Google’s acquisition of Waze, the social-powered mapping app, has prompted US Federal Trade Commission interest in the deal and the possibility of a full investigation, it’s been revealed. The search giant confirmed that it had been contacted by the FTC to Bloomberg, after rumors over the past few days that the reportedly $1.1bn purchase of
Google officially acquired the crowd-sourced mapping and traffic app Waze earlier this month, but the $1.1 billion deal is hitting a last-minute jam. The search giant has confirmed with Reuters that the Federal Trade Commission recently opened an antitrust investigation into the purchase, even though Waze will mostly operate independently. According to the New York Post, Google didn’t file a review with the FTC because Waze makes less than $70 million annually, which is below the bar for an “automatic review.” Reuters notes that the FTC can put a magnifying glass to any closed deals at its discretion, namely to ensure there was no prior intent simply to stifle competition. These latest happenings might make for a temporary roadblock between the integration of certain data from Waze and Google, notes the Post — assuming the deal indeed gets an okay from The Man. Either way, we’d imagine concessions will be made if needed, as Google’s no stranger to these types of proceedings.
Filed under: GPS, Transportation, Software
Source: Reuters, New York Post
Sick of endless patent wars yet? According to the New York Times, so is the Federal Trade Commission. Referencing the usual persons briefed on the matter, the NYT reports that FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez is preparing to propose an inquiry that will put patent-assertion entities — companies that exist solely to buy and collect royalties on patents — under federal scrutiny. If approved, patent trolls that catch the FTC’s attention will need to detail how they operate and if their legal proceeds pay out to the original patent owner. The chairwoman is expected to explain the proposal in more detail at a patent law workshop later this week. According to the NYT, Ramirez doesn’t have any specific company in mind, but aims to investigate companies that might hamper innovation. With any luck, the inquiry will help curb spurious litigation and rampant patent trolling — something most of us can probably get behind.
Filed under: Misc
Source: New York Times
A few days ago, the Obama administration announced that they would be cracking down on patent abusers by making some changes to the US Patent and Trademark Office, as well as get the International Trade Commission involved to help fight against frivolous complaints by tech companies to get import bans on competitor products. Several lawmakers
Google is once again under FTC scrutiny, this time over its advertisement methods and whether it is using them to harm its competition, something that is separate from the issue closed earlier this year concerning whether it was in violation of antitrust laws. For now it remains a preliminary investigation, and there’s no word on whether the agency has pegged Google as having broken any laws.
According to the Washington Post, the investigation is the result of Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick back in 2008 for a hefty $3.1 billion. Such a purchase raised the FTC’s hackles over whether possessing the advertisement platform, in addition to its own AdSense, could put the Internet giant in a position to harm its competitors. Google went ahead with the buyout, and has been under the FTC’s eye in that regards since then.
One of the biggest concerns specified by the FTC was something referred to as tying, which shoehorns consumers into having to buy multiple products from a single company. This is anti-competitive, and likewise would put Google in violation of the law. This concern was raised shortly before the DoubleClick acquisition, and since then the percentage of the advertisement market Google controls has increased.
Beyond its newly launched preliminary investigation, not much else is known at the moment. We’ll have to wait to see if Google has violated any laws, but it is possible the investigation will be wrapped up and will fade away without any hoopla, as has been the case many times. When asked about the investigation, both the FTC and Google declined commenting on the matter.
This follows the antitrust debacle Google went through with the FTC throughout last year, eventually settling with the agency back in January for terms many criticized as being a mere slap on the hand. While that investigation partly concerned the advertisement aspects of Google, in addition to a variety of other issues, including prioritizing its own results over competitors, the issue was separate from this one.
SOURCE: Washington Post
Google under investigation by FTC over advertisements is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
The Federal Trade Commission has begun warning app developers that they must bring their software in-line with the upcoming Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule, firing out letters highlighting new expectations for titles that can include multimedia of underage users. Over ninety letters have been sent, to both US and foreign developers, the FTC said this week, notifying them that if their apps can capture photos, videos, or audio of children, the amended COPPA may well affect them.
The new version of COPPA comes into effect on July 1, and impacts apps and services which could be used by those under 13. If the app has some sort of “persistent identifier” which is used to recognize that user, it will likely need to modify its privacy and permissions policies. Notably, that identifier need not be a username or involve active registration: a cookie or device ID will count as well.
“Companies whose apps collect, store or transmit this information, as well as other personal information previously covered by the rule like a child’s name or address, must get parents’ consent before collecting the information. In addition, companies must also ensure that any third party receiving the information can keep it secure and confidential, as well as abiding by new rules affecting how the information is stored and retained” FTC
Four different versions of the notification letter have been prepared, depending on whether the recipient is a domestic US or foreign firm, and the nature of the data collection. For domestic companies, there’s an images/sounds version [pdf link] and a persistent identifiers version [pdf link]; the same counterparts for foreign apps collecting images/sounds [pdf link] of children in the US, or assigning them identifiers [pdf link].
Actually receiving a letter doesn’t mean that the FTC has actively evaluated a company and found it wanting in terms of COPPA compliance, the Commission is keen to point out. Instead, they’re intended to prompt a “COPPA check-up” ahead of the new rules coming into effect.
The changes to COPPA were announced back in December, as a way to bring the Act up to speed with the changing nature of applications and the user-data they collect. Among the tweaks are a new requirement that developers not only be responsible for a compliant privacy policy that covers their own data collection, but of any data that’s collected by third-party services – such as ad networks – that are incorporated into the software.
The list of companies which have received the letters has not been revealed, though ustwo – developer of randomized photo-sharing app Rando – took to Twitter to confirm that it had been couriered one. There’s more on COPPA compliance at the FTC; violating the rule can result in civil penalties of up to $16,000 per violation.
VIA ustwo
FTC begins COPPA warning mail-blast as child app rules approach is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
You’ve just sat down to a nice home-cooked meal with your family when the phone rings. Could be Grandma, you think. She still actually uses the phone for talking. But no, it’s a robocall shilling for some debt relief scam, the fifth in as many days. More »
New advertising guidelines aimed at making online and social media ads more transparent have been published by the Federal Trade Commission, toughening the rules on disclosure for product pushers. The amended document, “.com Disclosures” [pdf link], adds smartphone advertising and social media marketing to its original 2000 guidance; in short, the FTC said, if you can’t give full disclosure on a device or service like Twitter, then you shouldn’t be using it for promotion.
“If a disclosure is needed to prevent an online ad claim from being deceptive or unfair, it must be clear and conspicuous. Under the new guidance, this means advertisers should ensure that the disclosure is clear and conspicuous on all devices and platforms that consumers may use to view the ad. The new guidance also explains that if an advertisement without a disclosure would be deceptive or unfair, or would otherwise violate a Commission rule, and the disclosure cannot be made clearly and conspicuously on a device or platform, then that device or platform should not be used” FTC
That means, if you’re using promoted Tweets, Facebook messages, pop-ups, or other types of advert, you have to fit both your marketing content and any necessary disclosure into them. If you can’t accomodate both, then you shouldn’t do it at all, the FTC warns, lest you fall foul of its rules.
Meanwhile, the updated guidance also toughens up the FTC’s stance on where disclosures should be positioned. Originally, it was considered enough that they be “near, and when possible, on the same screen”; now, they must be “as close as possible” to any claims made.
Hyperlinks must be labeled, and pop-ups should be avoided for delivering disclosure information, since the FTC recognizes that many people actively block them. So, in the sample advert at the top of the page, the FTC takes issue with the lack of contrast between the background page color and the text of the two disclosures.
For 140-character tweets, meanwhile, the FTC suggests the easiest way to flag up promotional content is to put “Ad:” before the body of the message. Other disclosures – such as links to a separate site detailing any marketing obligations, or the hashtag “#spon” – are likely to cause confusion, the commission argues.
Tougher mobile and social ad rules pit FTC against marketers is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
We’ve all seen online banner ads with lengthy disclosures and other warnings that what we see isn’t necessarily what we’ll get. Think that the tight spaces of a smartphone screen or a 140-character tweet are exempt from the rules? Think again: the FTC just updated its guidelines to make clear that any “constrained” ads on mobile platforms or social networks still have to reveal their true purposes and show realistic figures. Marketers can’t use multiple posts, pop-ups or other tricks to tuck the disclaimers away, either. The warning won’t prevent your favorite celebrity from suddenly posting out of character about diet pills, but at least you’ll know the difference between a pure enthusiast and someone who has some skin in the game.
*: This is a news post, not an ad. While we’re at it, though, we’d really love it if you swung by Engadget Expand.
Filed under: Internet
Via: LA Times
Source: FTC
The FTC held a workshop on mobile payments last year, and it’s now followed that up with a full report that raises a few concerns and offers some recommendations for the industry. Those include the expected issues of privacy and security, which the FTC encourages companies to step up their efforts on, as well as the issue of billing disputes. On that latter front, the FTC draws attention to one problem in particular known as “cramming,” in which companies or individuals place fraudulent charges on a user’s cellphone bill. As the FTC notes in the report, “there are no federal statutory protections governing consumer disputes about fraudulent or unauthorized charges placed on mobile carrier bills,” and it further adds in a blog post that “the way mobile carrier billing works makes this a challenging problem to solve.” It goes on to outline some consumer protection measures it says all carriers should adopt, and notes that it will further address the issue at a roundtable on May 8th. You can find the full report at the source link.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: FTC report (PDF), FTC, FTC Business Center Blog
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
