MoneyGram International, Inc., the second-largest money transfer service in the United States, will pay $18 million in consumer redress to settle FTC charges that the company allowed its money transfer system to be used by fraudulent telemarketers to bilk U.S. consumers out of tens of millions of dollars. MoneyGram also will be required to implement […]
Monthly Archives: October 2009
Iconix Brand Group Settles Charges Its Apparel Web Sites Violated Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act
Iconix Brand Group, Inc. will pay a $250,000 civil penalty to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the FTC’s COPPA Rule by knowingly collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children online without first obtaining their parents’ permission. Iconix owns, licenses, and markets – both […]
Consumer Data Broker ChoicePoint Failed to Protect Consumers’ Personal Data, Left Key Electronic Monitoring Tool Turned Off for Four Months
ChoicePoint, Inc., one of the nation’s largest data brokers, has agreed to strengthened data security requirements to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the company failed to implement a comprehensive information security program protecting consumers’ sensitive information, as required by a previous court order. This failure left the door open to a data breach in […]
Federal Trade Commission to Announce Multi-Million-Dollar Settlement With Major U.S. Firm for Facilitating Cross-Border Fraud
WHO: Director, FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, David C. Vladeck Kerry Petryshyn, Inspector, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Two Cross-Border Fraud Victims CALL-IN INFORMATION: Reporters interested in this event, but who are unable to attend, can call in using the following information: Call-in Number: 877-766-1277Conference ID Number: 36122559 NOTE: In order to join this conference call, […]
Statement of FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz Regarding the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Passage of the Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act (S. 369)
By taking this action, the Committee clearly recognizes the very real danger that these sweetheart deals pose to Americans struggling to pay their medical bills. Consumers must wait – sometimes years – for far less expensive generic drugs when branded pharmaceutical companies pay off their generic competitors to stay out of the market. We estimate […]
FTC Order Prevents Anticompetitive Effects from Pfizers Acquisition of Wyeth
The Federal Trade Commission today announced a settlement resolving its extensive investigation of Pfizer Inc.’s proposed $68 billion acquisition of Wyeth and requiring significant divestitures to preserve competition in multiple U.S. markets for animal pharmaceuticals and vaccines. The proposed consent order remedies the anticompetitive effects the Commission believes are likely to result from the transaction […]
FTC Director of Division of Advertising Practices to Discuss Revised Endorsements and Testimonials Guides
Mary Engle, Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Division of Advertising Practices, will be available by phone on Wednesday, October 14, from 11 a.m. to noon to discuss the newly revised Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising and their impact for advertisers and endorsers. WHO: Mary Engle, Associate Director for Advertising […]
Statement of FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz Regarding the Announcement that Arthur D. Levinson Has Resigned from Google’s Board
On October 12, 2009, Google announced that Arthur D. Levinson, the former Chief Executive Officer of Genentech and a member of the corporate boards of both Google and Apple, is stepping down from Google’s board. Earlier in the year, Apple announced that Eric E. Schmidt, CEO of Google, who had also been a director of […]
FTC Stops Two Deceptive Telemarketing Operations
Two telemarketing operations targeted by the Federal Trade Commission as part of a major law enforcement sweep last year must stop the deceptive tactics they allegedly used to trick consumers into buying overpriced magazine subscriptions and worthless medical discount plans – and must pay a total of $2.06 million in consumer redress. The FTC filed […]
FCC and FTC Chairmen Jointly Encourage The Public to Take Safeguards to Protect Themselves, Their Privacy, and Their Personal Information Online
Washington, D.C. – As part of National Cyber Security Awareness Month, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Jon Leibowitz today encouraged the public to take steps to protect themselves, their privacy, and their personal information online. The Internet has connected Americans to each other and the rest of […]