Google, BlackBerry, EarthLink, and Red Hat Sends Comments To The FTC and DOJ Around “Patent Troll” Issues

Matthew Bye, the Senior Competition Counsel at Google, has reported that Google has submitted comments with BlackBerry, EarthLink, and Red Hat to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) about the growing harm that is caused by “patent trolls.”  Google was encouraged by the recent attention on the problems that patent trolls cause, which is estimated to be around $30 billion per year according to a Boston University law study.  Patent trolls hurt consumers and they stifle innovation.

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Path Is Paying The FTC $800,000 Over Privacy Issues

In February 2012, Path got caught uploading iPhone address books to their servers. The company apologized and deleted the data shortly after. Path reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. Path will receive privacy assessments for the next 20 years and will require a “comprehensive” privacy policy.

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Google Makes A Deal With The FTC To End Antitrust Probe

According to the Federal Trade Commission, Google has not violated any antitrust laws.  However the company has agreed to make some changes in how rivals are treated.  The antitrust probe has been going on for the last 19 months.  The FTC’s investigation was specifically focused on whether Google abused their dominance in Internet search.  Google’s rivals complained that the company highlights their own services and burying the results to competing websites.

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Google Gets Fined $22.5 Million Over Safari Tracking

Google was ordered by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to pay a $22.5 million fine.  Apparently Google illegally bypassed user privacy settings in Apple’s Safari web browser.  U.S. District Judge Susan Illston approved of the fine in a San Francisco, California federal court this past Friday.  This is the largest fine that the FTC applied to a single company.

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FTC Files A Lawsuit Against Dish Network Over “Do Not Call”

The Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit against Dish Network for making telemarketing calls to millions of people in the United States, who had previously requested the provider to stop calling them.  If the FTC proves that this is true, it would mean that the satellite company is guilty of breaking the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule.  The FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rules says that telemarketers are prohibited from making calls again if the consumer asks to be added to a do-no-call list.  FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said “It is particularly disappointing when a well-established, nationally known company – which ought to know better – appears to have flagrantly and illegally made millions of invasive calls to Americans who specifically told Dish Network to leave them alone.” [TheVerge]

Facebook Agrees To 20 Years Of Audits As Part Of FTC Settlement

Facebook has made a settlement with The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) after being charged with misleading users about how private information would be kept.

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Google To Pay $22.5 Million Over Safari Privacy Issues

Google will be paying $22.5 million as part of a settlement to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).  Google is paying the fine because of charges that it violated the privacy of users on the Apple Safari browser.  This is the largest settlement in FTC history.

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