Penalty Amount
$100,000,000
The FTC and 11 states settled with Walmart for $100 million over deceptive earnings claims in its Spark Driver gig worker app, where drivers were misled about base pay, tips, and incentives. The settlement also addressed GLBA violations for failing to provide proper notice regarding the handling of drivers' financial information. Walmart must implement an earnings verification program and is banned from misrepresenting driver earnings.
Walmart must pay a $100 million judgment, implement an earnings verification program to ensure drivers receive promised earnings and tips, is prohibited from modifying delivery offers after initial presentation except in limited circumstances (e.g., driver failure or customer cancellation), and is banned from misrepresenting earnings and other information in delivery offers to Spark drivers.
In-house legal teams should review all vendor, contractor, and gig worker agreements (specifically for delivery or platform-based services) for clauses related to compensation representations, tip allocations, and incentive structures. Key clauses to scrutinize include earnings guarantees, payment calculations, tip pass-through mechanisms, and any financial data handling provisions. Given the GLBA violation, contracts involving the collection or sharing of driver financial information (like bank details for payment) must be assessed for adequate privacy notices and data security safeguards. Changes may be required to implement verified, non-misleading pay calculations, ensure 100% tip pass-through as promised, add explicit financial privacy notices compliant with GLBA, and incorporate audit rights or verification programs to prevent future deceptive practices.
Entity
Walmart, Inc.
Also known as: Walmart
Industry
RetailOfficial Press Release
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/02/walmart-agrees-100-million-judgment-settle-ftc-states-charges-over-deceptive-earnings-claims-related
WalmartSparkDriverComplaint
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/WalmartSparkDriverComplaint.pdf
WalmartSparkDriver Order
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/WalmartSparkDriver-Order.pdf
Federal Trade Commission Enforcement Page
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement
"Walmart, Inc. has agreed to a $100 million judgment to settle allegations from the Federal Trade Commission and 11 states"
"$100 million judgment"
"violated the FTC Act and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act"
"The company failed to notify drivers that, unlike the payment for the goods being delivered, the payment for the advertised tip amount had not been preauthorized, and therefore drivers would not receive that amount if the customer was unable to cover the cost of the tip or if the charge otherwise failed."
"Deceiving drivers about the amount of tips they will receive from an order."
$13.0M
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a settlement with Walmart over deceptive practices in its Spark Driver program. Walmart misrepresented driver pay, including failing to pass on customer tips and altering base pay after drivers accepted offers. The $13 million settlement provides direct payments to affected Texas drivers and requires Walmart to implement honest compensation practices.
The FTC rescinded its 2021 Policy Statement on Breaches by Health Apps and Other Connected Devices, which had purported to apply the Health Breach Notification Rule to health apps and connected devices that collect consumer health information. The rescission follows the Commission's 2024 update to the Health Breach Notification Rule, which already covers health apps and connected devices like fitness trackers, and implements an executive order directing agencies to eliminate obsolete guidance documents. No company was charged or penalized; this is a deregulatory action.
$12.0M
The FTC alleged that payment processor Humboldt Merchant Services knowingly processed payments for more than 1,000 shell merchant entities serving as fronts for fraudulent companies engaged in unauthorized billing scams, despite red flags including chargeback rates nearly 10 times higher than card-brand thresholds. Under the proposed stipulated order filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Humboldt will pay $12 million for consumer redress and is permanently banned from processing payments for merchants with a heightened risk of potential fraud.
$4.8M
The FTC charged Canada-based payment processor Nuvei Corporation and its subsidiaries with knowingly processing payments for fraudulent merchants, including more than $30 million in payments for the Reimage tech support scam from 2017 to 2023, as well as merchants making false earnings claims and impersonating government tax authorities. Under the stipulated order filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, Nuvei will pay $4.85 million for consumer redress, is banned from serving tech support telemarketers, and must implement robust merchant screening and chargeback monitoring practices. Note: this is a payments-fraud facilitation action under the FTC Act and Telemarketing Sales Rule, not a data privacy violation.
The FTC announced a seven-day extension of the public comment period on its proposed enforcement policy statement regarding personalized pricing, pushing the deadline from Sept. 18, 2026 to Sept. 25, 2026. Personalized pricing refers to using personal data to set prices based on what the company believes an individual consumer is willing to spend. This is a procedural announcement about draft agency guidance, not an enforcement action against any company, and no entity was named, no violation found, and no penalty imposed.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser joined the FTC and 22 state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against Amazon for manipulating the auctions used to set advertising prices, replacing actual auction results with higher prices since 2019 and overcharging nearly 1.2 million U.S. advertising customers. The FTC estimates total improper surcharges from 2018 to 2026 exceed $20 billion, with costs ultimately passed to shoppers through higher prices. The states seek a permanent injunction and monetary relief; no penalty has been imposed yet as this is a newly filed complaint.