FTC News

Illinois Court Fines Telemarketing Company $28M for Unsolicited Calls

A federal district court has entered final orders against a telemarketing company and its owners, who made millions of illegal, unsolicited calls to people that were registered on the Do Not Call Registry. The Northern District Court of Illinois ordered …

Meta Faces Stiff Privacy Review as FTC Claims New Violations

Meta Platforms Inc. was accused by the Federal Trade Commission of repeatedly violating privacy promises it made to US regulators and now faces a possible government ban on launching new social-media products without an independent review. Meta, the parent company …

PGA Tour Faces Justice Department Probe Over Saudi-Backed Circuit

The US Justice Department is investigating the PGA Tour over potential antitrust violations related to its ongoing dispute with a Saudi-backed rival circuit. The department’s antitrust division has sent inquiries to golfers’ agents about the tour’s bylaws on participating in …

FTC Fires Warning Shot at Drug Middlemen Over Rebates, Fees

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted unanimously Thursday to increase scrutiny of pharmacy benefit managers that act as middlemen between drug companies and consumers in a renewed effort to combat soaring healthcare costs and drug prices. The five-member commission, including …

FTC Says $1 Billion Lost in Cryptocurrency Scams Since 2021

According to a report from the FTC, over 46,000 people lost over $1 billion in cryptocurrency from scams since the start of 2021. The losses in 2021 ($680 million) were nearly six time what they were in 2018. In the …

FTC Sues Intuit to Stop ‘Bait-and-Switch’ TurboTax Ads

The Federal Trade Commission is suing TurboTax maker Intuit, saying its ads for “free” tax filing misled consumers. Intuit says it will fight the suit. The consumer protection agency said Tuesday that millions of consumers cannot actually use the free …

FTC: Online Background Check Firms May Be Violating Fair Credit Law

Federal regulators this week warned several companies that the quick, easy background checks they are providing online might violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The Federal Trade Commission sent warning letters to 10 businesses, including sites like 4Nannies.com and USA …

Top 10 Consumer Complaint Categories

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released its top 10 consumer complaint categories for 2012. For the first time ever, the agency received more than two million complaints. Of the two million complaints, 18 percent were related to identity theft. …

Lawsuit Seeks To Block Google’s Privacy Changes

A consumer watchdog group is suing the Federal Trade Commission in an attempt to prevent Google from making sweeping changes to its privacy policies next month. The planned revisions would enable Google Inc. to bundle the personal information gathered by …