The current COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent stay-at-home and social distancing directives might have played a major role in romance scams losses reaching record levels in 2020, the US Federal Trade Commission said in a report last week. From a report: Total losses were estimated at a record $304 million, up about 50% from 2019, with the average loss last year…
Tag: Federal Trade Commission
Does Facebook Have a Joe Biden Problem?
Last week the Democratic party took control of all three branches of the U.S. government — and the BBC’s North America technology reporter notes they dislike Facebook even more now than during the Cambridge Analytica scandal: Since then, Democrats — Joe Biden included — have been appalled by what Facebook has allowed on its platform. Talking to a CNN anchor in…
Staples Offers To Buy Office Depot For $2.1 Billion
For the third time, Staples is proposing to buy rival Office Depot in a $2.1 billion deal. CNN reports: The $40-per-share offer price for Office Depot’s parent company, ODP Corp., is a roughly 60% premium over its average closing price for the last 90 trading days. The all-cash transaction, according to Staples, is a “compelling value proposition” and is a “superior…
Will America’s Next President Break Up Facebook?
With 25 days until Joe Biden becomes America’s next president, Politico writes that throughout the US government, “From lawmakers on Capitol Hill to antitrust enforcers at the Federal Trade Commission, Washington is training its sights on the world’s largest social network like never before.” Biden’s antitrust enforcers will take ownership of a lawsuit the FTC filed this month threatening to dismantle…
FTC Sues Facebook for Illegal Monopolization
The Federal Trade Commission today sued Facebook, alleging that the company is illegally maintaining its personal social networking monopoly through a years-long course of anticompetitive conduct. FTC: Following a lengthy investigation in cooperation with a coalition of attorneys general of 46 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam, the complaint alleges that Facebook has engaged in a systematic strategy — including…
Facebook Antitrust Probes Will Target Acquisition of WhatsApp and Instagram
A group of state attorneys general, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, is on track to file antitrust charges against Facebook in early December, according to a report Thursday from the Washington Post. CNET: The move comes as the US Federal Trade Commission is also reportedly finalizing its antitrust probe into the social media giant. State and federal investigators…
FTC Announces a Settlement With Zoom Over Security Issues
Zoom will implement new security practices as part of a proposed settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, the agency announced on Monday. From a report: “Zoom has agreed to a requirement to establish and implement a comprehensive security program, a prohibition on privacy and security misrepresentations, and other detailed and specific relief to protect its user base, which has skyrocketed from…
Is Right to Repair Gaining Momentum?
“A movement known as ‘right to repair’ is starting to make progress in pushing for laws that prohibit restrictions…” reports the New York Times:
This August, Democrats introduced a bill in Congress to block manufacturers’ limits on medical devices, spurred by the pandemic. In Europe, the European Commission announced plans in March for new right-to-repair rules that would cover phones, tablets, and…
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…
Tesla, Intel, and Others Urge America’s FTC to Oppose Qualcomm Ruling
Tesla, Ford, Honda, Daimler, and Intel have asked America’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to fight a recent court ruling in favour of Qualcomm, reports the BBC:
Qualcomm has a practice of requiring customers to sign patent licence agreements before selling them chips. Such practices have drawn accusations the firm is stifling competition… According to Glyn Moody, a journalist specialising in tech policy,…