Experian may be in trouble again — this time in Brazil. ZDNet reports on “the emergence of a leak that exposed the personal data of more than 220 million citizens and companies, which is being offered for sale in the dark web.” After receiving feedback from Experian over a massive data leak in Brazil, São Paulo state consumer rights foundation Procon…
Tag: Consumer Protection
TikTok Hit With Consumer, Child Safety and Privacy Complaints in Europe
TikTok is facing a fresh round of regulatory complaints in Europe where consumer protection groups have filed a series of coordinated complaints alleging multiple breaches of EU law. From a report: The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) has lodged a complaint against the video sharing site with the European Commission and the bloc’s network of consumer protection authorities, while consumer organisations in…
Cryptocurrency Magnate’s Plan to Turn 67,000 Acres into Blockchain-Based ‘Smart City’
“A cryptocurrency company that owns 67,000 acres in rural northern Nevada wants state government to grant technology companies power to form local governments on land they own,” reports the Associated Press. Jeffrey Berns, CEO of Nevada-based Blockchains LLC, ultimately envisions “a city where people not only purchase goods and services with digital currency but also log their entire online footprint —…
Nintendo Sued by European Gamers Hampered by Broken Controllers
Nintendo faces a complaint from BEUC, a European consumer group, over what it calls “systematic problems” with the controllers for the company’s popular Switch games console. BEUC said it filed a complaint with the European Union and national consumer protection organizations after evidence from users showed that in 88% of cases, “the game controllers broke within the first two years.” A…
Italy Fines Apple $12 Million For Unfair Claims About iPhone Water Resistance
Iwastheone writes: Italian regulators have fined Apple $12 million for making misleading and unfair claims about iPhone water resistance. The fine was imposed by L’Autorita Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM), which translates literally as the guarantee authority for competition and the market. This is the competition watchdog responsible for ensuring that companies treat both consumers and competitors fairly. First,…
The FTC Is Investigating Intuit Over TurboTax Practices
The Federal Trade Commission has been investigating Intuit and its marketing of TurboTax products, following ProPublica’s reporting that the Silicon Valley company deceived tax filers into paying when they could have filed for free. From a report: The FTC probe, run out of the commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, centers on whether Intuit violated the law against unfair and deceptive practices…
New York Unveils Landmark Antitrust Bill That Makes It Easier To Sue Tech Giants
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: New York state is introducing a bill that would make it easier to sue big tech companies for alleged abuses of their monopoly powers. Bill S8700A, [The Twenty-First Century Anti-Trust Act] now being discussed by New York’s senate consumer protection committee, would update New York’s antiquated antitrust laws for the 21st century,…
Australia To Make Facebook, Google Pay For News in World First
Australia will force U.S. tech giants Facebook and Google to pay Australian media outlets for news content in a landmark move to protect independent journalism that will be watched around the world. From a report: Australia will become the first country to require Facebook and Google to pay for news content provided by media companies under a royalty-style system that will…
States Probe Apple For Potential Consumer Protection Violation
Texas is among a group of states whose attorneys general are probing Apple over potential violations of a consumer protection law, according to a document obtained by the Tech Transparency Project through an open records request and shared with CNBC. From the report: The document, sent in March and first reported by Axios, states that the Consumer Protection Division of Texas’…
Trump Campaign Angry That Cell Carriers Blocked Company Texts To Voters
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: President Trump’s re-election campaign has accused Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile of “suppression of political speech” over the carriers’ blocking of spam texts sent by the campaign. The fight was described Wednesday in an in-depth article by Business Insider and other reports. “The Trump campaign has been battling this month with the biggest…