FTC Blogs

Health-y reading

By: Saralisa Brau and Linda Blumenreich, Bureau of Competition | May 12, 2016 10:21AM

Now available on the FTC website: the Bureau of Competition’s Health Care Division has posted updated versions of our three overviews of FTC enforcement actions and policy work in the health care sector undertaken across the Bureau. Together, these documents contain hundreds of pages of detailed summaries of four decades of FTC efforts to promote competition in healthcare markets – which make them invaluable resources for health care antitrust practitioners, market participants, and other stakeholders.

Competition Matters

New and improved HSR Form Instructions – plus filing by DVD

By: the Premerger Notification Office Staff, Bureau of Competition | Sep 1, 2016 10:49AM

On August 26, 2016, the FTC, with the concurrence of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, took steps to make the process of completing and submitting Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger notification filings easier. The effective date of the new rules is today, September 1, 2016.

Continue Reading New and improved HSR Form Instructions – plus filing by DVD

Business Blog

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework and the FTC

By: Andrea Arias | Aug 31, 2016 2:34PM

We often get the question, “If I comply with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, am I complying with what the FTC requires?”  From the perspective of the staff of the Federal Trade Commission, NIST’s Cybersecurity Framework is consistent with the process-based approach that the FTC has followed since the late 1990s, the 60+ law enforcement actions the FTC has brought to date, and the agency’s educational messages to companies, including its recent Start with Security guidance.  First, a littl

Continue Reading The NIST Cybersecurity Framework and the FTC

Consumer Blog

When your computer life is held for ransom

By: Aditi Jhaveri | Aug 31, 2016 9:38AM

Imagine if everything on your computer was “kidnapped” — including all of your precious family photos and important personal documents. And the only way you could access any of it again was if you paid a lot of money — or bitcoins — to a hacker. Even if you pay, there’s no guarantee you’ll get your stuff back. Sounds like something out of a movie, right? Unfortunately, it’s happening in real life. It’s called ransomware.

Continue Reading When your computer life is held for ransom

Business Blog

Leaving info behind, in (rental) cars

By: Lisa Weintraub Schifferle | Aug 30, 2016 10:30AM

Gary Numan sang, “Here in my car, I can only receive.” Well, those days are in the past. More and more vehicles are outfitted with the latest communications technologies like Bluetooth, GPS navigation, roadside assistance, streaming music, and web browsing. With mobile technologies in rental cars, consumers’ personal information can stay with the car long after the consumer has returned it. If you’re a car rental company, it’s important to think about protecting consumer privacy in connected rental cars. 

Continue Reading Leaving info behind, in (rental) cars

Consumer Blog

What is your phone telling your rental car?

By: Lisa Weintraub Schifferle | Aug 30, 2016 10:29AM

When I rent a car, it’s fun to get all the bells and whistles – like navigation, hands-free calls and texts, streaming music and even web browsing. But did you know that cars with these features might keep your personal information, long after you’ve returned your rental car? Here are some things to keep in mind when renting a connected car.

Continue Reading What is your phone telling your rental car?

Consumer Blog

What is your phone telling your rental car?

By: Lisa Weintraub Schifferle | Aug 30, 2016 10:29AM

When I rent a car, it’s fun to get all the bells and whistles – like navigation, hands-free calls and texts, streaming music and even web browsing. But did you know that cars with these features might keep your personal information, long after you’ve returned your rental car? Here are some things to keep in mind when renting a connected car.

Continue Reading What is your phone telling your rental car?

Consumer Blog

“Free trial” scammers settle, surrender millions

By: Bridget Small | Aug 29, 2016 10:49AM

In 2010, the FTC sued Jeremy Johnson, his company IWorks, and nine others for allegedly taking more than $280 million from people with a deceptive “free trial” scheme. Now Johnson, his family members, and more than two dozen corporate defendants have settled FTC charges and will give up millions of dollars in cash, stock, jewelry, aircraft, real estate and other assets.

Continue Reading “Free trial” scammers settle, surrender millions

Consumer Blog

Academics and scientists: Beware of predatory journal publishers

By: Lisa Lake | Aug 26, 2016 11:00AM

If you’re a scholar or scientist, you know the value of being published in an academic journal.  Unfortunately, some dishonest publishers also understand this — and have used it to profit from rather than promote legitimate advancements in research and academia. In its lawsuit against OMICS Group — which operates hundreds of online journals in a variety of fields — the FTC says the company bombards people with emails soliciting articles, misrepresents the reputation of its publications, and doesn’t disclose that authors have to pay substantial fees — ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars — to be published.

Continue Reading Academics and scientists: Beware of predatory journal publishers