1,285 enforcement actions from 14 federal and state jurisdictions. Every event traced back to its official government source.
1,285
Total Actions
14
Jurisdictions
$35.3B+
Total Fines Tracked
The FTC settled with Humor Rainbow, Inc. (operator of OkCupid) and Match Group Americas over allegations that OkCupid deceived users by sharing personal data including photos and location information with an unauthorized third party, contrary to its privacy policy promises to inform users and provide opt-out opportunities. The settlement permanently prohibits the companies from misrepresenting their data collection, use, disclosure, and privacy control practices. No monetary penalty was imposed.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, leading a coalition of 35 attorneys general, urged Meta to enforce its policies against misleading AI-generated weight loss ads on Instagram and Facebook. The ads promote non-FDA approved GLP-1 drugs without disclosing risks and use fake AI content. The coalition demands Meta restrict such ads, require clear risk disclosures, and label AI-generated content.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit against Snap, Inc., operator of Snapchat, for violating Florida’s HB3 child social media protection law and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA). The suit alleges Snap knowingly allowed children under 13 to create accounts, failed to obtain parental consent for 14-15 year old users, deployed addictive dark pattern design features to children, and deceived parents about platform risks including predator access, drug sales, and harmful content. The legal action seeks to hold Snap accountable for noncompliance with Florida child safety and privacy laws.
New York Attorney General Letitia James settled with Saturn Technologies, developer of the Saturn social networking app for high school students, over failures to protect young users’ privacy. The Office of the Attorney General found the company disabled required email verification for thousands of schools, used inadequate age and identity checks, retained user contact data after access was revoked, and failed to maintain proper privacy records. Saturn will pay $650,000 in penalties and implement enhanced privacy protections for minor users, including mandatory bi-annual privacy setting reviews and data deletion requirements.
$650K
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched investigations into Character.AI and 14 other companies, including Reddit, Instagram, and Discord, over potential violations of children’s privacy and safety laws. The investigations focus on compliance with the SCOPE Act and Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (TDPSA), which require parental consent for sharing minors’ data and mandate notice and consent requirements for children’s personal information. No fines or remedies have been imposed as the investigations are ongoing.
The FTC staff report examined data practices of nine major social media and video streaming companies and found they engaged in vast surveillance of users with lax privacy controls and inadequate safeguards for children and teens. The report recommends limiting data collection, restricting targeted advertising, and strengthening protections for young users, and calls for comprehensive federal privacy legislation.
The FTC and DOJ sued TikTok and ByteDance for violating COPPA by collecting personal information from children under 13 without parental consent. The complaint alleges that TikTok knowingly allowed millions of children on its platform and failed to comply with a 2019 consent order. The lawsuit seeks civil penalties and a permanent injunction.
Bumble Inc. agreed to pay $315,000 and update its disclosures to settle allegations that it misrepresented its criminal background screening policies to New Jersey users, violating the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act and Internet Dating Safety Act. The settlement requires Bumble to clearly disclose its screening practices and safety limitations on its dating platforms.
$315K
The FTC proposed modifications to its 2020 privacy order with Meta, alleging violations including non-compliance with the order, misleading parents about Messenger Kids, and unauthorized data sharing. The proposed changes include banning monetization of youth data, pausing new product launches, and strengthening privacy requirements.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong led a coalition of 14 attorneys general in demanding that Facebook disclose whether members of the 'Disinformation Dozen' were granted XCheck protections, which allow users to bypass enforcement rules. The coalition seeks information on the extent of anti-vaccine content from whitelisted users and complaint outcomes.
The FTC charged Facebook with deceiving consumers about its privacy practices and violating a 2012 consent order. In July 2019, Facebook agreed to pay a $5 billion civil penalty and accept comprehensive new privacy restrictions.
$5.0B
All data sourced from official government enforcement pages.