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.
The FTC filed a complaint alleging that GovAssist LLC, Entry LLC, and Scott Zuckerman used deceptive paid search ads, misleading service and pricing claims, and fake reviews to deceive consumers seeking passport services. The complaint alleges violations of the FTC Act, the Impersonation Rule, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act; the case will be decided by the court, and no penalty or remedy is reported as imposed.
The FTC issued its annual report to Congress describing fraud trends affecting older adults and the agency’s enforcement, education, and outreach efforts. The report is not a specific privacy enforcement action and announces no penalty or remedy.
The FTC referred a complaint against REPS & Company Inc. and company executives, alleging they bypassed ticket-issuer security controls and purchasing limits to acquire millions of tickets for resale. The complaint was filed by the Department of Justice, and the case will be decided by the court; the press release does not report a penalty or other remedy imposed.
$106.8M
A federal court entered a $106.8 million default judgment against corporate defendants in an alleged debt-relief scheme that impersonated banks and government entities and targeted seniors and veterans. The judgment permanently bans the defendants from the debt-relief industry and imposes additional prohibitions, including on impersonation, telemarketing, and misrepresentations.