Privacy Headlines

FTC Press Releases · 8/27/2026

The Federal Trade Commission finalized orders requiring Cox Media Group (CMG) and two other firms to pay a total of $930,000 to settle allegations they deceived customers by falsely claiming to offer an AI-powered service that could target localized ads based on conversations captured from consumers’ smart devices and that consumers had opted into such targeting. In three separate complaints first announced in May , the FTC alleged that Georgia-based media and marketing company CMG Media Corporation, which does business as Cox Media Group , and two marketing firms it worked with, New Hampshire-based MindSift LLC and Wisconsin-based 1010 Digital Works LLC , deceived customers by claiming they used a special algorithm to listen in on and detect pertinent conversations from smart devices in order to target ads to consumers within a specific geographic region. Contrary to these companies’ claims, however, the marketing service wasn’t based on voice data, and consumers hadn’t opted into thi

FTC Press Releases · 7/29/2026

The Federal Trade Commission, joined by Utah and California, by and through Los Angeles County Counsel, today sued Hims & Hers alleging that the telehealth provider shared consumers’ sensitive health information about medical conditions with third-party advertising platforms despite claiming its services maintain consumers’ privacy and deceives users about its billing and cancellation practices. In a complaint filed in federal court, the FTC and its state and local partners allege that Hims & Hers (Hims) fails to clearly disclose that it charges consumers for prescriptions almost immediately after they submit an intake form, despite telling consumers that they will be able to consult with a medical provider to find a treatment that is “right for them.” The FTC also alleges that the company has made it difficult for consumers to cancel subscriptions and misled consumers about keeping their health information private. The FTC alleges that Hims shared consumers’ health information with Me

FTC Press Releases · 7/9/2026

RentGrow, a provider of consumer reports for tenant screening, will be required to pay $2.25 million to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that the company violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), including by failing to use reasonable procedures to ensure the accuracy of its reports, and the FTC Act. The FCRA requires consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) to maintain reasonable procedures to assure the maximum possible accuracy of the information they include in background screening reports, disclose the sources of information used to compile a background screening report when a consumer requests it and take certain steps when a consumer disputes the completeness or accuracy of information in their background screening report. A complaint , filed by the Department of Justice upon notification and referral from the FTC, alleged that Massachusetts-based RentGrow Inc. is a CRA since it compiles information it obtains from a variety of sources into background screening reports

FTC Press Releases · 6/30/2026

Amazon will pay $2.25 million in civil penalties to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that the online retail giant knowingly violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by refusing to provide transaction records to consumers whose personal information was used by identity thieves to commit fraud. The complaint , filed by the Department of Justice upon notification and referral from the FTC, alleged that in numerous instances, Amazon.com Inc. failed to comply with Section 609(e) of the FCRA, which requires companies to, within 30 days of a consumer’s request, provide victims of identity theft with application and business transaction records about fraudulent transactions made in their names. According to the complaint, Amazon had no written policy to respond to Section 609(e) requests until early 2025, after it learned of the FTC’s investigation, despite prior outreach from FTC staff advising the company to review its compliance with Section 609(e). “Amazon often put identit