On January 27, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) signaled the agency’s reduced appetite for regulating artificial intelligence. At the Privacy State of the Union Conference in Washington, DC, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Chris Mufarrige stated there is “no appetite for anything AI-related” in the FTC’s rulemaking pipeline, while adding that the agency
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Privacy Tip #478 – Intrigued With Using AI to Help with Your Tax Return? Please Think Again
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
It’s that time of the year when W2s and 1099s pile up in preparation for that dreaded tax return filing deadline. Now that everyone is using AI tools to assist with complicated tasks, as they seem to make any task, even the most dreaded, more efficient, it is tempting to use one to assist with…
Privacy Tip #473 – Rental Scams Fleecing Consumers Out of $65 Million
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
An analysis by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shows that, since 2020, consumers have been swindled out of $65 million by rental scams. This statistic is particularly relevant during the holiday season when many people are traveling and renting places to stay.
According to the FTC, most of the scams involve fake rental listings…
Privacy Tip #472 – FTC Issues Proposed Order Against Illusory Systems Over Allegations of Lax Security
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
On December 17, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a press release announcing that it is taking action against Illusory Systems, Inc. “for failing to implement adequate data security measures, leading to a major security breach in which hackers stole $186 million from consumers.”
In its complaint, the FTC alleged that Illusory, doing business…
FTC Settles With Illuminate for Data Breach of $10M Students’ Data
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Enforcement + Litigation
On December 1, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved a proposed complaint and order against Illuminate Education, Inc., an education technology provider requiring it to “to implement a data security program and delete unnecessary data to settle allegations that the company’s data security failures led to a major data breach, which allowed hackers to…
Privacy Tip #451 – Disaster Victims Fall Prey to FEMA Impersonators
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
In the wake of the recent July 4th flooding tragedy in Texas, scammers and criminals are reaching out to victims to take advantage of their vulnerability. Unfortunately, this is not the first-time criminals have used natural disasters to prey on victims.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently issued a scam alert to warn consumers about…
Where the Rubber Meets Regulation – FTC Clarifies Data Security Requirements for Auto Dealers Under Safeguards Rule
By Roma Patel on
Posted in Enforcement + Litigation
On June 16, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued FAQs that directly affect many automobile dealers, clarifying how its Safeguards Rule (the Rule), part of the FTC’s implementation of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), applies to the automotive sector. The Rule requires non-banking financial institutions to implement measures to protect customer information—and the FTC is…
FTC Order with GoDaddy Finalized Over Lax Data Security
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Enforcement + Litigation
On May 21, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finalized its order with GoDaddy over allegations that GoDaddy “failed to implement standard data security tools and practices to protect customers’ websites and data.” In a Complaint filed against GoDaddy in January 2025, the FTC alleged that the company had “failed to implement reasonable and appropriate…
Data Breach Lawsuits Surge Against Chord Specialty Dental Partners
By Kathryn Rattigan on
Posted in Data Privacy
Pennsylvania-based Chord Specialty Dental Partners is under fire after a September 2024 data breach compromised the personal information of over 173,000 individuals. At least seven proposed class action lawsuits have been filed in federal courts in Tennessee and Pennsylvania, alleging the company failed to secure and protect patient data properly.
The lawsuits claim Chord Dental…
Workado Settles With FTC Over Alleged Misrepresentations of AI Accuracy
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Artificial Intelligence
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a press release this week announcing that it settled with Workado over alleged misrepresentations of its ability to detect whether content was generated by artificial intelligence (AI) or humans.
Workado’s AI Content Detector was marketed to consumers as a tool to decipher whether online content was generated by AI…