArt must notify affected consumers.
In-house legal teams should review vendor agreements (with platforms like CafePress) and customer agreements to ensure robust data security and breach response clauses. Specifically, examine sections on data security standards, breach notification timelines and procedures, data retention and disposal policies, encryption specifications, and audit rights. Given the findings—storing sensitive data (e.g., SSNs) in plaintext, excessive data retention, and failure to implement known protections—contracts may need amendments to mandate regular security audits, require industry-standard encryption, limit data retention to necessary periods, and impose clear, prompt breach notification obligations with defined penalties for non-compliance.
Entity
CafePress
Industry
RetailOfficial Press Release
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/06/ftc-finalizes-action-against-cafepress-covering-data-breach-lax-security-0
192 3209 CafePress combined package without signatures
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/192%203209%20-%20CafePress%20combined%20package%20without%20signatures.pdf
Federal Trade Commission Enforcement Page
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement
"finalized an order against CafePress"
"Residual Pumpkin must pay $500,000"
"failed to implement reasonable security measures to protect the sensitive information of buyers and sellers stored on its network and failed to adequately respond to several security breaches."
$370K
The FTC settled with CafePress for failing to implement reasonable data security measures, leading to multiple breaches that exposed Social Security numbers and other sensitive data. As part of the settlement, over $370,000 in refunds are being distributed to 20,044 consumers who filed valid claims.
$2.0M
New Jersey joined a multistate $2 million settlement with online retailer CafePress over a 2019 data breach that exposed personal information of approximately 22 million consumers nationwide, including over 540,000 in New Jersey. The settlement requires CafePress to implement a comprehensive cybersecurity program, incident response plan, and third-party assessments for five years, with payment suspended pending compliance.
$750K
The FTC finalized an order against Vanilla Chip LLC (doing business as TruHeight) and its principals for deceptively advertising height-enhancing supplements for children and teens without scientific evidence. The company also used fake reviews and incentivized 5-star ratings. The order requires a $750,000 payment and prohibits false health claims and deceptive review practices.
$2.3M
The FTC alleged that RentGrow, a tenant screening company, violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by failing to use reasonable procedures to ensure the accuracy of its reports, including by reporting duplicate records and failing to disclose data sources. RentGrow agreed to pay a $2.25 million penalty and is prohibited from further FCRA violations and from misrepresenting dispute outcomes.
The FTC and New York Attorney General took action against Handy Technologies for deceptive earnings claims and failure to disclose fees and fines that led to millions of dollars being withheld from workers' wages. The FTC is sending over $2.7 million in refunds to 62,893 affected consumers.
$35.0M
The FTC alleged that Hopper, a travel booking app, charged consumers hidden and pre-selected fees (Tip and VIP Support) without their consent, misrepresented the benefits of VIP Support and Price Freeze services, and failed to clearly disclose total prices. Hopper agreed to pay $35 million for consumer redress and is prohibited from misrepresenting fees under a proposed order.