Blog

Federal Agencies Launch Portal for Public Reporting of Anticompetitive Practices in the Health Care Sector

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Patient, Social media, HHS, Policy, Blog, News, Privacy, DOJ, Complaint, Justice, Confidentiality, Justice minister, Administration, Federal Trade Commission, FTC

The online portal, HealthyCompetition.gov, allows the public to report potentially unfair and anticompetitive health care practices to the FTC and the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.

Key Points: 
  • The online portal, HealthyCompetition.gov, allows the public to report potentially unfair and anticompetitive health care practices to the FTC and the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.
  • The launch of the new portal advances the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to lower health care and prescription drug costs and help create more competitive health care markets that are fairer to patients, providers, payers, and workers.
  • That’s why we are working to tackle anticompetitive practices in the health care markets,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.
  • “The Biden-Harris Administration and HHS know it is our responsibility to stop monopolistic, anti-competitive practices that undermine the delivery of health care to Americans.

FTC Finalizes Order with X-Mode and Successor Outlogic Prohibiting it from Sharing or Selling Sensitive Location Data

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Risk, Commission, Privacy, Collection, Social media, Blog, Sale, News, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Satellite navigation device

The Federal Trade Commission has finalized an order prohibiting data broker X-Mode and its successor Outlogic from sharing or selling any sensitive location data to settle allegations that the company sold precise location data that could be used to track people’s visits to sensitive locations such as medical and reproductive health clinics and places of worship.

Key Points: 
  • The Federal Trade Commission has finalized an order prohibiting data broker X-Mode and its successor Outlogic from sharing or selling any sensitive location data to settle allegations that the company sold precise location data that could be used to track people’s visits to sensitive locations such as medical and reproductive health clinics and places of worship.
  • In a complaint first announced in January 2024, the FTC charged that X-Mode/Outlogic failed until May 2023 to remove sensitive locations from the raw location data it sold and did not implement reasonable or appropriate safeguards against downstream use of the precise location data it sold, putting consumers’ sensitive personal information at risk.
  • In addition to the ban on selling or sharing sensitive location data, the order also imposes several other requirements on X-Mode/Outlogic including mandating that it create a program to ensure it develops and maintains a comprehensive list of sensitive locations, and ensure it is not sharing, selling or transferring location data about such locations.
  • Follow the FTC on social media, read consumer alerts and the business blog, and sign up to get the latest FTC news and alerts.

Proposed FTC Order will Prohibit Telehealth Firm Cerebral from Using or Disclosing Sensitive Data for Advertising Purposes, and Require it to Pay $7 Million

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Online, Diagnosis, Consumer protection, Betrayal, Name, District court, Patient, Internet, Mental health, Social media, Blog, News, DOJ, Commission, ROSCA, Complaint, IP, Justice, Pharmacy, File, Language, Privacy, Marketing, Advertising, Federal Trade Commission, FTC

The order must be approved by the court before it can go into effect.

Key Points: 
  • The order must be approved by the court before it can go into effect.
  • “As the Commission’s complaint lays out, Cerebral violated its customers’ privacy by revealing their most sensitive mental health conditions across the Internet and in the mail,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan.
  • “To address this betrayal, the Commission is ordering a first-of-its-kind prohibition that bans Cerebral from using any health information for most advertising purposes."
  • Cerebral provides online mental health and related services on a negative option basis, which means consumers are automatically charged unless they cancel those services.
  • Despite promising that consumers could “cancel anytime,” Cerebral required its clients to navigate a complex, multi-step, and often multi-day process to cancel.
  • The complaint alleges that the company continued to charge consumers while it slow-walked consumers’ cancellation requests, which cost consumers millions in additional charges.
  • The proposed order, which must be approved by a federal court before it can go into effect, only applies to Cerebral.
  • The Commission voted 3-0 to refer the complaint against Cerebral and Robertson and a stipulated final order with Cerebral to the Department of Justice for filing.
  • The DOJ filed the complaint and stipulated order in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

FTC Action Leads to Industry Ban for Ringleader of Student Loan Debt Relief Scam

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Consumer protection, Education, District court, Social media, Blog, News, Student, Commission, Court, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Insurance

The ringleader of a student loan debt relief scam will be permanently banned from the debt relief industry and is required to turn over assets as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.

Key Points: 
  • The ringleader of a student loan debt relief scam will be permanently banned from the debt relief industry and is required to turn over assets as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.
  • The settlement with Marco Manzi resolves FTC charges involving the student loan debt relief scheme.
  • The FTC said that Apex operators pocketed approximately $8.8 million in junk fees by luring students with false promises of loan forgiveness.
  • The FTC has resources on how to avoid student loan debt relief scams at ftc.gov/StudentLoans.

Housing association reprimanded for exposing personal information on online portal

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Name, ICO, Housing, Blog, Anti-social behaviour

We have issued a reprimand to Clyde Valley Housing Association in Lanarkshire after personal information was accessible to other residents on an online customer portal.

Key Points: 
  • We have issued a reprimand to Clyde Valley Housing Association in Lanarkshire after personal information was accessible to other residents on an online customer portal.
  • The resident called a customer service advisor at Clyde Valley Housing Association to flag the breach, but their concerns were not escalated, and the personal information remained accessible for five days.
  • This breach was the result of a clear oversight by Clyde Valley Housing Association when preparing to launch its new customer portal.
  • We previously issued a blog reminding housing organisations of their obligations under data protection law and providing practical steps to support them to process and share residents’ personal information lawfully.

FTC Issues Report to Congress on Collaboration with State Attorneys General

Retrieved on: 
Friday, April 12, 2024
Sentinel, Consumer protection, Congress, Commissioner, Communication, AGS, Bureau, Social media, Blog, News, Commission, Fraud, Best practice, RFI, State, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Cryptocurrency

The Federal Trade Commission today issued a report to Congress detailing the FTC’s law enforcement cooperation with state attorneys general (AGs) nationwide and presenting best practices to ensure continued effective collaboration.

Key Points: 
  • The Federal Trade Commission today issued a report to Congress detailing the FTC’s law enforcement cooperation with state attorneys general (AGs) nationwide and presenting best practices to ensure continued effective collaboration.
  • The report, directed by the FTC Collaboration Act of 2021, “Working Together to Protect Consumers: A Study and Recommendations on FTC Collaboration with the State Attorneys General” makes legislative recommendations that would enhance these efforts, including reinstating the Commission’s authority to seek money for defrauded consumers and providing it with the independent authority to seek civil penalties.
  • The report is divided into three sections: 1) The FTC’s Existing Collaborative Efforts with State Attorneys General to Prevent, Publicize, and Penalize Frauds and Scams; 2) Recommended Best Practices to Enhance Collaboration; and 3) Legislative Recommendations to Enhance Collaboration Efforts.
  • Follow the FTC on social media, read consumer alerts and the business blog, and sign up to get the latest FTC news and alerts.

FTC Sends Refunds to Former AT&T Wireless Customers Who Were Subject to Data Throttling

Retrieved on: 
Friday, April 12, 2024
AT&T Mobility, PayPal, Commission, Social media, Blog, News, AT&T, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Online shopping

The latest refunds are going to consumers who had not yet received a refund and filed a valid claim with the FTC.

Key Points: 
  • The latest refunds are going to consumers who had not yet received a refund and filed a valid claim with the FTC.
  • The Commission’s interactive dashboards for refund data provide a state-by-state breakdown of refunds in FTC cases.
  • In 2023, FTC actions led to $324 million in refunds to consumers across the country.
  • Follow the FTC on social media, read consumer alerts and the business blog, and sign up to get the latest FTC news and alerts.

FTC Issues Report to Congress on Collaboration with State Attorneys General

Retrieved on: 
Friday, April 12, 2024
Sentinel, Consumer protection, Congress, Commissioner, Communication, AGS, Bureau, Social media, Blog, News, Commission, Fraud, Best practice, RFI, State, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Cryptocurrency

The Federal Trade Commission today issued a report to Congress detailing the FTC’s law enforcement cooperation with state attorneys general (AGs) nationwide and presenting best practices to ensure continued effective collaboration.

Key Points: 
  • The Federal Trade Commission today issued a report to Congress detailing the FTC’s law enforcement cooperation with state attorneys general (AGs) nationwide and presenting best practices to ensure continued effective collaboration.
  • The report, directed by the FTC Collaboration Act of 2021, “Working Together to Protect Consumers: A Study and Recommendations on FTC Collaboration with the State Attorneys General” makes legislative recommendations that would enhance these efforts, including reinstating the Commission’s authority to seek money for defrauded consumers and providing it with the independent authority to seek civil penalties.
  • The report is divided into three sections: 1) The FTC’s Existing Collaborative Efforts with State Attorneys General to Prevent, Publicize, and Penalize Frauds and Scams; 2) Recommended Best Practices to Enhance Collaboration; and 3) Legislative Recommendations to Enhance Collaboration Efforts.
  • Follow the FTC on social media, read consumer alerts and the business blog, and sign up to get the latest FTC news and alerts.

How “location, location, location” can lead to “enforcement, enforcement, enforcement”

Retrieved on: 
Friday, April 12, 2024
Federal Register, Comment, Walking, Checkpoint, Register, Location, Boil, Policy, Blog, Record, Nature, Commission, Complaint, Advertising, Fraud, Pharmacy, SDK, Privacy, Collection, Marketing, IOS, Parent, Work, Android, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Satellite navigation device

How “location, location, location” can lead to “enforcement, enforcement, enforcement”

Key Points: 

How “location, location, location” can lead to “enforcement, enforcement, enforcement”