1,506 enforcement actions from 16 federal and state jurisdictions. Every event traced back to its official government source.
1,506
Total Actions
16
Jurisdictions
$26.6B+
Total Fines Tracked
The FTC finalized an order banning Support King, LLC and its CEO from the surveillance business for selling stalkerware apps that secretly collected and shared users' personal data without consent. The order requires them to delete all illegally collected data and notify affected device owners.
The FTC and DOJ settled with MyLife.com, Inc. and its CEO for deceiving consumers with misleading background reports that falsely implied criminal records and for engaging in difficult-to-cancel subscription practices. MyLife violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act, and Telemarketing Sales Rule. The settlement includes a permanent ban on negative option marketing, $33.9 million in judgments for consumer refunds, and a monitoring program.
$33.9M
The FTC released a staff report based on Section 6(b) orders to six major ISPs, finding they collect extensive personal data, including internet traffic and location data, and share it with third parties. The ISPs often obscure data use disclosures in fine print and make it difficult for consumers to opt out, while combining data to profile sensitive characteristics. The report highlights the need for stricter privacy restrictions.
The FTC banned Support King, LLC (SpyFone) and its CEO from the surveillance business for secretly harvesting and sharing users' data without consent, and ordered the deletion of all illegally collected data and notification to affected device owners. The company failed to secure the data, leading to a hack that exposed 2,200 consumers.
The FTC settled with Kuuhuub Inc., operator of the Recolor coloring book app, for violating COPPA by collecting personal information from children under 13 without parental consent. The app's social media features allowed children to register and share data, and third-party ad networks collected persistent identifiers for targeted ads. The settlement requires deletion of children's data, refunds to underage subscribers, a $3 million penalty (suspended upon $100,000 payment), and user notifications about the violations.
$3.0M
The FTC finalized a settlement with SkyMed International, Inc., an emergency travel services provider, for failing to secure sensitive consumer data and deceiving consumers about HIPAA compliance. The company left a cloud database with 130,000 membership records unsecured, containing personal and health information. Under the settlement, SkyMed must notify affected consumers, implement a security program, undergo biennial assessments, and is prohibited from misrepresenting its data practices.
The FTC settled with Flo Health, Inc., developer of a popular fertility-tracking app, alleging it misled users by sharing sensitive health data with third-party analytics providers like Facebook and Google after promising to keep such data private. The proposed consent order requires Flo to obtain user consent before sharing health data, notify affected users, and destroy previously shared data, among other requirements.
Everalbum, Inc. settled FTC allegations that it deceived consumers about its use of facial recognition technology in its photo storage app and failed to delete photos when users deactivated their accounts. The settlement requires Everalbum to obtain express consent before using facial recognition, delete user photos and derived face embeddings, and delete developed models and algorithms. It also prohibits misrepresentations about data practices and requires consent for biometric data use if marketing software to consumers.
The FTC settled with NTT Global Data Centers Americas, Inc. for deceiving consumers about its participation in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework. The company's certification lapsed in 2018, but it continued to claim compliance in its privacy policy and marketing materials. Under the settlement, NTT is prohibited from misrepresenting its participation in any privacy program and must apply Privacy Shield protections to previously collected personal data or delete it.
The FTC settled with Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc. for misleading consumers about its participation in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework. The company allowed its certification to lapse in 2018 but continued to claim participation. The settlement prohibits such misrepresentations and requires compliance with Privacy Shield obligations for data collected or deletion of such data.
The FTC settled with Kohl's Department Stores for violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act by failing to provide identity theft victims with access to their business transaction records within 30 days. Kohl's agreed to pay a $220,000 civil penalty and must implement measures to comply with FCRA requirements, including providing records promptly and posting a notice on its website.
$220K
NTT Global Data Centers settled FTC allegations that it misled consumers about its participation in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework and failed to comply with its requirements. The settlement requires the company to hire a third-party assessor if it re-certifies, prohibits misrepresentations about privacy programs, and mandates continued application of Privacy Shield protections or deletion of data collected while participating.
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.