Just one week ago, we learned that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had raised some concerns and began investigating Nvidia's proposed acquisition of Arm. Things have escalated since then, with the FTC suing Nvidia to block the acquisition. The FTC announced this move yesterday, with the commission's Bureau of …
Read More »The FTC has ‘expressed concerns’ over Nvidia’s Arm acquisition
It has been over a year since Nvidia first announced plans to acquire Arm in a $40 billion deal, but over the course of 2021, red flags have continued to be raised. Whether or not the deal should be allowed to go through is currently the subject of investigations around …
Read More »FTC warns of cryptocurrency scams as fake Elon Musk accounts rake in millions
If you are a Twitter user and keep up to date with cryptocurrency news, then chances are you've seen some fake Elon Musk accounts claiming to give away thousands of dollars worth of Bitcoin or offering huge investment returns for just a little bit of cryptocurrency. This is an obvious …
Read More »The FTC is dropping its case against Qualcomm after four-year legal battle
Back in 2017, Apple attempted to break away from Qualcomm, filing a $1 billion lawsuit and accusing the company of anti-competitive practices with its licensing agreements. Following Apple's lead, the FTC also filed a case against Qualcomm, alleging anti-competitive behaviour. Apple dropped its side of the legal battle in 2019 …
Read More »FTC files lawsuit seeking to break up Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp
The US Federal Trade Commission is taking aim at Facebook this week, filing a lawsuit alleging that the company has engaged in systematic anti-competitive behaviour. The lawsuit comes following an cooperative investigation between attorney generals in 46 states. The lawsuit alleges that Facebook's acquisitions of Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp …
Read More »Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo to require future console games to disclose loot box odds
There has been plenty of discussion around the ethics of loot boxes over the last couple of years, to the point where governments around the world have been launching their own investigations and some politicians have been calling for outright bans. In an effort to keep the games industry self-regulated, …
Read More »US judge says Qualcomm’s licensing terms are anti-competitive
Apple and Qualcomm just recently settled their lawsuits against each other and forged a new licensing deal for the years ahead. However, the US FTC’s case against Qualcomm is still on-going and this week, a US Judge ruled that Qualcomm’s licensing terms are indeed anti-competitive. Qualcomm has been fined for …
Read More »An Amazon merchant has been fined $12.8 million by the FTC for fake reviews
Amazon has been combatting fake reviews for quite some time, even going as far as taking legal action against the sellers purchasing them. Merchants still don’t seem to take the hint, as the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has concluded its first successful case against fraudulent, paid Amazon reviews, fining …
Read More »The Federal Trade Commission is planning a public workshop on loot boxes
Last year, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched an investigation into loot boxes, attempting to gain an understanding of the practice to further protect children. While the results of this enquiry have yet to be made public, the regulator has announced that it will be holding a public forum …
Read More »The US Federal Trade Commission launches an investigation into loot boxes
While the UK Gambling Commission is still deliberating the effects of loot boxes in video games, it looks like the US Federal Trade Commission will be pushing forward with its own investigation. Chairman Joseph Simmons revealed the new development to the Senate Commerce Subcommittee, promising to protect children and ensure …
Read More »Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo update warranty guidelines amid FTC investigation
As tech enthusiasts, we’ve all come across ‘warranty void if removed’ stickers. They are very common on lots of electronic devices, ranging from games consoles, to PC parts and mobile devices. Last month, the FTC called out six companies over illegal warranty voiding practices. Most notably, the three major console …
Read More »Sony and Nintendo adjust warranty policies following FTC warnings
As tech enthusiasts, we’ve all come across ‘warranty void if removed’ stickers. They are very common on lots of electronic devices, ranging from games consoles, to PC parts and other products, like TVs or mobile devices. Last month, the FTC called out six companies over warranty voiding practices, stating that …
Read More »The FTC is cracking down on companies using ‘warranty void if removed’ stickers
Update (02/05/18): Late last month, the FTC began cracking down on companies using ‘warranty void if removed' stickers, amongst other tactics that are apparently illegal. This came as a surprise, because warranty void stickers are common practise across the tech world. At the time, the FTC had issued warnings to …
Read More »South Korean FTC punishes bad loot box practices with a combined $1 million fine
It seems that the conversation surrounding loot boxes and their relation to gambling has died down in recent months, but that hasn’t stopped authorities from keeping an eye on the developers that use the practice. The latest incident sees publishers Nexon, NextFloor and Netmarble being pulled up by South Korea’s …
Read More »YouTube to face FTC investigation after complaint alleges improper data collection of minors
It’s fair to say that the reveal of Cambridge Analytica’s Facebook data harvesting in the past couple of weeks has kicked off a worldwide concern over how data is handled online, placing many websites and platforms under the microscope. YouTube is the latest to be scrutinised, with 23 groups across …
Read More »The FTC is investigating Facebook over its privacy practices
Following its week of scandals, Facebook has come under fire from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which has now launched an investigation into the platforms privacy practices. This will particularly concern whether the company has caused “substantial injury” to its 50 million affected users. Acting director of the FTC’s …
Read More »Lenovo agrees to middle-ground solution following FTC ‘Superfish’ investigation
Back in 2015, Lenovo caught a lot of flack for shipping laptops with ‘Superfish' installed on them. This bloatware installer resulted in adware and spyware being installed on store-bought systems and as you would expect, customers weren't happy. Following this, the US Federal Trade Commission launched an investigation and now, …
Read More »Apple counters Qualcomm with its own patent infringement claims
The Apple VS Qualcomm lawsuit has taken another turn. This time around though, its Apple firing the shots, with the company accusing Qualcomm of infringing on its patents. This latest development turns the tables somewhat, as the patents in question relate to the Snapdragon 820 and Snapdragon 800 processors, which …
Read More »Taiwan Fair Trade Commission fines Qualcomm over $700 million
Qualcomm has been fighting various antitrust charges over the last couple of years. At first, the company was fined $975 million in China, then in 2016 regulators in South Korea fined the company over $850 million. The European Union has ruled against Qualcomm in an antitrust case and now, the …
Read More »Syndicate and TmarTn settle with FTC over CSGO Lotto
The FTC settles for a slap on the wrist and calls for more disclosure.
Read More »Privacy group calls for investigation into Hotspot Shield
VPNs are widely used these days, not just to get around geographical content blocks but also for general privacy on the web. Hotspot Shield is perhaps one of the biggest VPN providers to also offer a free user tier but according to a privacy advocacy group, the company may not …
Read More »Samsung and Intel are backing the FTC’s lawsuit against Qualcomm
Earlier this year, the US Federal Trade Commission and Apple both filed lawsuits against Qualcomm, citing anti-competitive business practises. Now, it seems that Samsung and Intel are also piling on, backing the FTC's suit against the company, claiming that they too have been harmed by Qualcomm's business practises. It might …
Read More »Qualcomm wants the FTC’s anti-competition lawsuit dismissed
Recently, Qualcomm has been finding itself in quite a bit of trouble with regulators in various countries. The chip maker was recently fined a huge sum of money over anti-competitive practices in South Korea and now, the FTC is also on the case in the US, with Apple being one …
Read More »FTC goes after Qualcomm for anti competitive practises
It looks like the Federal Trade Commission has set its sights on Qualcomm this week, as a new lawsuit filed claims that the chip maker has been engaging in anti-competitive behaviour and monopolised a ‘key semiconductor device' used by Apple for the iPhone and iPad. The FTC's complaint claims that …
Read More »The FTC goes after D-Link over poor security practises
It looks like D-Link has found itself in hot water with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) this week as the US regulator has filed charges against D-Link for putting consumers' privacy and security at risk with its products. As part of the FTCs current initiative to ensure companies are taking …
Read More »FTC settles with WB over shady Shadow of Mordor marketing
Back in 2014, during the build up to Shadow of Mordor's launch, Warner Bros own marketing campaign almost completely backfired when it was discovered that prominent YouTubers were being paid large sums of money for positive coverage surrounding the game. While paying YouTubers for sponsored content isn't uncommon, the rules …
Read More »FCC and FTC investigating how mobile security patches are released
The FCC and the FTC in the US have launched investigations in to how companies release their mobile security patches. The investigation is said to centre around how some companies review their security updates and then release them via OTA, while also looking in to the lack of consistency amongst …
Read More »Judge rules Amazon at fault for child in-app purchases
We have all heard horror stories of children being left with smartphones or tablets and running up insane charges on in-app purchases. This issue has been brought to the attention of the likes of Apple, Google and Amazon plenty of times in the past and it took a while for …
Read More »The US is investigating Google for anti-competitive behaviour
Google is going to be fighting anti-trust legal battles on both sides of the Atlantic, as the FTC and US Justice Department have launched an official investigation in to Google's business practises with Android, similar to the one European Commission conducted over the last year. US regulators have apparently decided …
Read More »Machinima to settle with FTC over misleading Xbox videos
YouTube network, Machinima and the Federal Trade Commission have reached a settlement, following a string of ‘misleading' videos from partnered channels taking part in an Xbox advertising campaign. The campaign started off with several prominent YouTubers being given an Xbox One and a few games in return for a video …
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